A Utah couple who thought their insurance would cover their 2-month-old’s trip to the hospital were surprised to find themselves on the hook for an ambulance bill totaling $2898.
Robyne and Michael Gallagher told Fox 13 the bill resulted from a trip to the hospital and subsequent transfer when their son Alden hit his head and was admitted to the hospital overnight for monitoring.
The Gallaghers discovered there were no in-network ambulances operating in their area. Insurance covered approximately $13,000 in hospital medical costs, but not the out-of-network ambulance costs.
The human resources department at the company where Robyne Gallagher works was able to get the bill reduced. Surprise ambulance bills like the Gallaghers’ case are common, costing patients around $129 million annually, according to healthcare research organizations.
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