ORION EMS offers several different types of services which include:

• Critical Care Transports
• BLS, ALS & MICU Transports — Ventilatior, BiPAP, CPAP capabilities
• Wound Care Transports
• Chemo Therapy Transports
• VAD Transport Experience
• Air Medical Transports
• Long Distance Ground Transports

Here are just a few of our most common facilities:

• Hospitals
• Rehabilitation Centers
• MRI & Imagining Centers
• Nursing Homes
• Skilled Nursing Facilities
• Hospice Services
• Home Health Care Agencies
• Out Patient Surgical Centers
• Emergency Care Centers

Yes. ORION EMS can handle all arrangements for an air ambulance; whether it’s within the United States or International.

Our dispatcher will ask for the following information:

• Patient’s Name
• Patient’s Date of Birth
• Social Securtity Number (required by insurance provider and Medicare to process the claim)
• Pick up Address (apartment number or facility name)
• Destination (address or facility name and doctor’s name and suite number)
• Insurance Policy ID
• Reason for Transport
• Patient weight (may require additional assistance)
• Does the patient require any of the following: Oxygen, EKG Monitor, IV Monitoring, Suctioning?

The type of transportation is based on an industry term: “medically necessary” which is further defined below. Our dispatcher will ask:

• Can the patient walk?
• Is the patient in a wheelchair?
• Is the patient bed bound?
• Can the patient maintain a sitting position for an extended period of time?
• Does the patient need assistance to stand or pivot?

Public (911) ambulances are used for emergency transports and critical care transfers. Private ambulances can transfer you to your hospital of choice based upon medical stability for transfer whereas 911 can only take you to the closest hospital.

We are open 24/7–365 days a year. If you are looking to schedule service, we can do so at anytime, depending on availability.

Transport for a patient who has an appointment to be seen for an ongoing medical problem (e.g., wound care, dialysis, radiation) is known as a “medical transfer.” A non-emergency medical transport can also occur when a patient requires transport back to his/her residence at the end of a hospitalization. Medical Necessity for all non-emergency transports is required by Medicare, Medicaid and all insurance carriers.

Medicare states non-emergency ambulance transports are considered medically necessary when the patient’s medical condition is such that the use of any other method of transportation (e.g., taxi, private car, wheelchair coach) would be medically contraindicated (e.g., would endanger the patient’s medical condition).

Yes. While hospital staff coordinate ambulance transportation, you as the patient can ask your Case Manager to request transportation from your preferred ambulance service.

Pricing is determined after factoring in a number of variables, such as emergency or non-emergency, ALS or BLS, services required (such as oxygen, IV’s, etc), as well as distance traveled, etc. To obtain a quote for your particular need, feel free to call us at 713-864-7900 or utilize our Contact Us page.

If Medicare covers your ambulance trip, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. All ambulance companies must accept the Medicare-approved amount as payment in full.

Coverage of ambulance transportation by insurance carriers may vary materially based upon a patient’s individual policy. Please check with your carrier to verify your coverage.

It is always a good idea to contact your insurance provider to see what type of transportation eligibility you are covered for. If you have Medicaid/Public Aid, you must have a Prior Authorization Number before we can schedule transportation.

ORION EMS provides comprehensive non-emergency transportation services to patients who need to be safely transported between locations. Insurance plans may cover medically necessary non-emergency transports, but your insurance carrier will determine whether the ambulance transportation meets its medical necessity criteria. Please check with your insurance carrier to understand the specific requirements for payment of non-emergency transport services.

Individuals are required to sign the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) report along with any Medicare beneficiary form provided at the time of transport. You are required to provide signatures acknowledging consent for treatment and transportation. With this signature, ORION EMS is authorized to submit a bill on your behalf, assign benefits to ORION EMS allowing your medical insurance carrier to pay us directly, and acknowledge you have received ORION EMS’s Privacy Practices Notice. We cannot submit a claim to a medical insurance carrier without a signed authorization from the patient or guardian. Failure to provide a signed authorization of the patient may require ORION EMS to seek payment directly from the patient or guarantor.

Please call and talk to one of our billing specialists to discuss payment options as we will try to work with you.

If you are with a nursing home, hospital facility or health facility and would like to discuss establishing a transportation agreement with ORION EMS, please call us at 713-864-7900 or email info@orionems.com to talk with one of our specialists.