Wiscasset Ambulance Service is launching its new subscription program. By paying an annual fee, members won’t be billed for the co-pay or other charges their health insurance doesn’t cover.

Toby Martin, EMS director, said a mass mailing with information for enrolling in the program is being sent to area residents with a Wiscasset zip code. Joining the program is voluntary, he added; the ambulance service will continue providing emergency services whether or not residents decide to subscribe.

Martin hopes to offer the program to residents of Edgecomb and Westport Island as well and plans to meet with selectmen to explain the benefits of membership. Wiscasset selectmen approved the program last month.

“We’ve posted information about the subscription program on the town of Wiscasset’s website and included a link with questions and answers people might have. Information is also on the Wiscasset Ambulance Service’s Facebook page,” Martin told the newspaper Monday morning.

Martin said the subscription plan is intended to save people and businesses money for services. By paying an annual membership fee, families, individuals, or businesses won’t be billed for charges their insurance plan doesn’t cover. He added the entire bill for ambulance services is covered for subscription members with no health insurance.

“Even though we now have national health insurance there are still many people who can’t afford an insurance plan that includes payment for ambulance services,” Martin said. For this reason, people are sometimes reluctant to call for an ambulance when they really need one, he said. “For a small membership fee, people can set their minds at ease knowing the bill for the service will be covered.”

Martin explained the program isn’t a moneymaker for the ambulance department but it will help offset bills the department is forced to write off for non-payment. The department wrote off approximately $50,000 in bad debt last year.

Martin initiated an ambulance subscription program when he was EMS director for the town of Turner. He said the program there had about 200 subscribers. The ambulance departments in Standish and Limerick have subscription programs and Windham is considering offering one. The idea isn’t new. Ambulance departments in Massachusetts have been offering subscription programs for several years.

Martin acknowledged it’ll take time for the program to catch on here. Like anything new, people will need to get used to the idea and realize the benefits of joining, he added.

The annual membership fees are $25 for a senior citizen’s plan (ages 62 and over),  or $40 for a senior couple. Single memberships are $50 and a family plan costs $100.

Business plans are $250 a year. The fee covers employees when they’re on the business premises. Martin said the fee is the same regardless of how many employees a business has.

To subscribe, residents will need to fill out an enrollment agreement accompanied by a check for the fee. The form will be included within the mailing along with other information about the program. Memberships run from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. There’s no maximum number of ambulance transports for members during the enrollment period.

The ambulance service currently charges between $300 and $1,000 a call, depending on the services provided.

The subscription service covers one-way, emergency transportation by Wiscasset Ambulance to one of the hospitals the ambulance routinely transports to. These include Midcoast Hospital in Brunswick and Miles Memorial in Damariscotta. Lifeflight transports are not covered by the program.

To learn more, visit www.wiscasset.org, or contact Wiscasset Ambulance Service.