topic Re: Ambulance Bill in Wellness

Ambulance Bill

CatsyCline — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:19:11 GMT

Has anyone disputed an ambulance bill? I had surgery in Dec and 36 hours after the surgery hospitalists told me i could no longer stay in the H and could not go home. They wanted me to go to a SNF. I had a neck fusion and was given heavy pain meds. [9 weeks post-op still have neck pain] I still had drains in and could barely get out of bed yet they still wanted me out of that bed and they quickly pulled all the drains out!

An ambulance came to take me to the SNF . I did not request the ambulance. Well they must have driven all over creation because it took over an hour to get the SNF. Yet a car drive to the Hospital takes about 35min. When we got to the SNF the ambulance attendants put me on a transport chair, unceremoniously dumped me on a bed and left without triaging or whatever w/ any staff.

Anyway the bill is for over $900 but insurance paid some but not all of it. I'm questioning the charge for the mileage too. Seems like they padded the miles.

Re: Ambulance Bill

SXMGirl — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:24:50 GMT

@CatsyCline I have no idea how much an ambulance costs; but, where I live and the ambulance and fire departments are volunteer, we contribute $50 a year to each. That covers any situation where they are needed at my home. You might want to look into that in your town.

Re: Ambulance Bill

CatsyCline — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:29:49 GMT

@SXMGirl wrote:
@CatsyCline I have no idea how much an ambulance costs; but, where I live and the ambulance and fire departments are volunteer, we contribute $50 a year to each. That covers any situation where they are needed at my home. You might want to look into that in your town.

the dispatch wasnt made from my house. the hospital contracted w the ambulance company whch is based at the other end of our state,

Re: Ambulance Bill

itsmetoo — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:31:42 GMT

@CatsyCline

That's a bargain compared to what my bill was. Nine years ago I was taken by ambulance just a few blocks and it was over $1500. Highway robbery if you ask me.

Re: Ambulance Bill

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:38:29 GMT

Hospitals usually require medical transport to another facility, you can not just have a family member take you. They are also just there for transportion, the Hospital should have sent over any information the facility needed.

As far as the cost, don't know. There may have been a traffic issue that required the detour. Can't hurt to ask.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Foxxee — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:40:51 GMT

Who ordered the ambulance? You say Hospitalists were taking care of you. They work for the hospital. One most likely had someone call an ambulance for you.

Your hospital should have a Patient Advocate department. Call to see what can be done about this.

I disputed a charge for my father once. The hospital dropped the charges.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Katcat1 — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:43:42 GMT

@CatsyCline That's insane. I have gone by ambulance many times to the hospital. It's $300. I have supplemental insurance Humana Gold HMO. Also, I always go through the fire dept. and not a private ambulance so that may make a huge difference.

Re: Ambulance Bill

jlkz — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:43:46 GMT

@CatsyCline

As for the # of miles, ambulances cannot go over train tracks. And, as another poster mentions, there may have been detours that caused the increased mileage.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Pancho — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:45:57 GMT

@CatsyCline

Last summer I was in the hospital for 25 days due to complications after surgery. I had to then go to a rehab facility in order to regain my strength that was literally 3 blocks from the hospital. The hospital called for an non-emergency ambulance transport. I was billed $900.00 for that and my insurance covered none of it. I was so frigging mad!!! I had no recourse and just had to pay for it out of pocket.

In the future, make sure taking an ambulance is very necessary because a lot of times it is not covered by insurance and many people are not aware of that, including myself. You think because you have insurance it's covered but most of the time this is not the case.

I learned a very costly lesson as I didn't challenge the hospitals decision to have me transfered by ambulance. If I had known the cost in the beginning I would have made other transportation arrangements.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Vivian — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:47:43 GMT

As a lifelong asthmatic, I was told that if I ever had an attack, I should call an ambulance and NOT have friends of family try to drive me to the hospital, half an hour away. About 15 years ago it happened. We followed doctors' orders and called an ambulance, assuming they'd arrive promptly and start treatment on the way to the hospital.

WRONG! It took 45minutes for the ambulance to arrive. I do not live more than 10-12 minutes away from any town, village or hamlet. Fortunately, my meds at home kicked in so that by the time I reached the ER, more than an hour later, I was OK. I will remember that experience if I need to consider calling an ambulance in my town. If my husband had sped me up to the local hospital, i'd have been there in 15 minutes.

