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Can FDNY/EMS charge twice for one ambulance ride?
Anonymous4 views4 answers
My daughter was a planned home birth but she had some respiratory problems so our midwife decided we need to call for an ambulance to the hospital. The ride was to transport our daughter, not my wife. One of us had to accompany our newborn daughter so my wife went. I just received two separate ambulance bills for my wife and my newborn daughter. My wife wasn't even admitted to the E.R. when we arrived. I will pay for my daughter's ride to the E.R. but not my wife's ride. Looking for suggestions on the next step to take.
Michael Christopher BurrChapter 13 Bankruptcy AttorneyChicago, IL ·
I am amazed that after giving birth, your wife received no medical treatment from the paramedics. If true though, you might have an argument for saying your wife should not be charged. I think the best thing to do is speak with the hospital administration and make an offer to settle. If you have the case and are willing to pay now rather than drag things out with collections, they may give you a discount.
Call the company that sent you the bill and explain what occurred.
If they agree to only bill you for the baby, confirm
that in writing. If they won't help, find out the correct department
or person who can help you and also follow up on writing until you
get it resolved.
I think you have a losing battle here. In my experience, most ambulance companies charge for the number of people that are transported, not the number of vehicles used or the number of people that are admitted to a hospital. Your wife had just given birth, so it was reasonable to treat her as a separate patient. If this was a case of riding along with the child in an ambulance after a fall down on the playground, and the parent had no medical reason to be in the ambulance, I think you would have a more legitimate complaint. My advice is to try to work this out with the ambulance company, rather than go to the expense of getting an attorney involved.
It certainly seems that you have a reasonable position. Have you tried to discuss it with someone that has the ultimate decision making authority there?
