Only in some cases. Your health insurance may pay for treatment deemed a “medical necessity” but force you to pay a deductible for less urgent care. An ambulance company not in your network will cost you more.
California Highway Accidents and Ambulance Care
After a frightening collision on a California freeway, highway, or boulevard, you’ll probably welcome the sight of an ambulance and paramedics. They can provide life-saving treatment and get you to the emergency room as fast as possible.
While suffering from a serious injury, you may not have time to worry about the cost of that ambulance ride and the treatment administered on the scene. After things have stabilized, this question of fees might be very important, especially if an at-fault driver tries to stick you with your recovery costs.
It’s critical that victims in accidents avoid paying a single cent for ambulance and hospital care after a collision they weren’t to blame for. Maison Law of California offers a free consultation to all traffic accident victims. It’s a no-risk way to find out how to best hold a careless driver’s car insurance fully accountable for your medical expenses so you don’t have to rely on your own health insurance.
Determining What You’ll Pay for an Ambulance Ride After a California Accident
This question of who pays for an ambulance after an accident becomes all the more important when you see the incredible costs of transport after an injury.
The costs are hard to pin down because cities and towns often set their own rates. Different companies also charge differently from county to county. And as you can imagine the costs for care vary greatly between the largest California cities and the smaller towns.
The California Ambulance Association (CAA) finds that the average ambulance trip in California is around $600.
San Francisco ambulance fees have recently risen to around $2,300 for patients needing basic level care (BLC) and advanced level care (ALC). Also factored into patient bills is a $40 per mile fee for each trip. These fees are adjusted every year.
In 2022, The Los Angeles Fire Department billed patients around $1,747 for a BLC response. They charged $2,463 when ALC care was required. A $20 per mile fee is also added.
InsuranceQuotes.com reports that in a place like San Luis Obispo County, the base ambulance rate is $1,947 a trip.
Responsibility for California Ambulance Costs
When left to depend on your health insurance to provide support for your medical care, you can quickly become frustrated.
Emergency room care, hospital stays, and physical therapy can quickly rack up bills in the thousands of dollars and it may not be clear what’s covered and what isn’t. Your health insurance provider could foot some of this bill, but an ambulance fee may be a gray area.
These are just some of the factors that can affect how much of your ambulance ride your health insurance company will cover:
- Insurance companies usually pay 100% for when care is deemed a “medical necessity.” This means your health condition and injury require immediate attention. Providers can have different definitions of what is and isn’t a necessity.
- The type of medical care provided. The type of medical equipment used. The salaries paramedics earn in your city.
- Health insurance limits. Some health insurance is better than others. You’ll have picked your level of coverage based on what you could pay and the different levels of policies offered.
- Level of deductibles and co-pays. Some policies won’t help you with any medical bills until you’ve met (paid) a certain deductible amount for the year. This deductible may be $1,000 or it may be $5,000 or some other sum spelled out in your insurance contract. Some plans already lay out that the insurer will cover part of an ambulance fee and the insured will cover part of the fee through a co-pay.
- In-Network Ambulances. Some ambulance companies will be in your healthcare network and some won’t. You may have to pay a large portion for your transport if a company isn’t in the network.
- Air Ambulance. Your health insurance provider may pay for some or all of a helicopter ride if your injuries are serious enough. If your provider doesn’t fully cover the flight, you can expect a scary bill.
Avoiding Relying on Your Health Insurance After a Traffic Accident
When an accident wasn’t your fault, you shouldn’t have to do this sort of frustrating math when dealing with your health insurance company. Careless and reckless drivers should be footing the bill through their car insurance policy.
In some cases, your health insurance might have to cover the costs of healthcare and ambulance treatment while an insurance settlement is negotiated. As soon as your injury settlement check arrived, the health insurance company could be repaid and you would be reimbursed for every deductible you covered.
Things like your lost time at work while healing and your physical pain and emotional trauma suffered could also be compensated in a California accident claim. When you aren’t sure if you should be paying for your own recovery or not, talk to a California car accident lawyer. A free consultation is a great way to find out if you have a case that would earn compensation.
Contact a California Car Accident Lawyer
After you or a loved one are hurt in a serious car accident, discuss your case with an experienced California Traffic Accident Attorney as soon as possible. You should know about your rights and the benefits available to hopefully avoid battling your own health insurance representative to get injury support.
Attorney Martin Gasparian offers a free and confidential case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian works hard to make sure clients are allowed to rebuild their health and their lives without worrying over hospital bills, ambulance fees, and lost paychecks.
