Oklahoma woman frustrated, upset after receiving ambulance bill she said she shouldn't have been issued
She said she pays for EMSA care, which is supposed to cover ambulance rides for her and anyone in her household.
She said she pays for EMSA care, which is supposed to cover ambulance rides for her and anyone in her household.
She said she pays for EMSA care, which is supposed to cover ambulance rides for her and anyone in her household.
An Oklahoma woman is frustrated and upset after getting an ambulance bill she said she should have never been issued.
She said she pays for EMSAcare, which is supposed to cover ambulance rides for her and anyone in her household. After needing an emergency ride in December, she was shocked to get a bill for more than $2,200.
Suzanne Olds said she was told the issue was because of where she lives, which is right on the line of Yukon and Oklahoma City. Even though she did nothing wrong, she was told she would have to foot the bill.
"It has literally been a nightmare. Nobody wants to help," Olds said.
She said she was on the phone all day, trying to figure out why she was issued an ambulance bill for over $2,200.
"So frustrating. I was literally at my wit's end," Olds said.
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Olds has an autoimmune disorder, and back in December, she went to the urgent care after not feeling well. The doctors there told her she needed to go to the hospital.
"They informed me that they would be calling EMSA to transport me," Olds said.
She was treated and released and she didn't even think about the cost of the ambulance ride.
"I thought no big deal, I pay for EMSA through my OKC waters. I know I have been paying for it since we moved here," Olds said.
Olds is enrolled in EMSAcare, where OKC residents can pay a small fee every month through their water bill and in exchange, it covers their EMSA service.
"I don't have any kind of ambulance coverage. I thought that was something I could pay for each month that gives me peace of mind, especially with my illness," Olds said.
She was shocked when she saw the bill in the mail over the weekend.
"I got back online and made sure I was enrolled and made sure there wasn't any booboos there," Olds said.
The problem, she was told, is that her address is Yukon, even though she pays OKC Utilities.
"My EMSAcare will not pay that bill," Olds said.
Even though her EMSAcare is up to date and the urgent care she was transported from is in OKC, a different ambulance service showed up.
"There has got to be a glitch that is fixed in this. It is wrong on so many levels," Olds said.
After some digging, EMSA sent KOCO 5 a statement saying, "EMSA’s billing department will work with our EMS colleagues to determine what happened on this call and make sure it does not happen in the future. In the interim, this resident’s EMSAcare membership will cover any out-of-pocket costs they may have incurred as a result of this emergency transport."
"I reached out and thank God I did because I feel like if it wasn't for you guys bringing them and their feet to the fire, I don't think anything would have changed," Olds said.
Olds said she was thankful her situation was taken care of but wanted to tell her story in case something like this happened to someone who might be in a similar situation.
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