In January 2024, I woke up in the middle of the night with chest pain and a heart rate too rapid to…read moremeasure. I called 911 and was told paramedics could come and take my vitals. Perinton Ambulance arrived, talked to me at my door for a minute while I was in deep distress, and then told me they could not take my vitals unless I consented to an ambulance ride to the ER. Then, they got back in their rig and waited like an Uber driver while I personally struggled to get dressed to go to the hospital (it was 3am) - completely alone, during a state of terror and pain.
But that's not the worst part. 2.5 YEARS later, in late May 2026, I received a call from a debt collector saying I owed an unidentified business $2,300. At first, I thought it was a scam, as my credit is good and my credit app showed zero delinquent accounts or active collection attempts. But after calling them back and providing scary personal information, I learned they were collecting on behalf of Perinton Ambulance!
I was shocked - as I had high-quality health insurance coverage then (and now) and my ambulance copay at the time was just $150. In addition, I never received any call, email, or mail from Perinton Ambulance since 2024. The first notice I received was from a debt collector, which could have led to collection or credit consequences - especially since I assumed it was a scam, in this day and age.
I had since moved to a new city, and had different health insurance now, so I spent the next hours looking for old paperwork, and waiting on hold with my old insurance company. When they were finally able to confirm my account, they were able to find the claim and told me that their records showed the claim had been processed/paid and that my patient responsibility was only my copay - especially over 2 years later.
What transpired next was just as shocking - the helpful health insurance rep offered to call both the debt collector and Perinton Ambulance with me on the line (she was amazing). But the debt collector was of little help - they said I had a right to appeal and would receive an "appeal packet" in the mail within 30 days, wonderful.
Then we tried calling Perinton Ambulance. Eventually, a man named Robert called us back, and I am still stunned at what he said. I merged the call with the health insurance rep and Perinton Ambulance, and then I was a witness to an outrageous argument between the health insurance rep and "Robert," who claimed Fidelis had only paid them ~$150 (my copay amount), and when they were unable to attain the charged ~$2,300 from my health insurance - even though they could see that contractually I only had a $150 copay and Fidelis told them in 3 different claim adjustments that I was covered and only owed $150 - they had no choice but to come after the patient for it.
The Fidelis rep then proceeded to politely reprimand the ambulance worker, saying that the issue should have been escalated directly with Fidelis through proper channels - not pursued against the patient. A heated back and forth ensued with me just caught in the crossfire, stunned. Fidelis said they would be escalating to their grievance department and filing a complaint with New York State on my behalf.
Robert sounded frustrated and said "they'd call me back," and became defensive, and when I interrupted calmly (as I sensed the call was about to end) to ask for his name and phone number, or the name of a manager, the call suddenly disconnected.
This whole process took ~3 hours during a work day, looking for old files, and navigating phone calls with old insurance companies, opaque debt collectors, and ambulance companies that don't answer the phone.
The medical system in this country is broken, and if you're not killed by a heart problem (terrifying enough as that is), you might feel like you are slowly being killed by the Kafkaesque, dystopian, predatory system we ironically call "healthcare" in this country.
