Accident victims who have insurance would be able to worry a little less about the cost of an ambulance ride under legislation approved by the Georgia House Wednesday.
House Bill 961 would require that insurers bill their customers the same whether or not the ambulance was in network.
“If I have a heart attack, I’m not going to negotiate,” said Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, the bill’s chief sponsor. “Get me to the hospital quick!”
He said he was moved to introduce the measure after a constituent complained about a $4,500 charge for a 10-mile ambulance ride.
Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, said the Legislature ought to investigate the underlying costs. Powell said he understood why ambulances charge as much as they do. The vehicles are not cheap, and neither are the skilled medics, he said.
So, he focused on the insurance companies.
HB 961, should it pass the Senate, would also establish minimum reimbursement rates for out-of-network ambulance providers, either by contract or by setting them at 300% of Medicare reimbursement rates.
Powell was not the only House member concerned about surprise insurance bills for ambulance rides: the House voted 174-1 to send his legislation to the Senate.
This story available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
