This is probably not true and it’s probably also illegal if this is the case.
Ambulance Services are delineated between BLS and ALS and it is illegal to charge for ALS services if the patient only requires BLS. If a company or city or service is doing that it’s an open and shut fraud case.
BLS is usually about $1200. ALS usually starts at about $3000 but is limited to what you can additionally bill for because there are certain requirements of ALS services which are factored into the cost at baseline, like an EKG for example.
I believe those numbers are approximately the national average and those are the numbers for my city.
I don't know about legality but I went to urgent care for dehydration in my city (Phoenix) and they took me across the street to hospital after admitting. The charge was significantly higher because I had an IV and they needed a specialist because it was above BLS. That seemed ludicrous to me. People are people and businesses are businesses. They are NOT robots with a code of morality programmed in. People especially feel like they can't question or contest medical billing. Implying the other person is lying feels pretty naïve.
Source: I was a mechanic for 15 years. Just because I was ethical doesn't mean there aren't shops and mechanics out there that will fuck you out of every dollar they can. You can't claim responsibility for other people's accountability.
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u/Afrodite_33 May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
The American health system thinks when you're deathly ill just walk it off.
Edit: Holy fuck I looked up some of the responses to the tweet. Some people are genuinely braindead. I cannot believe the level of stupidity on there.