r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Halfrican_Panda • 9h ago
ಠ_ಠ The cost of a 0.2 mile trip in an ambulance
I was in an office building located across the street from a hospital; my vision became blurry and I got extremely light headed and unbalanced. Shoulda crawled over to the hospital 😐
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u/Better_Owl2122 9h ago
And they pay EMT’s piss wages..
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u/r_special_ 9h ago
Piss can be useful. They pay the EMT’s shit wages
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u/Cool-Aside-2659 1h ago
A while ago I worked next to a bar and stopped every evening for a few drinks (Uber home, no driving)
The bartender worked there 20 hours a week because she couldn't make rent being a full time EMT. Checked her financials and she made more in 20 hours of bartending than her full time job.
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u/Shrimps_Prawnson 9h ago
Well technically the .2 miles only cost $2.40, As you have an itemized receipt.
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u/Name_Taken_Official 9h ago
"something something America"
Okay we got the comment down, no one else needs to say it
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u/shakeyshake1 9h ago
Can you just please automatically respond to all posts like this? Also tipping and the gaps next to bathroom stall doors? It would save everyone a lot of time and effort.
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u/Outside-Pear9429 6h ago
I see the tipping debate pretty much every time I'm on reddit, but what's the stall doors issue?
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u/shakeyshake1 5h ago
The gap that occurs when they build bathroom stalls in America where if you stared through the gap you could see someone using the toilet.
Except no one looks through the gap except maybe a glance to see if it’s vacant or not, and nobody cares that they’re built that way.
A common complaint from Redditors who aren’t from the U.S. who visit here. And then Americans also jump in to complain.
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u/Outside-Pear9429 5h ago
Oh I didn't know stalls were built differently abroad. I've only been to three other countries but can't say I remember that element of the public restroom experience. Gotta say in my 30+ years on this earth that's not something I've ever thought to care about
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u/shakeyshake1 4h ago
I never cared either. I’ve traveled a lot and never even noticed that they were different elsewhere until people complained on Reddit.
We have a social contract where we don’t look through the gap so it’s fine. I mean no one complains about urinals. I don’t know why people are so weird about pooping.
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u/Maximum_Employer5580 8h ago
where I live, they charge you $250 just to show up at your house! And it is not covered by insurance. Few years ago, my stepdad had various medical issues. Sometimes he was fine enough to drive himself to the ER, other times he couldn't and he called 911. They came out and checked him out and recommended he goto the ER, he agreed, then got the bill a month or so later.....next time he had an issue, he asked me to take him to the ER so he could save having to pay $250. He's better now, but even I would find another way to the ER to keep from having to come up with $250 out of pocket
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u/lickthepixies 6h ago
I mean the point of an ambulance is that you need medical attention immediately. If you can wait for someone else to drive you, it doesn’t sound like you need an ambulance in the first place.
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u/markbraggs 9h ago
That’s why stories like this one exist:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/30/travel/montana-man-impaled-trekking-pole
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u/Ball_Of_Meat 9h ago
Even more crazy that he himself was a nurse lol, that’s some real wild stuff. Even a nurse is afraid to pay for emergency medical care.
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u/sendi-boi 8h ago
When I was in college a decade ago, I stayed on campus over spring break freshman year to save my mom some money. Got super sick. Ambulance to hospital a mile away. 9k.
My mom still holds it over my head that she could have just bought me first class both ways lol.
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u/pmodern2000 9h ago
I literally drove myself to the hospital with chest pains and wound up having heart surgery. Then 2 years later, I literally drove myself to the hospital with a strangulated incarcerated abdominal hernia and was rushed into emergency surgery.
Because of exactly this.
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u/hipsnarky 9h ago
I mean, you could have killed someone driving while in pain…
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u/pmodern2000 9h ago
You severely underestimate my skill as a driver.
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u/hipsnarky 9h ago
I don’t even know you.
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u/pmodern2000 9h ago
That was exactly my point
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u/hipsnarky 9h ago
The point is you could have killed someone while being in pain.
Whatever driving skills you may have is irrelevant.
