Infinite_Carpenter t1_j9pd22n wrote on February 23, 2023 at 4:56 PM

Reply to comment by arbrady in FDNY wants to up the cost of ambulance rides by more than 50% by NYY657545

My wife was hit by a car while biking and a bystander called an ambulance. My wife refused treatment and we still got a $2000 bill. Mount Sinai told us there isn’t even an office we could call to contest the bill.

Tatar_Kulchik t1_j9pgw35 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 5:20 PM

Call the Attorney's General office. They got a $6K bill I received from a hospital reduced to $0 because it violated some law.

Also, don't have to call, you can fill out a form online and they will call you.

medievalkitty2 t1_j9qrsil wrote on February 23, 2023 at 10:08 PM

NY passed a bill earlier this year that prohibits surprise medical billing. If you are in a situation where you do not have control over which doctor ends up being your provider - say a hospital anesthesiologist - you are not on the hook for their bill.

Infinite_Carpenter t1_j9qarl3 wrote on February 23, 2023 at 8:24 PM

The driver’s insurance paid it but that’s good to know.

deckerthehalls t1_j9qgwzj wrote on February 23, 2023 at 9:02 PM

The billing varies by agency. Some places won't bill you at all unless you actually get transported to the hospital, and others will bill you just for being seen.

Infinite_Carpenter t1_j9qhmqd wrote on February 23, 2023 at 9:06 PM

Yeah, I don’t think they touched her.

deckerthehalls t1_j9recea wrote on February 24, 2023 at 12:42 AM

You also get double billed for hospitals because FDNY bills for an NYC ambulance in addition to the actual hospital. I forgot how exactly the bill looks.

polski71 t1_j9tbu80 wrote on February 24, 2023 at 12:26 PM

And you don’t get a choice for city ambulance (fdny) or non city (mt sinai, presby etc). I know for fdny there’s supposed to only be a bill for complete transports, but I always wondered if the rules were different for voluntary hospital units. It’s closest available unit when you dial 911 so it’s a dice roll if that’s fdny, or other

deckerthehalls t1_j9te86x wrote on February 24, 2023 at 12:50 PM

Correct. The voluntary hospitals generally service the immediate area around them, but they can go pretty far depending on the agency. I mean I've been sent to entirely different boros while I'm working. You could call 911 in Manhattan and get a hospital unit from Queens or Brooklyn depending on what it is and where and what units are available.

Generally speaking though, the billing issue varies by agency. I know that Northwell ambulances do not bill unless you're transported. Pretty sure NYU and Presby are like that too. I guess Mount Sinai and others bill for RMA/AMA (refused medical attention). You can get around that by literally saying "no thanks I'm good" and walking away from them if you don't want help. Altho if you or someone else called an ambulance for you, chances are that there's something concerning and you should at least be evaluated if not transported. For me, I'd have to be unconscious to go by ambulance bc I'm stubborn.

EMS providers vary widely tho. I'll say that. Sometimes you get an excellent crew. Other times you're getting Dumb and Dumber. The EMS system in NYC and nationwide is hemorrhaging from the inside. We lost a LOT of great people before and during COVID, and it's hard to recruit good people now too. People don't wanna work in this profession anymore bc of the poor treatment and pay that we get. I don't regret my time in EMS tho.