r/HospitalBills • u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 • 15d ago
For those who could not pay their ambulance bills and didn’t what ended up happening?
Did they sue or do negative credit reporting?
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u/Huge_Monk8722 14d ago
US, they take you to small claims court and garnish your wages until bill is satisfied with court fees.
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
This is what they did to you?
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u/Huge_Monk8722 14d ago
This is what I do for the EMS billing department. If you don’t make arraignments to make payments on said bill. Then this will negatively effect you credit score.
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
Oh so you sue the patients personally as EMS? And if what if they tell you they cannot?
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u/Huge_Monk8722 14d ago edited 14d ago
EMS is a business just like Walmart, McDonalds. The equipment is not free, a Ambulance the "truck" start at $279,000 before it has any equipment around $150.00 oh and insurance is $200.000 now take that X10 Ambulances.
The employees have to be paid now take 2 employees each trucks times 10 truck X 200, personnel and they need days off so add a few more ,just to staff the 10 trucks. Then you have the dispatches who answer the the phones and dispatch the trucks on runs, We have computers, with expensive software, radio equipment.
Now we have buildings to maintain, Utilities Fuel/repairs for 10 trucks.. I could keep going. We do not have socialist Ambulance Service in the US. We do this 24 hours a day /7 days a week /365 day a year.
Nothing is free someone is paying for it.
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u/Flmilkhauler 13d ago
We don't get a bill for police or firefighter services.
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u/autumn55femme 12d ago
You pre pay out of your taxes, even if you have not personally required their services.
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
Most medical bills in America are paid by the federal government in some way, whether it be Medicaid or Medicare or even some marketplace plans
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u/prfsvugi 13d ago
Unless of course you get grants for the equipment, volunteers for the staff and the Sheriffs office does the dispatch
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u/BoxBeast1961_ 14d ago
Only if you refuse to make a payment arrangement & then don’t show up to court.
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
What if you cannot show up to court and cannot afford payment?
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u/Zetavu 14d ago
If you fail to show up to court they can make a summary judgement against you. The court can also issue bench warrants to force you to appear (or face arrest). If you claim you cannot pay they will have you provide a list of assets and employment. If you work, they will garnish your wages. If you have assets, they can put liens on property or outright seize assets. You may be forced to declare bankruptcy. They will squeeze everything they can from you and then wreck your credit making it hard to rebuild. And the cost gets higher the longer it takes.
Your best bet is to make payment arrangements, try and charity or debt forgiveness if you truly have no assets or income, or at the least get some kind of income so that you can get the debt discounted and slowly repaid with a payment plan.
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u/Over-Yard-7069 14d ago
You cannot have a criminal warrant for a civil matter. You will not be arrested in any way shape or form for failing to appear for a civil case 🙄
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u/prfsvugi 13d ago
And businesses are not going to place a lien on your property for $3000. It will cost them that much in attorneys fees
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u/Odd_Theory4945 12d ago
Then they file to garnish your wages. Same as if you didn't pay your credit bill
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u/Public-Proposal7378 14d ago
Depends. Was it a private service or government agency? Private will sue. Government often writes them off. Which is BS but is what it is.
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u/prfsvugi 13d ago
Our local volunteer department bills the insurance company, collects what they can and writes off the rest.
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u/kscomputerguy38429 14d ago
In KS they sell it to the state who then garnish any state tax returns you may receive.
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u/swampgas323 14d ago
I never paid for the ambulance $8500 insurance paid some I paid none . This was 5 years ago never saw any bill again
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
Was this government ambulance or private ambulance??
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u/swampgas323 14d ago
Private ambulance
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
Did they threaten garnishment?
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u/swampgas323 14d ago
They did not. I ignored the bill and they stopped sending it. Ambulance service is shady
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u/No_Answer_5680 12d ago
2 separate instances of overcharging. insurance (Humana) paid what they pay. Threw bill away. No issues or follow up.
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u/Own_Complex9841 11d ago
Not exactly your question but I had a ridiculous ambulance bill that was 20x as high as Medicare reimburses so I wasn’t paying that rate on principle. I sent an initial letter saying I’d pay the Medicare rate, got a nasty reply back, then sent a check for the Medicare rate and said I’d post their nasty letter to social media if they didn’t accept the Medicare rate and send me a paid invoice. I got the paid invoice promptly!