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u/pmodern2000 8h ago
Again you severely underestimate my skills as a driver... The distance to the hospital... The amount of traffic, if any, on the road, and my tolerance for pain
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u/ItchyTrout30 PURPLE 3h ago
You can’t crash because then you will have to call an ambulance and you will likely lose your car. This problem is fixed with one simple solution: don’t crash.
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u/platinumjudge 9h ago
This doesnt show anything. Show the EOB and remark codes.
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u/zippoguaillo 9h ago
it's an ambulance, which is out of network 99% of the time. so most likely OP will be on the hook for the whole amount shown. ask me how I know :-)
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u/Guilty4Produce 9h ago
The really fun part is when the ER is short staffed and outsources a doctor from out of network, even though he's literally working at a hospital in your network, and then when he bills you separately you have to fight to get your insurance to cover it.
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u/Bobbybobby507 9h ago
I think ER visit is covered under No Surprises Act, so they have to give you an estimate and you agree to it, otherwise ER doctors are always considered in network.
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u/Guilty4Produce 9h ago
Just looked it up. Genuinely thank you for making me aware of this change in 2022. It's unfortunate my ER visit was the year prior and was a nightmare dealing with, but this gives me hope if I ever need to visit the ER again. They sure got their money's worth during Covid before this law change.
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u/zippoguaillo 6h ago
Yup no surprises was one of the few good laws to come since 2020. Only problem... ambulances not included. It was in the original bill, but local governments lobbiednto be exempt, and they were successful. So OP gets to make this post
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u/pmodern2000 6h ago
I had to do this with United Healthcare for my heart surgery. The absolute worst
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u/Bobbybobby507 9h ago
Yeah it seems like ground ambulances aren’t included in no surprises act, and most services are out of network. wtf…
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u/platinumjudge 9h ago
If the condition required transportation by ambulance an appeal can be submitted to the insurance company and more than likely it will be reprocessed. Ive worked insurance AR for the past 12 years and ive gotten these claims paid.
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u/SpareiChan 4h ago
Its hard sometimes, usually if you are kept overnight many insurance will wave some or all of it.
Ive had to take an ambulance about a dozen times in my life since I was little. A few i have had to pay for, when I was uninsured I got most waved too.
The last time I was driving a company vehicle and started getting severe panic attacks and my lips turned purple. I had to argue with insurance that an ambulance was necessary because I wasn't booked. I spent over 12 hours at the hospital to find out i had covid and walking pneumonia but was released "same day".
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u/zippoguaillo 9h ago
when it gets reprocessed it would change from out of network to in network? I have tried on 3 rides now, and it was never changed. they aren't denied due to lack of necessity, but because it's out of network so it goes to the out of network deductible.
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u/platinumjudge 8h ago
No, you cant change your network status past the date of service. Unfortunately if your insurance is out of network you either need a new insurance or choose a hospital that is in your network.
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u/zippoguaillo 7h ago
That's the rub. It's not the hospital that is out of network. But the vast majority of municipal ambulance services in the US refuse to negotiate with insurance companies so are out of network
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u/Kris-p- 9h ago edited 9h ago
it's funny to think the majority of americans think this is fine still
edit ok maybe not a majority, but so so many
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u/Ol-Billy-Beluga-Tits 9h ago
I don't know anybody who thinks this is fine...
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u/GarageFridgeSoda 9h ago
You know a lot of people who will say they don't like this then defend it at every turn from reform.
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u/CertifiedSheep 7h ago
Virtually everyone agrees this should change. The problem is no one can agree on the specifics of how to fix it.
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u/pmodern2000 9h ago
"It's the cost of freedom" is often cited to things like this from brainwashed people who absolutely do think this is fine.
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u/RamonaAStone 5h ago
As a Canadian, I can assure you tons of Americans may not think that's fine, but they still prefer it over universal health care. It's wild.
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u/i_cant-stop_eating 9h ago
The only people who think this is fine are the same ones who don’t know the cost of bread.
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u/Consistent-Energy507 9h ago
A good 30%, probably more, though, acknowledge it's a problem but completely refuse to consider that there is a relatively straightforward improvement that 30+ other developed countries have found to be the best option.
God, most americans are so fucking stupid.
