Patients who take ambulance rides may face hundreds or thousands of dollars in unexpected medical bills.
That’s one finding from a recent Kaiser Health News analysis of 350 consumer complaints in more than 30 states.
Here are four other takeaways on surprise ambulance bills.
1. Surprise ambulance bills are one aspect of surprise billing, which often occurs when patients receive unexpected out-of-network bills from providers in an emergency department or in-network hospital.
2. A June 2017 issue brief from The Commonwealth Fund shows at least 21 states have passed laws related to surprise billing situations. But KHN notes these laws do not fully address ambulance rides in many instances.
3. There are various drivers of surprise ambulance bills. A primary driver cited by KHN is that ambulance companies are often not part of private insurance networks. Additionally, the publication points out that ambulance fees for privately insured patients are not regulated by the federal government.
4. KHN reports its analysis showed surprise ambulance bills commonly occur when a patients rides in an ambulance following a 911 call and when an ambulance transfers the patient between hospitals.
Read the full report here.
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