Ambulance ride bills can be very expensive and surprising. This is because there are no laws from stopping surprise ambulance bills on patients. This can affect both insured and uninsured individuals. It can affect insured individuals as well, due to the fact that some insurances will deny paying or helping pay for these hidden medical expenses for multiple reasons. These reasons may vary from the ambulance being an out-of network company/ doctor and more. There have been many stories where individuals were left paying a significant amount of money all on their own. These bills would also include doctors or companies the patient didn’t even know were involved with. 

These unexpected bills affect so many people who need to be brought to a hospital because they are in a medical crisis. No one should have to be in debt all because of a ride to a hospital, especially when they may be in critical condition. When someone is in this condition, they should be focusing on if they will survive not the after bill. Yet so many people have to think about in the moment if their insurance will cover a quick ride to the hospital. 

I have experienced a family member who was in critical condition and needed to be taken to the hospital. Instead of taking an ambulance to the hospital they were driven which wasn’t the best idea. This was all because they didn’t want an unexpected medical expense or were uninsured. This person could’ve been in better condition faster, if they didn’t have to worry about their excessive medical charges afterwards. No one else should have to go through this, because many people have to be driven in an ambulance to a hospital every second. If there is a law created to protect individuals who may be insured or uninsured from these surprise ground ambulance bills, it will help out so many people financially. This is why it’s important to spread awareness about this topic now to help out more people every second.

Some sources to take a look at:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ambulance-rides-costs-consumers-arent-protected-surprise-bills/#textA20recent20report20found20moreInterest20Research20Group2C20or20PIRG​ 

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2021/protecting-consumers-surprise-ambulance-bills​ 

https://www.statnews.com/2023/02/13/surprise-ambulance-bills-no-fix-in-sight/​

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/upshot/coronavirus-surprise-medical-bills.html?searchResultPosition=2