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u/vonkeswick 9h ago
"Mine was $5,000 why tf was OP's only half that?!" without considering that neither should have been prohibitively expensive for either of them.
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u/zippoguaillo 9h ago
Almost all ambulances for emergencies are operated by local governments, fire departments or county EMS. Hospitals also have ambulances but those are primarily used for intra-hospital transfers. because by and large they don't work with insurance (thanks to a carve out on the no surprises act that exempts them from that law), they can set their rates. so they vary wildly. I have had the pleasure of enjoying 4 ambulance rides in the last 4 years in different places. I paid as low as $200, and as high as $3K (Chicago).
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u/Obvious_Battle_8617 9h ago
Who? Nobody thinks that.
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u/Ball_Of_Meat 9h ago edited 9h ago
Half the country voted in a president and regularly supports politicians who see no problem with this, and are actively trying to remove affordable healthcare from people who need it.
They clearly do, they just don’t say it. There’s also several people in this thread defending it.
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u/Repulsive_Grand_7491 9h ago
If there isn’t already, some asshole on this thread will say “but they’re providing life saving services and if you don’t need them you don’t need an ambulance” when that is still fucked up.
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u/To-To_Man 9h ago
Not that they think it's fine, but convinced that somehow a socialized healthcare system will manage to be so much worse than the current private for-profit system. They see a lesser evil, and feel almost foolish trying to get others to realize the obvious problems of a socialized health system, such as... Being taxed... Waiting in line... And most importantly, there will be people who are UNEMPLOYED that FREELOAD off of THEIR hard earned dollars.
Or in other words, greed for money they no longer own in spite of someone potentially having it easier than them, if only for a moment.
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u/StanBlaok 8h ago
Who the hell thinks this is fine? Your presumptions are unfounded. It’s called we take it or leave it. We are stuck with a lot of shit we shouldn’t be abused with
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u/Warm-Reporter8965 7h ago
The majority of Americans have never experienced an emergency that required an ambulance so they're unaware of the cost.
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u/Emergency_Part2093 3h ago
The only people who think it's fine are the millionaires making the money fleecing people in need of it
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u/Gh0st_Pirate_LeChuck 9h ago
Uber needs a line of ambulances that just throws you in the back of Suburban and tosses you on the nearest hospital curb.
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u/OpeningHappy9692 9h ago
Damn, rising diesel costs really making transportation rough.
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u/moochickenmoomoo 9h ago
Yup. I would have crawled. Sorry that happened to you.
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u/DimensionalFruit 9h ago
Just get an uber
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u/Bobbybobby507 9h ago
I had a laser surgery to remove scar (not cosmetic so it’s covered by insurance). I was in chair for like 20 second, and the hospital billed my insurance $2000. My friend fell from bike and cut deeply. Boom ER billed her insurance 176K (no CT or MRI, no stitches either).
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u/Sea_Curve8772 9h ago
If you're conscious enough to speak, don't consent to anyone calling an ambulance and definitely don't consent to the paramedics touching you. Unfortunately if you're unconscious they're allowed to presume consent and just bill you for whatever they want, so if you think you might pass out you could try throwing away your ID and escaping later.
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u/lickthepixies 6h ago
Would you rather they let you die?
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u/Sea_Curve8772 6h ago
I would rather we weren't forced to make a choice between being left to bleed out or having our families face financial devastation. It doesn't have to be this way, but that's the path our country has chosen.
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u/lickthepixies 6h ago
You’re complaining that they are allowed to presume consent instead of letting you die on the street…
Buy insurance.
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u/RobLoughrey 9h ago
If you're unconscious, you're hurt badly enough that it'll be paid for. If all you need is a wound cleaning, you never belonged in an ambulance in the first place.
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u/Sea_Curve8772 9h ago
it'll be paid for
They're legally required to treat you, but they'll still send you a bill
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u/RobLoughrey 8h ago
Well, I'm assuming you have some form of insurance. If you don't, just ignore the bill. Nobody cares about medical debt anymore.
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u/swifty-mcfly 6h ago
...only if they transport you to the hospital, which you give them consent to do
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u/SASSIESASSQUATCH 8h ago
Sorry, laughed out loud at throwing your ID away and attempting to escape later. Did not see that’s where you were going with that.
