Hey everyone. I hate to be reaching out like this, but I have no other options left. A few weeks ago, I overslept and missed my school bus. Thankfully, my dad, who works as a local EMT, was nice enough to give me a ride to school in his ambulance before he went into work.
A few days later, I got a letter in the mail from the EMT provider saying that I owed them almost $2,000 for the 7 minute ambulance trip. I tried talking with my dad about it, but he just told me that it was standard procedure and that our insurance won’t cover the bill.
I don’t know what to do. Some people told me that calling the EMT provider and trying to negotiate down the cost sometimes works, but I tried that and they just told me that if I didn’t pay what I owed, they’d summon a collections agency on me.
I asked my dad why this bill is so high and he said that I’m mostly getting charged for all the medical equipment in the vehicle, even though I never touched any of it because I was sitting in the fucking front seat the whole time. The only thing I used in that ambulance was the hand sanitizer, which I’m now getting billed $350 for.
My dad did promise to give me my allowance early, but even that won’t be enough to cover the cost. I have no job right now and I won’t be able to find steady work until I graduate from college in 6 years. That’s why I’m looking for outside support to get me through this.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Next time I miss the bus, I’ll be sure to get a ride from an ambulance that isn’t out of network.