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Air Ambulance Bill Your Insurance Won't Cover

Use the free tool — Surprise Bill Shield

Air ambulance is covered by the No Surprises Act

Since 2022, the federal No Surprises Act bans surprise bills for emergency care — and that includes air ambulance. If you were flown to a hospital in an emergency, the air ambulance provider is not allowed to bill you for the balance above your in-network cost sharing.

This applies to employer, marketplace, and individual health plans. It does not apply to ground ambulances.

You can read more about your rights at CMS — your rights under the No Surprises Act.

Florida law backs this up

Florida's own balance-billing law, Fla. Stat. 627.64194, also bans balance billing for emergency services. If your plan is regulated by the state of Florida, this law works alongside the federal one.

What you should actually owe

You should owe only your in-network cost sharing — the amount that counts toward your in-network deductible, based on your insurance company's Explanation of Benefits (EOB). The air ambulance company is required to bill your insurer at that rate, not send you the difference.

What this does not cover

• Ground ambulance — the No Surprises Act does not apply to ground ambulance rides. A ground ambulance bill needs a different check.
• Medicare — if you have Medicare, a provider who accepts assignment cannot balance bill you; one who doesn't is limited to 15% over the Medicare-approved amount. See Medicare.gov.
• Uninsured — if you have no insurance, you should have received a Good Faith Estimate and can dispute a bill $400 or more above it. See CMS Good Faith Estimates.

The letters and the complaint that make it stop

Write to the air ambulance provider: state the facts of the flight, cite the law, say you will pay only the in-network cost sharing on your EOB, and ask them to re-bill your insurer and stop collection. Write to your insurer: ask them to reprocess the claim at in-network cost sharing under the No Surprises Act and confirm it in writing.

If the bill isn't fixed, file a complaint with the federal No Surprises Help Desk at 1-800-985-3059, or through the CMS complaint form. For Florida-regulated plans, Florida's Department of Financial Services also takes complaints at 1-877-693-5236.

Don't ignore the bill and don't let it go to collections. Respond in writing before the due date and keep every EOB.

What to do next

Paste your air ambulance bill and your insurance details into the free tool. It reads your own document and numbers — who billed you, how much, what your insurance paid — and tells you whether the bill appears prohibited, what you should actually owe, and gives you the letters to send. Nothing you paste is stored. This is not legal advice: confirm with the CMS No Surprises Help Desk or Florida DFS before you rely on it.

Surprise Bill Shield explains the No Surprises Act and Florida balance-billing law in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. Confirm with the CMS No Surprises Help Desk, the Florida Department of Financial Services, or an attorney. Nothing you paste is stored.