My logic was that the ambulance company accepted Medicare but not my blue cross insurance - they do this so they can extort people but they can’t risk not getting the huge client base of elderly people. They make plenty of money at the Medicare rate vs what they wanted me to pay at literally 20x the Medicare rate.
Perhaps you can use this to get the bill reduced to something you can pay. Perhaps a payment plan. They rendered service and in all likeliness you can expect to at least have a serious ding on your credit, or worse, if you stiff them.
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u/Better-Tough6874 14d ago
Here's a thought. It's a bill and morally you should pay it. In any state they can get a judgement. Most states allow garnishment.
Before it got to this point-you could have made payments no matter how small.
Here is a few that don't garnish.
Four states, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, generally do not allow wage garnishment for consumer debts like credit card or loan payments. Instead, these states primarily allow garnishment for debts related to taxes, child support, student loans, and court-ordered fines.
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u/Direct_Marsupial5082 14d ago
I think there is definitely a moral difference between a non consensual bill (judgements/medical/etc) and something someone voluntarily took on.
I feel less morally obligated to pay a speeding ticket than my employees.
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u/ALknitmom 14d ago
Speeding tickets is a terrible example of a non consensual bill. If you choose to speed, you are also choosing the risk of consequences. An ambulance bill would only be non consensual if the patient (or responsible party) were not the one to call 911, like if they were passed out or otherwise incapacitated.
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u/Direct_Marsupial5082 14d ago
I mean, the premise I hold is “did I make a commitment to pay this bill”.
It’s possible to have bills that you don’t agree with and feel no moral obligation to pay.
“I will pay the wages you and I agreed to” vs “I am being fined as a consequence of my actions”. The former feels more “you are a shitbag for not paying this as agreed”. The latter had no agreement to pay.
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u/Still-Syrup-438 14d ago
My bills were sent to a collection agency but they stopped calling after I told them my financial situation. Can't get money from a person who doesn't have it.
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u/Spirit_Chameleon 14d ago
True, but you risk ruining your credit if that matters to you.
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u/Still-Syrup-438 14d ago
lol, what is a credit score going to do for me when I can't afford to buy food? Do you think they let people who can pay bills off the hook?
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u/Spirit_Chameleon 14d ago
Your credit score affects the ability to choose where you may want to live. Vehicle insurance costs more, and a whole lot of other things. As a single divorced mother I struggled to make ends meet. I worked 2 jobs to put food on the table and pay for my bills for many years. I never applied for State assistance and never claimed bankruptcy. Life is good now. I have no debt, a credit score over 800, and I did it all on my own. You can do anything you want to do, you just have to suck it up, make yourself do it, and move ahead in life.
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u/NeeNee9 14d ago
Nothing.
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u/Better-Tough6874 14d ago
No. You can't skip put from your bills and not have consequences. If you have fordt hand knowledge other wise please elaborate. At the minimum your credit tanks.
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u/Paganw98 10d ago
i have never paid a bill. credit score in the upper 700s
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u/Better-Tough6874 10d ago
What does this mean?
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u/Paganw98 10d ago
i’ve never paid a single medical bill and my credit hasn’t been affected at least to the extent people are saying 🤷🏽♀️
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u/Better-Tough6874 10d ago
OK. Let's delve deeper. How many delinquent medical bills do you have? And what is the total
amount? How old is the oldest debt?
Do you have insurance?
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u/Paganw98 10d ago
I was on my parents for most of my life. i’m 27 now, however i’m a veteran so the VA pays. I know there’s a few ambulance and a hospital bill. probably around 3k.
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u/R2-Scotia 14d ago
Varies by state. In TX you get a low impact hit on your credit that rolls off after 7 years. In MI they can take your house.
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u/whatever32657 14d ago
not a damn thing
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
Was this government ambulance or private ambulance??
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u/whatever32657 14d ago
it was actually tribal, on native american land
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u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago
Well that’s rare I’ve never heard of that are you covered by the IHS?
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u/whatever32657 14d ago
no. i was injured on their land, so it was their ambulance service that transported me
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u/Ml124395 14d ago
In south carolina if it’s the county ambulance service they will request collections from the state tax refund if you have any.