Family reacts to ambulance bill not covered by insurance

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Daviess County officials say AMR, the only ambulance provider in the area, does not have an agreement to accept insurance from major private providers like Anthem.

This means you could get hit with a big bill unexpectedly, even if you thought you were covered.

Daviess County Fiscal Court Judge Executive Charlie Castlen tells me the county and city made an agreement with AMR back in 2019.

At the time, Castlen says officials only had a few months’ notice their last provider would stop service.

He says because of this the county only had a handful of bids to choose from.

Other county officials say they’ve urged AMR since then to get in network, but as of yet it hasn’t happened.

Amber Vanover says her family was caught off guard with a bill of more than $3,400 when her five-year-old got sick.

“Your heart sinks, especially when you just got out of the hospital with your sick kid,” said Vanover. “I mean, it’s the last thing you’d need to worry about when you pay for medical insurance.”

Regional director for AMR’s parent company Global Medical Response Paul Phillips sent us a statement saying, in part:

As care providers, American Medical Response (AMR), understands the importance of in-network agreements and their impact on our patients, and we work continuously with insurance providers to establish agreements whenever possible. We are currently engaged in a meaningful discussion with Anthem on a national level about an in-network agreement. However, we remain open to having a more localized discussion regarding an agreement in the state of Kentucky.

We’ve reached out to Anthem as well, and we’ll update you when we know more.

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