A newly-adopted law has resulted in a family being forced to fork out almost $1,300 after calling an ambulance to save their daughter’s life.
A Californian dad, known as Robby on TikTok, has left people stunned after revealing how much cheaper his daughter’s medical bills would have been if he and his family were uninsured.
Like most Americans, the TikToker was insured, which meant of his $2,342 bill, he had to pay $1,264 – with his insurance paying $1,078.
You’d think that’s fair enough, they paid more than a grand… that is until you hear that had he not had been insured, he would have only had to fork out $600 – which the healthcare operator explained was a ‘discount’.
If you’re hopping in one of these in California, be sure to cancel your insurance first! (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Having to pay $664 more for a crisis than someone who is uninsured is absurd enough. You’ve also got to factor in how much it costs a year to insure your health.
According to KFF, an independent source for health policy research, health insurance premiums in 2024 cost $8,951 for single coverage, while families had to fork out on average $25,572.
So, had Robby opted against insuring him and his family, he could have saved thousands of dollars.
Posting the conversation to TikTok, Robby slammed the State of California for ‘penalizing citizens who have insurance’, as he insisted it was no laughing matter.
The operator could be heard explaining in Robby’s TikTok video: “Now, this is just a new [Californian] law that passed or started, 2024 AB716, and the law is if you’ll receive a discount if you’re uninsured.”
Yes, law in California, approved by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2023, has been introduced that sees uninsured people be heavily discounted on medical bills.
Robby said: “So I think there’s a mistake on the bill, but maybe you can help me out. We got a bill, and then we realized that you guys didn’t have our insurance, so we sent you the insurance, and it looks like the bill went up.”
The operator replied: “It went up?”
Depending on your healthcare plan, the cost of calling an ambulance is a lot cheaper if you’re uninsured (Getty Stock Image)
Robby explained: “Yeah, the first bill we got without the insurance, was $600, and then the second one was almost $1,300.”
“Okay, yeah, so that the first thing was you received, that’s a discount that you received if you’re uninsured, so you’re not eligible for the discount since you are insured,” the operator advised. “And so the bill was $2,342.14 we billed your insurance. Your insurance only paid $1,078.85.”
When Robby was asked whether he could ‘go back to the discount without the insurance’, he was told that was not possible.
Shocked TikTok users flooded to comments, with one user typing: “What is the point of having insurance it they’re not going to cover s**t when you need it.”
“What a hellhole of a country,” commented another, as a third wrote: “America is an absolute joke.”
While another joked: “2300$? Do you actually buy the ambulance?”