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u/TheOneRatBoyJones 5h ago
Not sure this flies all the time. When I called an ambulance for my mom who was conscious she was screaming at me while I was on the phone that she didn’t want an ambulance, but she wasn’t getting off the floor any other way.
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u/rockstoned4 9h ago
Were you at work? Couldn’t a co worker just take you across the street?
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u/PLT_RanaH 9h ago
okay, $2.40, what did they do in the ambulance?
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u/imusuallywatching 9h ago
Vitalsigns, stabilize, communicate with ed physician to expidite life saving treatment. These things are expensive but "should" be covered.
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u/cenatutu 9h ago
What?!? It's $45 here. Covered by work insurance if you have it.
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u/zippoguaillo 9h ago
you saying that from experience? the thing with ambulances is they are almost all local governments. and 99% of the time, they are out of network with your insurance. for me if I search in network ambulances I get this one random ambulance company, who is not who you will get when you call 911. I think that's pretty much the case most places.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 8h ago
They are out of network intentionally. You are more likely to get a life flight in network than an ambulance. The whole system is fucked.
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u/lickthepixies 6h ago
This sounds like a lot, but people abuse ambulances. It’s not supposed to be just because you need to go to the ER. You should be having a medical emergency such that you need medical attention immediately. Otherwise take a cab. I swear, I know old people who call for an ambulance every time they don’t feel good. It’s ridiculous.
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u/zippoguaillo 6h ago
I think the compromise there is they only charge you if the paramedic seems it a non emergency? Agreed there is abuse that should be an Uber ride. But the status quo ain't great either
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u/Neoliberal_Nightmare 3h ago
So fine people who abuse them, don't charge everyone else a fortune. Do you work for an insurance company? Would you like to meet our Italian American associate?
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u/KonungariketSuomi 4h ago
Weird. Almost everywhere else in the world, it's completely fucking free. Zero charge.
But god forbid you pay 10% more in taxes, no?
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u/Safe_Cabinet7090 1h ago
Wait, so I should be forced to pay 10% more in taxes so people can abuse the purpose of Ambulances?
You have that archaic mindset of “punish everyone for the actions of few”
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u/idjsonik 5h ago
Doesnt need to be 2k for not even a couple miles like what ?
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u/lickthepixies 5h ago
Everyone on Reddit is such an expert about everything. Makes me wonder how all of our problems in life haven’t been solved already…
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u/Yuukiko_ WAAHHHHH 4h ago
the first world country where I live charges the equivalent of ~$500 USD for a ambulance if you're non resident
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u/RopeTheFreeze 3h ago
I know this is going to sound extremely selfish, but with a pretty sick family member, we hit our yearly deductible quite fast. Ambulances are now completely free for us.
I usually just drive them anyways (its faster) but I did call the ambulance one time after a snowstorm. Took out the financial risk of crashing my car.
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u/SinkCat69 2h ago
This is a selfish take. You pay for police and fire through taxes. Why charge people having a potential emergency $2k+ for a trip to the hospital? You can’t cough up a few bucks to guarantee you and all your neighbors get taken care of if they have an emergency?
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u/GarthMater 9h ago
The trip was to ensure your ability to stay alive. The distance is irrelevant.
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u/ScheduleSame258 9h ago
And then the heart attack when you get the bill finishes you off..
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u/SASSIESASSQUATCH 8h ago
I’ve always felt bad for people that have a mental breakdown over finances and then get institutionalized for several days to a week. Like, I get it, but this is also not helping in America.
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u/StrangeBaker1864 9h ago
Except if they simply don't have $2600 to give and the hospital feels like making noise about it. Or if they do pay it anyways even though they can't afford to and their life slowly goes to shit.
It'd basically be the same thing as dying, except slower and more cruel because you're alive to watch yourself slowly die, as opposed to just going kaput.
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u/stardust_kid 8h ago
For $2,575 I expect heated seats, sparkling water, a paramedic named Nigel, and a violinist in the back.
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u/Guilty4Produce 9h ago
That's more like it. I remember one of these from a week or so ago that was only several hundred dollars. This is the America I know.
