Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

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BogleMelon
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Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:49 am

Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by BogleMelon »

I called 911 for what I thought medical emergency for my infant, by the time they arrive the issue was resolved. They checked her and confirmed she is fine so I declined the hospital ride.
Will I get a bill for that visit? If so, does usually the insurance cover it? Or how much should I expect to pay? They haven’t asked for my insurance card, and I forgot to mention it. I live in NJ FWIW.
"One of the funny things about stock market, every time one is buying another is selling, and both think they are astute" - William Feather
humblecoder
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Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:46 am

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by humblecoder »

BogleMelon wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 9:13 pm I called 911 for what I thought medical emergency for my infant, by the time they arrive the issue was resolved. They checked her and confirmed she is fine so I declined the hospital ride.
Will I get a bill for that visit? If so, does usually the insurance cover it? Or how much should I expect to pay? They haven’t asked for my insurance card, and I forgot to mention it. I live in NJ FWIW.
Glad to hear your child is okay. My daughter has medical issues which has necessitated many ambulance calls, so I have some experience in this area, unfortunately. The short answer on whether or not you get a bill is that it varies.

We had one case where the local volunteer ambulance service took my daughter for a ride. We didn't get a bill, but we did give them a generous charitable contribution that year.

We had one case where two ambulances showed up. The one that took her to the hospital did not bill us at all (same volunteer service and, again, gave them a nice donation), but the one that came on the scene that didn't take her ended up billing us just for coming on the scene. The bill was something like $1800. We refused to pay. I suspect that they were monitoring the police band, heard that we needed an ambulance, and decided to show up, even though they weren't directly called to make some extra bucks (they were a for-profit private ambulance service).

We had one case where we called for an ambulance, they took her for a ride, and we got billed for around $1500. We submitted it to the insurance company and they paid for most of it. I think we ended up paying $600 out of pocket. Of course, your mileage may vary depending upon your insurance coverage.

Finally, we had one case where we called for an ambulance and by the time they arrived, the issue had resolved. They did a check of vitals and went on their way. No bill.

So you can see, ambulance billing has been all over the place for us! So you may get a bill or your may not. If you get a bill, submit it to your insurance company and see what they will pay. And if they end up not billing you and it is a volunteer ambulance service, consider giving them an extra donation this year for their service. They deserve it for doing what they do for no pay.
urban
Posts: 322
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:36 am

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by urban »

Depends on local regulations and who provides the service. Where I live the local fire department will bill your insurance company, but will NOT bill you for the balance.
Topic Author
BogleMelon
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Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:49 am

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by BogleMelon »

humblecoder wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:38 pm
BogleMelon wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 9:13 pm I called 911 for what I thought medical emergency for my infant, by the time they arrive the issue was resolved. They checked her and confirmed she is fine so I declined the hospital ride.
Will I get a bill for that visit? If so, does usually the insurance cover it? Or how much should I expect to pay? They haven’t asked for my insurance card, and I forgot to mention it. I live in NJ FWIW.
Glad to hear your child is okay. My daughter has medical issues which has necessitated many ambulance calls, so I have some experience in this area, unfortunately. The short answer on whether or not you get a bill is that it varies.

We had one case where the local volunteer ambulance service took my daughter for a ride. We didn't get a bill, but we did give them a generous charitable contribution that year.

We had one case where two ambulances showed up. The one that took her to the hospital did not bill us at all (same volunteer service and, again, gave them a nice donation), but the one that came on the scene that didn't take her ended up billing us just for coming on the scene. The bill was something like $1800. We refused to pay. I suspect that they were monitoring the police band, heard that we needed an ambulance, and decided to show up, even though they weren't directly called to make some extra bucks (they were a for-profit private ambulance service).

We had one case where we called for an ambulance, they took her for a ride, and we got billed for around $1500. We submitted it to the insurance company and they paid for most of it. I think we ended up paying $600 out of pocket. Of course, your mileage may vary depending upon your insurance coverage.

Finally, we had one case where we called for an ambulance and by the time they arrived, the issue had resolved. They did a check of vitals and went on their way. No bill.

So you can see, ambulance billing has been all over the place for us! So you may get a bill or your may not. If you get a bill, submit it to your insurance company and see what they will pay. And if they end up not billing you and it is a volunteer ambulance service, consider giving them an extra donation this year for their service. They deserve it for doing what they do for no pay.
Thank you for all the details. I have no idea who showed up really! I didn't ask them. Is there a way to now to know if that was a non profit or commercial service?
"One of the funny things about stock market, every time one is buying another is selling, and both think they are astute" - William Feather
humblecoder
Posts: 1527
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:46 am

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by humblecoder »

BogleMelon wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:59 am Thank you for all the details. I have no idea who showed up really! I didn't ask them. Is there a way to now to know if that was a non profit or commercial service?
The ambulance was from "XXXX Volunteer Ambulance Corp", which I happen to know is non-profit volunteer-run service. They always do fundraisers and other solicitations in our town.

If you happen to know the name of the company but you aren't sure, you can always use the google.
Ramjet
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Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:45 am

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by Ramjet »

My mother in law got in a car accident. A ambulance was called. She declined a ride. She got a bill 6 months later. A dispute was filed and the bill was terminated after an investigation of the data
Teague
Posts: 2524
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:15 pm

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by Teague »

As mentioned it depends on your area. Here if you are not transported there is no charge.
Semper Augustus
smalliebigs
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Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:48 am

Re: Will I get a bill for an ambulance service if the ride was declined?

Post by smalliebigs »

I'm just glad your kid is OK!

I've always said, if it's something that only money can resolve, then it's not a problem.
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