People are starting to consider taking an Uber to the ER after one patient’s story on Reddit revealed an expensive ambulance ride, from across the street. Halfrican_Panda posted to r/mildlyinfuriating, explaining how they had been charged $2577 for paramedics taking them from an office building directly across from the hospital. Since they were lightheaded and had blurry vision, walking over wasn’t a safe option. However, after seeing the bill, Panda wrote that they “shoulda crawled over to the hospital.”
For context, they were actually only charged $2.40 for the mileage, aka the distance they traveled in the ambulance to the hospital. Conversely, the emergency transport itself was what cost over $2,500. The obvious reason is that ambulance rides aren’t billed like an Uber or taxi; patients need to consider the paramedics’ time, the equipment, and other factors, not just the mileage.
What sparked concern among a lot of Redditors was that this post showed it doesn’t matter how far someone is transported for an ambulance ride to cost them a small fortune. Not to mention, these ambulance services sometimes aren’t even covered by billing protections. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “they’re still allowed to charge out-of-network rates.”
People Fear They Can Only Afford Uber in Emergency Situations
Redditors in the comments noted that it’s a scary situation for both the passenger and the Uber driver when someone calls them for a ride to the ER. “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,” wrote a user. “It’s funny to think the majority of Americans think this is fine still,” expressed another, blaming the country’s medical care system for such pricing.
“Where I live, they charge you $250 just to show up at your house! And it is not covered by insurance,” claimed a third.
As to what someone can do if they receive one of these ambulance bills, the CMS suggests first checking whether their particular state offers protections. Then, the patient can contact the ambulance provider about lowering the bill or making it more accessible to pay. It’s also crucial to double-check what one’s insurance actually covers and look for financial assistance resources if need be.