Re: Ambulance Bill

pigletsmom — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:48:08 GMT

Are you saying you don't think you should pay it at all or disputing the total? If you think that the cost is too much I guess you could tell your insurance that you think they being scammed a bit but they probably wont care. I would think that your part of the payment is spelled out in your insurance.

They have no choice but to send you that way. My father had to go from the hospital to the rehab and he had to take a medical transport thing to go to a building across the parking lot.

Re: Ambulance Bill

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:48:48 GMT

Something to keep in mind is that Ambulances for emergency purposes are usually maintained by cities or hospitals. Ambulances used for medical transport are usually private companies that contract with hospitals, nursing homes etc. Tax dollars do not support them.

Re: Ambulance Bill

KingstonsMom — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:52:10 GMT

DD was at her Dr.'s office with severe abdominal pain and they thought she should go the hospital, they took it upon themselves to call the fire dept. (right next door to Dr.) for an ambulance to take her.

She constantly protested telling her Dr.'s office that she would call me and I would take her, I was minutes away, but she didn't have access to her phone.

Her bill was about $1,000 for a 30 mile drive and she protested the bill with the Fire Dept. on the grounds that she repeatedly said she did NOT want an ambulance, she wanted her Mom to take her.

They did not do 'lights & sirens', so they didn't think it was THAT urgent that she needed an ambulance vs. me taking her to ER.

They did reverse her charges.

But I agree, ambulance services seem to be an 'unregulated' industry and we're at their mercy, as far as charges go.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Carmie — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:54:37 GMT

I don't what type of insurance you have. Most insurance including Medicare, will only cover emergency ambulance service.

There is no coverage to transport a person from a hospital to a SNF. In addition, wheel chair transport service is not covered at all for any reason.

if you are transported to the hospital from anywhere because it is an emergency, it is covered.

With some insurance plans, if the ambulance is not in your insurance network, you could be balance billed for all services..emergency or not.

I have many times transported friends and family in my van to a SNF from the hospital. Hospital employees help load them in my vehicle and the SNF employees help them out of my vehicle.

if you have Medicare or any other insurance that does not cover transport from a hospital to a SNF, there is no need to appeal a non-covered service.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Q4u — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 21:03:14 GMT

I disputed an ambulance bill for my father, who was on a respirator at the time and in a skilled nursing facility who felt he needed emergency care..

Insurance said they would not pay for it because they felt I could drive him to the hospital myself in my car!!! I raised holy heck. I was supposed to take him lying down in the back seat of my Mazda (he couldn't move) and "bag" him with one hand while driving with another? (Bagging is getting air into someone who can't breathe on their own and are not on a respirator).....

They dropped the opposition and paid the entire bill.

I still get very angry about it 24 years later.

If you think your bill is wrong, ask them to go through it with you. You deserve that curtesy..

Re: Ambulance Bill

Sweetbay magnolia — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 21:09:15 GMT

I've disputed an ambulance bill, and the insurance company went to bat on my behalf. The charges were reduced to what the insurance company would pay. At issue was an "out of network" provider.

The transport was medically necessary and I had little to no control over the whole thing, since I had acute appendicitis and had been administered morphine.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Carmie — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 21:10:11 GMT

@Q4u That is awful. His ambulance bill should have been covered from the get-go. There is coverage from a SNF to a hospital.

I'll bet someone did not code the claim correctly.

I remember cases where insurance denied claims as not a medical emergency only to hear from a family member that the patient died enroute. I felt so bad after hearing that. The ambulance company used incorrect codes on the claim.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Q4u — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 21:21:18 GMT

@Carmie

Thank you.

Re: Ambulance Bill

ALRATIBA — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 22:15:13 GMT

Wow! I had EMS ambulance take me to the hospital (called 911 and they transferred me to EMS). I think my co-pay on that was $47.

When I was discharged from the hospital in November, I was unable to walk and the hospital arranged for an "ambulette" (Ambulette definition, a specially equipped motor vehicle for transporting people who are convalescing or have mobility issues.) to take me home.

Driver wheeled me out of hospital, into the ambulette, drove me home and into my highrise elevator and right to my apartment door. He even went in and retrieved my walker .... got me out of the wheelchair and made sure I got inside okay. There was no charge at all. (I could only walk with walker.)

---------------

ETA: I should add, I live three blocks from the hospital.

Re: Ambulance Bill

Tangocash — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 21:59:19 GMT

Do any of you have Uber or Lyft in your area? If so, you might want to set up an account in each, just in case you need transportation. I used to drive for both, and took quite a few people there or home from there. It doesn't hurt to have an app, ready to go.