Ambulance Service scam?

[BOP]

I've heard about surprise medical bills, which is basically when your medical insurance doesn't pay the full amount and the creditor turns around and tries to collect from you.

I had one a few years ago after an accident. The thing was, they never notified me, but instead turned it over to a credit collection agency. I politely told the credit collection agency that I did not have a contract with them, and to please kindly f*ck off.

Then I called the creditor and told them what I told the collection agency, and said I'd be willing to pay them directly - for a small discount. So, they agreed and knocked 10% off, and I gave them my credit card number.

The worst part of it was that it was less than $100.00. I did let them know that I was not happy that they would immediately send this to collections without reasonably attempting to contact me.

Anyway, I had a vertigo incident back in July. So I go to the post office today, and there's a bill in the mail from (and I quote):

The return address on the envelope is Ambulance Billing Office (same address below).

Calvert County Commissioners
PO Box 726
New Cumberland, PA 17070
Phone: (877) 214-6018 Fax: (877) 215-1546
Email: info@ambulancebillingoffice.com


Then it says:

This is not a bill.
This is a request for insurance information to enable us to submit a claim for our services.​

And it goes on asking all the usual over-sharing of personal information (front and back).

Another unusual sentence reads as follows:
"As a community resident, we are only asking for you to pay for the cost sharing that was applied to your account (here's the important part) by your insurance carrier."

Blah, blah, blah, sounds like bullshite.

Sincerely,
Calvert County Commissioners

My question is (once you look past the relatively well-worded, yet structurally awkward parts): if you've been partially paid, how is it that you need all this information from me - information that you SHOULD have gotten from the hospital?

I mean, I never saw a bill from anyone for the ambulance ride to the new Medical Center up north, yet suddenly, somebody wants money ($900.00) to go from the Ranch Estates to Calvert Memorial, and nothing had changed.

 

[kwillia]

St. Mary’s started billing a couple years ago. They first bill the insurance based of information received from St. Mary’s hospital. Then once insurance settles the send a bill for remainder insurance didn’t cover. They changed about 1k for a 10 minute ride.

The bill to patient is a soft bill. They ask for remaining balance but do not send to collections if not paid.

 

[NOTSMC]

St. Mary’s started billing a couple years ago. They first bill the insurance based of information received from St. Mary’s hospital. Then once insurance settles the send a bill for remainder insurance didn’t cover. They changed about 1k for a 10 minute ride.

The bill to patient is a soft bill. They ask for remaining balance but do not send to collections if not paid.

That was a bit of a shocker for me. My son has been in an ambulance half a dozen times or more. Got a bill for $1200 in the mail yesterday.

 

[kwillia]

That was a bit of a shocker for me. My son has been in an ambulance half a dozen times or more. Got a bill for $1200 in the mail yesterday.

Send them the insurance info and they will accept what insurance covers.

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...

Let's all try to understand this .... We all pay taxes, property taxes, income taxes, etc., to fund such emergency services. Then after the thousands we pay every year, govement wants to bend us over even more, as a proxy, and charge us for the same service we already pay for through taxation. In addition to increasing insurance premiums by trying to bill insurance companies. No not comply since you did not consent.

So no more financially supporting the emergency services? No more attending annual carnivals put on by any EMS. No more writing checks from those annual mailings looking for contributions. No more giving money in any form at all to any EMS service. They want to go down this road, fukem all.

 

[StadEMS3]

Volunteer EMS used to be a free service. However the system SO abused that most EMS stations can't keep up with the call volume; I would bet +80% of calls for an ambulance are not an emergency. We've even implemented non-emergency response for many calls now; no need to go lights and siren for a stubbed toe or a runny nose. Volunteer EMS started charging for transports, but not going after anyone who doesn't or can't pay after insurance coverage. The fee's help pay for worn out ambulances, falling apart stations, supplies, training, and other costs of running a volunteer service. Taxes collected aren't enough anymore due to the call volume and rising costs of everything.

People don't want to volunteer anymore to run BS calls (taxi rides) or they are simply too busy in their personal lives. Now all stations are supplemented if not fully staffed with paid crews which do charge for all services. I'd give it 10yrs if not sooner and most volunteer stations will no longer exist. I've been volunteering almost 30yrs and there are many times I feel like throwing in the towel, but that one call you actually save a life makes it worth all the BS we deal with.

 

[BOP]

For your consideration ...

Let's all try to understand this .... We all pay taxes, property taxes, income taxes, etc., to fund such emergency services. Then after the thousands we pay every year, govement wants to bend us over even more, as a proxy, and charge us for the same service we already pay for through taxation. In addition to increasing insurance premiums by trying to bill insurance companies. No not comply since you did not consent.

So no more financially supporting the emergency services? No more attending annual carnivals put on by any EMS. No more writing checks from those annual mailings looking for contributions. No more giving money in any form at all to any EMS service. They want to go down this road, fukem all.

I'm gonna check with Mediscare and Aetna (FEHP) and see if it's legit. If it is, I may have to reconsider that $1,500.00 check I write to SVFD. Oh, and I raise it 3% a year to account for inflation.

