r/HospitalBills • u/Fit_Employee_9673 • 14d ago

Ambulance bill (Bells)

I received an ambulance bill for 3k. I had taken my 2yr old to urgent care for breathing issues and she was unable to be off oxygen and had to get transported to the hospital.

However, I remember when they asked me they said “you could drive her though I’m sure you don’t want to” or take the ambulance. Given the fact that her oxygen would not stay above 85 without oxygen I felt uncomfortable driving her for 35min so I opted for the ambulance.

Now I have this bill which I will clearly need to dispute, but have no idea how to state “it was medically necessary”.

For reference, I had to take her to urgent care 2mo later and they stated “we cannot let you leave if her oxygen levels are this low” - is this the fault of the urgent care not demanding the need for the ambulance?

I hate with all of my being the situation we are always in regarding health insurance - this entire system can eat a d*ck.

5 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

12

u/voodoobunny999 14d ago

Regrettably, you are probably stuck with the bill. Medical necessity has nothing to do with it and ground ambulances aren’t covered by the No Surprises Act. Ground Ambulance companies rarely contract with health insurers because they would have to discount their services for essentially no benefit—nobody looks up which ambulance company is in-network when their child can’t breathe. They dial 911.

At this point, the best thing to do is contact the ambulance company and see if you can talk your way into a discount. Just know that you have very little leverage. You might also call your Congressperson and tell them to cover ground ambulances under the No Surprises Act, but I wouldn’t hold my breath (sorry for the bad pun) waiting for that to happen. It was a fundamental error to exclude ground ambulances in the first place.

2

u/photogypsy 14d ago

It’s worth giving them a call especially if you’re in a smaller town. Lots of towns around here negotiate a low set rate/free for their residents in exchange for EMS/911 calling them when an ambulance is needed (it’s basically a contract with the government). The ambulance company will not volunteer this information. Call your town clerk’s office and see if there’s an agreement in place.

2

u/Public-Proposal7378 13d ago

EMS falls under the NHTSA, not healthcare, so they aren’t subject to the no surprises act. If ambulances are actually billed as healthcare, rather than falling under transportation, the bills would be much much higher. 

1

u/Cheerfully_Suffering 12d ago

Medical transport, an ambulance, can be covered by your health insurance. EMS is billable to insurance and covered by insurance in many cases.

1

u/Public-Proposal7378 12d ago

I didn’t say it wasn’t covered or billable by some health insurances, or even most… 

4

u/Fit_Employee_9673 14d ago

Time for a revolution

2

u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago

Also was it private ambulance or public state run ambulance?

1

u/Fit_Employee_9673 14d ago

Private (unknownlingly)

-1

u/YogurtclosetOpen3567 14d ago

Yep contact your state legislator, to know about bills and also appeal if you can

-8

u/voodoobunny999 14d ago

Here’s what you need (according to ChatGPT):

Good question. Revolutions aren’t spontaneous miracles—they need specific conditions and catalysts. Historians and political theorists usually point to a set of recurring elements that make revolutions possible. Think of them as ingredients that, when combined, can ignite systemic upheaval:

⸻

  1. Widespread Grievances • Economic pain: inflation, unemployment, food shortages, rising inequality. • Political frustration: lack of voice, corruption, repression, rigged institutions. • Social fractures: class, ethnic, religious, or generational divides that deepen dissatisfaction. • Loss of legitimacy: the ruling system no longer commands respect or moral authority.

⸻

  1. Crisis or Trigger Event • A war, famine, financial collapse, or state violence can push simmering discontent over the edge. • Often it’s a symbolic moment (e.g., Bastille storming, self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia) that crystallizes anger into collective action.

⸻

  1. Organized Opposition • Revolutions need networks: unions, political groups, underground movements, intellectual circles, or even religious organizations. • A shared ideology or narrative that frames grievances in terms of justice, liberation, or a better future. • Leaders or figureheads who can articulate demands and give the movement cohesion.

⸻

  1. Mass Mobilization • Ordinary people must be willing to risk safety, jobs, and sometimes lives to push change. • Participation must reach beyond elites and involve peasants, workers, students, or other broad bases. • Communication is key—pamphlets, social media, songs, graffiti—whatever lets people know “I’m not alone.”

⸻

  1. Elite Defection • Revolutions rarely succeed unless parts of the ruling class, military, bureaucracy, or economic elite break away from the regime. • This weakens the state’s ability to repress and gives the revolution a chance to restructure power rather than be crushed.

