KLAS: Nevada family’s story pushes for federal law change on surprise ambulance bills
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An 8 News Now Investigators’ report about surprise ambulance billing gained the attention of hundreds of thousands of Americans, including Nevada Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, who hopes her colleagues will amend a federal law to prevent it.
In January, Katelyn Lopez found her son Maxzen Lopez, then 11 months old, seizing on the floor of their North Las Vegas home. Katelyn called 911 for help, and paramedics from the North Las Vegas Fire Department soon arrived to provide medical care.
Paramedics would determine Maxzen suffered a febrile seizure — one brought on by a fever. Within minutes of their arrival, paramedics brought Maxzen into a city ambulance and later transported him to University Medical Center.
Several months after the emergency ride, Katelyn received a bill from the city for $1,624.04 — about $1,200 for the ride itself plus $35 per mile to the hospital. The bill states the family’s health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, denied the claim because it was not “provided [in] network” and was not a “primary care [provider].”
Hundreds of thousands of people watched the 8 News Now Investigators’ report on 8newsnow.com and across social media. Ultimately, citing “some confusion,” UnitedHealthcare covered the claim.
The No Surprises Act, a federal law enacted in 2022, helps protect consumers from surprise medical bills, but does not cover ground ambulance service
“This is certainly an area where we need improvement,” Lee told the 8 News Now Investigators. “Remember, this woman had health insurance. She thought she was covered.”
Patricia Kelmar, of U.S. PIRG, helped pass the law, which reduces the chances of a surprise bill when seeing an out-of-network provider during emergencies or paying for costly in-network coverage. She recently worked with a team to deliver a report to Congress about the law’s lack of ambulance coverage.
One recommendation to Congress is to prevent ambulance companies from passing along a bill to a patient without first going through one’s insurance.
North Las Vegas’ ambulance rates are set each year and are posted online. The rates are similar to other communities in Southern Nevada, including unincorporated Clark County. Some departments contract with private ambulance companies to provide the same service at the same rates.
The cost passed on after an ambulance ride helps cover the cost of medical supplies and equipment and supplements the service that taxpayers cover, a spokesperson said following the 8 News Now Investigators’ initial reporting.
“It’s certainly something that Congress needs to be focusing on, and we need to update the No Surprises Act to address this issue for sure,” Lee said.
In the wake of Congress’ inaction, 20 states led by both Democrats and Republicans have passed their own laws in an attempt to protect their residents from surprise ambulance bills.
Nevada is not one of them.
Because the incident happened in January 2025, at the start of the year, the cost was applied to the family’s deductible. In September, a representative from UnitedHealthcare added that the company was covering all remaining fees as well. Lopez said she was paid $50 a month to cover some of the cost.