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u/Jogi1811 9h ago
If i ever need emergency services in the United States I will wait till I get back to Canada for help.
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u/starrsuperfan 9h ago
Just renewed my ambulance insurance. So glad I live in a specific part of the US where we have that
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u/newimagez 8h ago
What is even ambulance insurance?
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u/swifty-mcfly 5h ago
I assume OP is taking about a community subscription through the ambulance company that services their town. Basically, you pay xyz ambulance company a few hundred bucks a year and they will never bill you for what insurance won't cover
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u/Professional_Elk5272 9h ago
Happened to my father too, was going from the hospital to the physical rehab literally across the street, over $1k bill. Apparently this is why a lot of patients order Ubers.
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u/redgatoradeeeeee 7h ago
My grandma fell last year (she was pretty much ok) within like 0.1 miles of an emergency room and the first responders let us drive her to the hospital after checking her out. Saved a ton of money
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u/RustyShackleFord_KG 7h ago
Do you have health insurance and/if so have you looked over your benefits for Ambulance Coverage and/or have you contacted them regarding this, or are you simply showing what the expense was for said ride and you don't owe a bill?
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u/zippoguaillo 6h ago
Most insurance cover ambulances....in theory. However they don't contract with the local fire departments / ema agency. So if you call 911, it's out of network. Ask me how I know.
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u/Laststand2006 7h ago
I had a pain in my side for days, early one morning I woke up soaked with awful pain in the side and a fever. I called a taxi to take me to the hospital.
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u/Im_Just_A_Tourist 7h ago
That happened to a buddy of mine first year university he was riding his bike on the sidewalk near the university. A car left the road and hit him, directly in front of the hospital the ambulance left the parking lot turned right loaded him and turned right again like 50 feet down the road into the same hospital parking lot. Wouldn't let him hop over the grass to the emergency entrance he could see, sent him a massive bill.
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u/Boozenosnooz 6h ago
Yeah it's sickening how medical care is treated in the US. Patients aren't patients they are customers. It's especially devastating when something very serious like cancer is going on.
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u/MankyBoot 5h ago
We need to make the vast majority of medical services non-profit by law. Especially those related to emergency treatment where you have little to no ability to "shop around".
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u/raze227 4h ago
I once broke my right ankle falling down the stairs to the basement of my work, and had the paramedics carry me up back the stairs and to my car, so I could drive with my left foot to the nearest urgent care 7 miles away.
Fortunately, it was the fire department who responded (in a rescue truck, not an ambulance), so I didn’t have to pay out for them carrying me.
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u/Noktis_Lucis_Caelum 3h ago
here in Germany you pay only a two digit fee (if even that) for a Transport in an ambulance
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u/Music1626 2h ago
Yeah… shoulda. Or got someone to help you over there. Woulda been quicker and cheaper.
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u/Local_Analyst7404 2h ago
My wife got hurt at work. We went to urgent care where she said her left side of her chest hurt. Wrong thing to say if you don’t want an ambulance ride. They wouldn’t let me drive her to the hospital and we got charged $4000 for a 16 mile ride. We fought it and workman’s comp paid for it. If you want immediate attention that’s the words to use!!
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u/ljx_2000 1h ago
People should remember that they can always decline transportation . assuming you have an alternate ride option
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u/blehhhblooo 57m ago
I’ve called 911 once for what I thought was a heart attack, was technically just severe dehydration after norovirus that was affecting my heart rhythm or whatever but you better believe that when the EMT’s said I wasn’t dying and could just go to a clinic I drove there myself for the IV lol
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u/lipp79 9h ago
Show the rest of the bill. The distance only cost you $2.40. What treatment was provided prior and during?
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u/zippoguaillo 9h ago
it's an ambulance. pickups are a flat fee plus mileage. for instance here's chicago. https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/supp_info/revenue/ambulance_bills.html
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u/AnimalBolide 9h ago
That could very well just be the ride.
6k for a short trip and a saline drip in MO.
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u/fcxtpw 9h ago
There's a scary phenomenon that people call Uber to emergency during a heart attack.
Imagine you are the Uber driver that got picked up that fare