NJ man shocked when bill for ambulance ride throws him into collections 2 years later
MORRIS PLAINS, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey husband and father got the scare of his life, not when he took an unexpected ride to the Emergency Room, but when he got a bill two years later.
"I got dizzy, I fell this way. I must have bounced off this corner right here with my ribs. I wound up here in the driveway," said Kenneth Doss, patient.
It was a 911 emergency when Doss blacked out and broke two ribs in his Morris Plains driveway.
"I didn't know if I punctured a lung. I started to sweat profusely. My heart started to race. I was getting chest pains the whole bit. My wife and daughter got out of the car and came running out. Oh, my God. What happened? What happened? They tried. They were frantic. My wife calls 911," he said.
EMS was dispatched.
"It was all a blur," Doss said.
He was placed on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance, and taken to the ER. But, it's what happened two years later that nearly put him in cardiac arrest: a collection notice.
"The amount was for $8,502.37," Doss said.
The ambulance brought Doss to the nearest hospital, which is less five miles away from his home.
Break down the $8,500, and it cost him $1,700 per mile.
"It's exorbitant. When you're talking about $8,500 for a trip to the hospital, I think it's crazy expensive," Doss said.
Doss says he only received this notice, a final notice to pony up $8,500 for that ambulance ride from back in 2022 just a few months ago, and now that huge bill landed him, not in the hospital, but in collections.
He said he never got anything in the mail.
Doss filed an appeal, and here's the knock-out gut punch those ribs of his, the appeal was denied. Aetna stated he was outside the time window to dispute the bill.
"Oh, you only have 18 months to file an appeal. Well, I can't file an appeal unless I know that there's a bill to begin with," Doss said. "This is wrong. This is absolutely wrong."
7 On Your Side asked Aetna to escalate and within hours of our email, they told us they were pleased to reopen the case. The insurance company agreed to pay Doss' ambulance bill in full.
"I could have done a cartwheel!" he said. "They are paying the amount of $8,502! This is all because of 7 On Your Side. I would still be on the hook if not for this," he said. "Thank you so much for getting involved. Because without you, without you, there is no way. There is...I don't have words. There's just no way."
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