⸻

  1. Weak or Distracted State • A government in crisis—financially, militarily, or politically—can’t effectively suppress dissent. • Regimes that are rigid (refuse reforms) or fragmented (factions fighting internally) are especially vulnerable.

⸻

  1. A Vision Beyond the Old Order • Successful revolutions don’t just tear down—they offer a framework for what comes next, even if messy (democracy, socialism, nationalism, religious revival). • Without this, they often devolve into civil war, chaos, or counterrevolution.

⸻

📌 In short: You need grievances + organization + mobilization + a vulnerable regime + a spark. Without all of them, movements either fizzle into protests, get absorbed into reforms, or are crushed before they spread.

⸻

Do you want me to break this down in terms of historical examples (e.g., French, Russian, Iranian, Arab Spring) so you can see how these elements played out in practice—or would you prefer a more theoretical framework (like Crane Brinton’s Anatomy of Revolution or Marxist models)?

6

u/saysee23 14d ago

That's the dumbest response ever

-5

u/voodoobunny999 14d ago

Take it up with OpenAI, bootlicker!

1

u/Fit_Employee_9673 14d ago

Thanks - I think we are almost there

3

u/Chickennuggetslut608 13d ago

Was the ambulance ride denied by insurance or is it simply being applied to deductible?

If it was denied by insurance, call and find out why. If it was the diagnosis you can ask the ambulance company to review if it was billed correctly. Or you can appeal with a letter from the doctor who saw her at urgent care.

If it went to deductible, then there's nothing to do. Ambulances are not free and your insurance put it toward your deductible.

2

u/Old_Draft_5288 13d ago

Medically necessary as child needed continuous 02.

Issue is likely that it was a private ambulance though

1

u/Cheerfully_Suffering 12d ago

This is most likely the case. Billing the OP probably is charging at a higher rate than what would be covered by insurance. Its also easier for them to just drop a letter off for the patient to fight than the ambulance fighting with insurance to get paid

1

u/saysee23 14d ago

Does the ambulance Co have your insurance? See if there was a certificate of medical necessity included in the transfer paperwork.

2

u/OneEyedTreeHugger 11d ago

I’ve had a couple of ambulance bills not covered by insurance even though they were medically necessary. I called the phone number on the bill and asked if they offered any financial assistance. After submitting documentation of my income, they significantly discounted the bill and then offered me a payment plan for the remaining amount.

1

u/lgbtq_vegan_xxx 11d ago

Sounds like you should’ve driven her to the ER initially instead of Urgent Care!

1

u/Tech_Rhetoric_X 11d ago

Although the No Surprises Act doesn't cover ground ambulances, over 20 states have enacted legislation.

Each state's laws are different, so you must investigate for yourself.

In general, the laws only apply to fully insured plans (not self-funded employer plans) for public and private ambulances. However, Maryland and Colorado rules only cover private ambulances.

For more information, https://www.healthinsurance.org/glossary/no-surprises-act/#states

1

u/Foreign_Childhood_77 11d ago

Two years ago my husband was taken to the hospital in an ambulance for a mental health emergency. Basically the cops found him and took him away in an ambulance. My insurance paid 500 and I was sent a 3k bill. I never paid it. I never got another bill after the first bill. Idk what happened with it. Never got a collections notice or anything. And it never affected his credit score.

1

u/missmargaret 14d ago

I always thought that facility-to -facility transfers were covered by insurance. Check yours for that.

2

u/Public-Proposal7378 13d ago

An urgent care to hospital does not count as infer-facility transfer. It’s no different than calling from home. 

1

u/Public-Proposal7378 13d ago

It’s based on the diagnosis/documentation from the EMS crew, as well as the hospital. You need to appeal it, but you saying it was medically necessary won’t make them change the denial. Short of active lifesaving measures, most insurances will deem transports unnecessary and deny them. 

0

u/BostonDogMom 14d ago

Step 1: make sure that ambulance company has your health insurance information and ask them to submit a claim

Step 2: ask ambulance company for an itemized bill or run report

Step 3: submit the notes from urgent care to your health insurance company to show that the trip was medically necessary. You might have to appeal if your insurance denied the claim.

Step 4: talk to ambulance company about payment plan

Step 5: look into the consumer protections on medical bills in your state. For example: in Colorado any amt under $500 cannot be used to determine credit worthiness. So I make sure my balance at all providers stays at $499.