ATLANTA — It’s the last thing you want to be thinking about in a medical emergency -- what is this going to cost?

But if an ambulance ride is necessary, even if it’s just a couple of miles, it could cost you thousands of dollars.

Channel 2′s Justin Gray learned that ambulance rides were intentionally exempt from a surprise billing law that Congress passed in 2021.

Out-of-network insurance charges from ground ambulance rides can run thousands of dollars.

Gray learned that 50% of all ambulance rides end up with an out-of-network bill.

“I just had one of those bad moments that you hope never happens,” said Sherri Fellicia, who was recently T-boned by a car at a Duluth intersection. “I was in my car upside down and I heard sirens.”

Jennifer Page had an extreme allergic reaction and had to use her EpiPen. “Basically, I couldn’t breathe,” Page said.

Chris Quinn was having heart trouble. “It was an emergency. I don’t really have a choice as to who comes and picks me up in an ambulance,” Quinn said.

Regardless of the type of medical emergency, when you call 911, you need immediate help -- fast. You aren’t thinking about the bill.

“Am I supposed to ask 911 if they’re covered under my insurance company? Because I couldn’t breathe,” Page said.

What each of these people later learned is that the help they received came with a big cost their insurance did not pay.

It was exactly that kind of medical bill stress that led Congress to propose the No Surprises Act that became law in 2022.

But it carved out one service -- you have no control over ground ambulance rides that were not included in the new protections, essentially deeming the problem too complicated to solve.

Stay with 95.5 WSB for more on the work underway to stop this from happening,

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