Ambulance Chasing

It wasn’t until I had my stroke in 2002 that I realized the true cost of healthcare. I saw the ambulance charge for the ride that went from the Moose Lodge on Lidgerwood at that time to the nearest hospital not more than perhaps a mile away, tops. 

Years later I found a similar charge for my father going from a clinic to an adult care facility in the Spokane Valley. If there was a choice then I’d take it, but in an emergency, we consumers of immediate healthcare, that’s not an option. 

Here’s something I never heard before that I thought quite interesting, since I’m a wordsmith. Most insurers and regulators try avoiding the term “overcharging.” Instead it’s called “structural pricing conflict.” 

It’s pretty interesting that ambulance services are out of network on purpose and zero competition. I always assumed that if you were in say a fire department where ambulance services were part of their priorities that the bill would be less since it’s on the taxpayer’s dime, but that’s not true either. Because these public services have no competition, they too charge what they believe is a fair price for them. 

It’s not like you or I can just go to the yellow pages and compare prices or rates when we are involved in an accident or are shot or injured by some other accident or misfortune. We’re at the mercy of these companies and they know it. Of course then they can charge what they believe is fair for them. 

Now in their defense they are the second line of triage care for help in saving one’s life following first responders, who are tasked with assessing their injuries and stabilizing him or her when the ambulance arrives. This care continues until the patient arrives at the nearest hospital. All of these life-savers are highly trained and schooled. 

You could ask what about that law of no surprise billing in healthcare passed and signed in 2022? Well, ground ambulances are exempt from that law, so they can still charge rates to the insurance providers with the expectation that you and I will be responsible for the remainder. 

I thought this was a scam but it’s something we all grudgingly accept because when your life is on the line you and I don’t really care how much it will cost us or how we ended up in the hands of professionals who can put us back together again and live to talk about it.