Sign-up for Wake County EMS's $60 subscription opens Sunday. It pays your share of an emergency ambulance bill for 2027. Renewal is not automatic.

Wake County households can sign up for next year’s ambulance subscription starting Sunday, Nov. 1. The $60 yearly fee covers what your insurance leaves unpaid after an emergency ambulance ride with Wake County EMS.

Wake County announced the enrollment period in an Oct. 28 news release. Current members have to sign up again: the county’s program page says renewal is not automatic.

“In an emergency, where life is on the line, this program eliminates the worry about the cost of an ambulance,” said Safiyah Jackson, vice chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, in the release.

How it works

One $60 payment covers everyone who lives in the household, including people who are not immediate family. You list them when you enroll.

When a member rides in a Wake County EMS ambulance, the county bills the member’s insurance first. The subscription then pays the rest of the member’s share, the county says. A typical emergency ambulance transport can cost more than $500, according to the program page.

Coverage starts two days after the county receives your payment and runs through Dec. 31.

What it covers and what it does not

Covered Not covered
Emergency 911 transport by Wake County EMS Non-emergency transport
From a place in Wake County to the nearest appropriate hospital Air ambulance
Your out-of-pocket share after insurance Ambulances run by anyone other than Wake County EMS

Who can join

  • Wake County residents, according to the release.
  • You must have health insurance. Medicare patients can join.
  • Medicaid patients cannot, the program page says.

The subscription is optional. Wake County EMS answers every call whether or not you subscribe, the county says. The fees go back to Wake County EMS as operating money.

Part of western Cary lies in Chatham County. If your home is on that side of the county line, ask the enrollment line whether your household qualifies before you pay.

What it means for you

  • Sign up from Sunday, Nov. 1, at wake.gov/EMSFund or by calling 844-239-6690.
  • If you joined for 2026, your coverage ends Dec. 31. The county says current members get a renewal notice this fall. You can also enroll again online.
  • Sign up before you need it. Coverage starts two days after payment, so a household that waits until after an ambulance ride is not covered for that ride.
  • In an emergency, call 911 regardless. Membership does not change who comes or how fast.

Our Police and Fire log covers emergency calls in Cary. Our guide to who to call at Town Hall lists the town’s own numbers.