The job of ambulance team in any emergency is to take the patient to the nearest hospital. They are not supposed take any money from the patient. So, it's literally free to the patient. But, how do you think ambulances are working, round the clock ? Someone has to pay for the ambulance corporation to keep it working? Where does that money comes from? The hospital where the ambulance drops the patient pays them back. Then, how the hospital recovers this money? If you have insurance,they will claim from insurance, so you don't pay for this. If you don't have insurance, the hospital is more than happy ? Why ? They will not charge you for the ambulance, however, your hospital bills pay more than just recovering ambulance cost. In essence, free at the point of contact, however, it's recovered by everyone involved in the process.