For a year and a half now, the No Surprises Act has protected patients from some of the most outrageous out-of-network medical bills. But Congress left something pretty crucial out of the law — bills from ground ambulances. 


We look at just how wild ambulance bills can be, with a story about three siblings who took identical ambulance rides — from the same car wreck to the same hospital — and got completely different bills. (Thanks to Bram Sable-Smith who reported the story for the Bill of the Month, a series from NPR and KFF Health News.). 


And we find out how ambulance bills ended up being so random — a story that takes us back to the 1970’s. 


Plus, what you can do if you get hit with an out-of-network ambulance bill:



See if you can negotiate a better deal
See if you might qualify for financial assistance. (Here’s some detailed guidance from Jared Walker of Dollar For.)
See if you’re protected under state law. At least ten states have passed laws protecting some patients from surprise ambulance bills. Check here to see if yours is one of them. 




Want to share your thoughts on how Congress should deal with out-of-network ambulance bills? A federal advisory committee wants to hear them. You can email them here.


Here’s a transcript of this episode. 


Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.


And of course we’d love for you to support this show.

For a year and a half now, the No Surprises Act has protected patients from some of the most outrageous out-of-network medical bills. But Congress left something pretty crucial out of the law — bills from ground ambulances.&nbsp; We look at just how wild ambulance bills can be, with a story about three siblings who took identical ambulance rides — from the same car wreck to the same hospital — and got completely different bills. (Thanks to Bram Sable-Smith who reported the story for the <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1113563630?ft=nprml&amp;f=919092665" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bill of the Month</a>, a series from NPR and KFF Health News.).&nbsp; And we find out how ambulance bills ended up being so random — a story that takes us back to the 1970’s.&nbsp; Plus, what you can do if you get hit with an out-of-network ambulance bill: <ul><li>See if you can negotiate a better deal</li><li>See if you might qualify for financial assistance. (Here’s <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dollarfor/video/7218377654372748587" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some detailed guidance</a> from Jared Walker of <a href="https://dollarfor.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dollar For</a>.)</li><li>See if you’re protected under state law. At least ten states have passed laws protecting some patients from surprise ambulance bills. <a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2021/protecting-consumers-surprise-ambulance-bills" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Check here</a> to see if yours is one of them.&nbsp;</li></ul> Want to share your thoughts on how Congress should deal with out-of-network ambulance bills? <a href="https://www.cms.gov/regulations-guidance/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-ground-ambulance-and-patient-billing-gapb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A federal advisory committee</a> wants to hear them. You can <a href="mailto:gapbadvisorycommittee@cms.hhs.gov" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">email them here</a>. <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Web-transcript_S10Ep01_No-Surprises-Update.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Here’s a transcript of this episode</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Send your stories and questions.</a> Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG. And of course we’d love for you to <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/match/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">support this show</a>.

An Arm and a Leg is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.

If you’ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you’re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting — you’re not always helpless. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart. 

An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with KFF Health News and distributed in partnership with KUOW.

You can support An Arm and a Leg by donating at armandalegshow.com/support/

Show Credits: Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.

An Arm and a Leg&nbsp;is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.
If you&rsquo;ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you&rsquo;re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting &mdash; you&rsquo;re not always helpless. We don&rsquo;t have all the answers, but we&rsquo;ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart.&nbsp;
An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/">KFF Health News</a> and distributed in partnership with <a href="https://www.kuow.org/">KUOW</a>.
You can support An Arm and a Leg&nbsp;by donating at <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/">armandalegshow.com/support/</a>
<hr>
Show Credits:&nbsp;Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.

An Arm and a Leg

Ambulance rides are one of the most common sources of surprise medical bills. So why did Congress leave them out of the No Surprises Act?

Advertisement