Ambulance rides? There’s a surprising amount of surprise billing…

You’ve heard about surprise bills for just about every health care service under the sun – but now, a recent study finds that a whopping 25% of ambulance rides come with surprise bills, too.

According to a new study by Health Affairs, 28% of ambulance trips that were commercially insured, as well as 26% of nonemergency trips, resulted in a surprise bill, between 2014 and 2017. The analysis  found that taking a trip in a privately owned ambulance also came with higher costs and higher potential for surprise bills.

The study also shows that pricing for an ambulance varied widely.

Surprise or “balance” bills often happen when patients are treated by a clinic or hospital in their insurance network but are seen by a doctor or specialist who isn’t. The patient is then on the hook for what is often a very high bill – sometimes exceeding thousands of dollars. 

The “No Surprises Act,” which became federal law in January 2022, was designed to limit such out-of-network charges.

So why are ambulance companies still surprising patients?

They were effectively left out of the law. The Biden administration established the Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee in November 2022 to fix that. But the group has yet to meet.

Have you been surprised by a bill – from the hospital or an ambulance ride? Share your story with us!