The EMS crisis in Texas

Overextended emergency responders

• 68% of 9-1-1 calls are for medical assistance, while only 4% are fire-related¹
• 11.3% of ambulance transports are medically unnecessary according to emergency physicians²
• Each unnecessary run costs $800–$1500+ in billed costs and pulls life-saving crews away from true emergencies
• MedStar in Fort Worth responds to over 190,000 calls annually, straining city resources³

The financial impact on Texas cities

• Houston increased ambulance fees by 70% in 2019 due to rising costs⁴
• Fort Worth allocated $4.2 million in emergency funding for MedStar’s budget shortfalls⁵
• Austin-Travis County EMS bills all private insurance patients out-of-network, resulting in surprise bills often exceeding $1,000⁶
• Out-of-network ground ambulance rides cost insured Americans $129 million annually⁷

The transportation factor

• 38.5% of unnecessary ambulance use cited lack of transportation alternatives as the primary reason²
• 23% of Americans didn’t call an ambulance during a medical emergency due to cost concerns⁸

The solution: Tap telehealth

• 56% reduction in ambulance transports demonstrated in Houston with telehealth implementation¹
• 44 minutes faster return-to-service times allowing better resource utilization⁹
• Annual cost savings of $1.77 million in the first year of EMS telehealth implementation in Houston⁹

Sources:

1. Langabeer JR, et al. (2016). “Telehealth-enabled emergency medical services program reduces ambulance transport to urban emergency departments.” West J Emerg Med, 17(6):713-720.

2. Lerner EB, et al. (1997). “A multisite survey of factors contributing to medically unnecessary ambulance transports.” Academic Emergency Medicine, 4(11):1183-1188.

3. MedStar Mobile Healthcare. (2023). “Mobile integrated healthcare programs.”

4. Houston Chronicle. (2019). “City council approves ambulance fee hike, new EMS charges.”

5. Community Impact. (2023). “Fort Worth budget includes transitional funding for MedStar ambulance service.”

6. CBS Texas. (2023). “Patients still not protected from surprise ground ambulance bills.”

7. Health Affairs. (2020). “Study on out-of-network ground ambulance costs.”

8. YouGov. (2024). “One-quarter of Americans didn’t call an ambulance during a medical emergency for fear of costs.”

9. Langabeer JR, et al. (2021). “Tele-EMS improves productivity and reduces overall costs.” Journal of Emergency Medical Services.