Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/16/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In May of 2023 I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. The ambulance that 911 sent or that responded to the call was apparently from King-American Ambulance. Several months later, I received a bill for nearly $4,000. I promptly called the company and asked that they apply my insurance to the bill, as my insurance through Cigna was to cover 100% of the costs of the ambulance. They did but apparently CIGNA did not pay them as much as they wanted, and they have since referred me to a collection agency. I am not sure if this is illegal---I have no idea what I may or may not have signed upon intake at the hospital while I was in the worst pain of my life---but it's certainly a terrible business practice where they were made aware my insurer was the sole payor responsible for the account. Nor have they ever sent me any documentation showing I agreed to pay the balance.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/18/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On April 13, 2023 I fell in the subway at ********** stop in Downtown **************** could not stand or walk and called 911. They came to take me out of the underground and took me to the hospital. They did not provide any medical services to me except for the retrieval from underground to the hospital (around 2.5 miles). They billed my insurance $4122 + $75 for mileage. My ***************** insurance only paid $2030.80 because they said that King American Ambulance *** is out of network! I called in June when I received the bill to appeal. I do not have the ability to ask which ambulance comes to pick me up. I also called King ********************** to fight the bill. I appealed but the insurance company only told me today that they denied my appeal (I had to call to get this information they never sent it to me). Fast forward to today, March 18, 2024, I have received multiple creditors asking me to pay the remainer $ + interest that now equals a total of $2523.07. Interestingly, CA just past a law that ambulances cannot charge more than the insurance will accept. It went into effect in January 2024. I would like to fight this. King American Ambulance is frauding people.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/19/2024

  At the time of the transport we fell under the following law:

  Title 28 ********** Code of Regulation ******* provides for direct reimbursement by health plans to providers of medical transportation services.
  (c) For the purposes of the subdivision, direct reimbursement means the following: The enrollee shall file a claim for the medical transportation service with the plan; the plan shall pay the medical transportation provider directly; and the medical transportation provider shall not demand payment from the enrollee until having received payment from the plan, at which time the medical transportation provider may demand payment from the enrollee for any unpaid portion of the provider's fee.
  No contract or service agreement exists between your health plan provider and this emergency care provider; no contractual allowance (discount) is warranted.

  AB716 did not take effect until 1-1-24.

  We have the legal right to bill for services and collect the unpaid amount from the customer.

  I agree that your insurance is being unreasonable to suggest that you should "shop" for an in-network provider during a medical emergency. That is unrealistic. Not to mention, there are no in-network providers in S.F.

  The process is being followed based on the laws in place at the time. If you want to get your insurance company to pay us under the new law AB716 that would be great, as they would have to pay us "prevailing wages" for the service area and would closer to the originally billed amount.

  We are happy to assist you in many ways. There are payment options, you can still call your insurance company and demand payment, you can file a hardship case with our company by providing your 2023 tax returns for verification of income, etc.

  King American takes offence that you claim we are being fraudulent. Nobody ever said ambulances were cheap or free. You should also understand what insurance plan you have and what they pay for to be better prepared for any future emergency you may have. Co-Pays and deductibles are still collectable under AB716 and can still be sent to collections. Knowing and understanding your own plan that you are paying for is important.