 

[BOP]

Volunteer EMS used to be a free service. However the system SO abused that most EMS stations can't keep up with the call volume; I would bet +80% of calls for an ambulance are not an emergency. We've even implemented non-emergency response for many calls now; no need to go lights and siren for a stubbed toe or a runny nose. Volunteer EMS started charging for transports, but not going after anyone who doesn't or can't pay after insurance coverage. The fee's help pay for worn out ambulances, falling apart stations, supplies, training, and other costs of running a volunteer service. Taxes collected aren't enough anymore due to the call volume and rising costs of everything.

People don't want to volunteer anymore to run BS calls (taxi rides) or they are simply too busy in their personal lives. Now all stations are supplemented if not fully staffed with paid crews which do charge for all services. I'd give it 10yrs if not sooner and most volunteer stations will no longer exist. I've been volunteering almost 30yrs and there are many times I feel like throwing in the towel, but that one call you actually save a life makes it worth all the BS we deal with.

Well, and I saw it in Commiefornia, many decades ago, now, when I was doing the EMT course. That was, shoot, sometime in the '70s. Even then, a certain demographic *cough*that couldn't speak English*cough* used ERs as their primary care - despite the fact that even back then, there were lots of urgent care places. Now they're like churches and mortuaries in Virginia - one on every corner.

And it wasn't just them. A lot of homeless used ambulances as taxis to get across town. Even the hookers would do it, as well as the occasional bar who would call for a wasted patron - which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did waste a lot of resources.

I saw it back in the '90s in Philly, when I did ride-alongs with 2nd Alarmers, which was made up with a lot of folks from Philadelphia FD who were fed up with all the BS they had to put up with in the shity, including taking fire. It wasn't nearly as bad in Bucks and Montgomery county, but even private ambulance services being used as taxis was bad enough. And that's not to mention the fine, upstanding citizens who would try to get an ambulance to hit them in order to win the ghetto lottery. Even though it was the 'burbs.

 

[NOTSMC]

Volunteer EMS used to be a free service. However the system SO abused that most EMS stations can't keep up with the call volume; I would bet +80% of calls for an ambulance are not an emergency. We've even implemented non-emergency response for many calls now; no need to go lights and siren for a stubbed toe or a runny nose. Volunteer EMS started charging for transports, but not going after anyone who doesn't or can't pay after insurance coverage. The fee's help pay for worn out ambulances, falling apart stations, supplies, training, and other costs of running a volunteer service. Taxes collected aren't enough anymore due to the call volume and rising costs of everything.

People don't want to volunteer anymore to run BS calls (taxi rides) or they are simply too busy in their personal lives. Now all stations are supplemented if not fully staffed with paid crews which do charge for all services. I'd give it 10yrs if not sooner and most volunteer stations will no longer exist. I've been volunteering almost 30yrs and there are many times I feel like throwing in the towel, but that one call you actually save a life makes it worth all the BS we deal with.

Greatest respect for those that volunteer their time to go through the training process and all the updates they must have to go through to keep current, not to mention some of the less than grateful people they transport. I can also understand that it costs money to keep these volunteer in decent working equipment.

I wasn't totally surprised that my son got a bill in the mail since I vaguely heard rumors that Maryland or this country had gone that way. He's on Medicare/Tricare for Life; fairly certain he'll be covered. I feel for the other handicapped people that I know that are a lot like my son w/o the good insurance to cover.

Just my two cents. Thank you for your service.

 

[StadEMS3]

Well, and I saw it in Commiefornia, many decades ago, now, when I was doing the EMT course. That was, shoot, sometime in the '70s. Even then, a certain demographic *cough*that couldn't speak English*cough* used ERs as their primary care - despite the fact that even back then, there were lots of urgent care places. Now they're like churches and mortuaries in Virginia - one on every corner.

And it wasn't just them. A lot of homeless used ambulances as taxis to get across town. Even the hookers would do it, as well as the occasional bar who would call for a wasted patron - which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did waste a lot of resources.

I saw it back in the '90s in Philly, when I did ride-alongs with 2nd Alarmers, which was made up with a lot of folks from Philadelphia FD who were fed up with all the BS they had to put up with in the shity, including taking fire. It wasn't nearly as bad in Bucks and Montgomery county, but even private ambulance services being used as taxis was bad enough. And that's not to mention the fine, upstanding citizens who would try to get an ambulance to hit them in order to win the ghetto lottery. Even though it was the 'burbs.

Yes to all of that and it still goes on! "Can you bring me back home after the ER removes my splinter...?"

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...

So, Calvert County is extorting extra monies for ambulance usage under the guise of "recouping". And yet, today, this morning, going on right now, are EMS personnel with their apparati very close by with lights flashing, and with boot in hand, with about 4-5 per standing at intersections from Solomons on up to the Weis Shopping Center, begging for handouts.

It appears others are frowned upon doing the same, but these folks get a pass.

I wonder what the County does with that extorted money anyway?