Father’s Ambulance Bill Doubles With Insurance — It Was Cheaper Without It!

America may be the land of opportunity, but it certainly isn’t a land that provides fair and affordable healthcare (some are now opting to travel to Turkey for care instead!). Case in point: I recently received a quote for basic medical care (no dental or vision) for a household of four, and it came to $1,200 a month. For some, $1,200 is chump change. But for people like me, it’s completely unreasonable and undoable. And what about eyes and teeth? Perhaps those aren’t important.

On top of healthcare being absurdly expensive just for the monthly premium, it often doesn’t even cover the full cost of care. But at least with insurance, a large portion of the bill is comped, right? Wrong.

TikTok user The Robby Show (@thesephew) revealed in February 2025 that after providing insurance for his daughter’s "lifesaving ambulance ride," the bill increased by almost $700. Here’s his wild story, and the ridiculous excuse he was given for the price hike.

TikToker @thesephew’s story is about as wild as they come, which explains why it’s been shared and/or reposted over 700,000 times. In his clip, he calls the hospital’s billing department after noticing something strange.

The TikToker says he first received a $600 bill for his daughter’s ambulance ride, but after providing his insurance information later, the bill jumped to $1,300. Basically, the cost more than doubled because he has insurance. To clarify, he lives in California.

Naturally, this raised concerns. When he asked why the bill increased, the customer service rep explained that the $600 bill was a discounted rate for being uninsured.

But once they found out he did have insurance, the original full price of $2,343.14 was submitted to his insurer. The insurance company paid $1,078.85, leaving him responsible for the remaining balance of nearly $1,300.

Let’s recap because, right now, you're probably thinking this doesn’t make any sense. Without insurance, @thesephew would have received a discounted rate and only had to pay $600 for the ambulance ride.

But because he has active insurance, the original full bill of $2,343.14 was submitted to his insurance company. They paid $1,078.85, leaving him responsible for almost $1,300. In other words, instead of benefiting from a discount, he ended up paying more simply because he's insured.

As anyone would, @thesephew asked if they could just remove the insurance so he could pay the cheaper rate, but the rep said no because his coverage was active — and cited a 2024 bill as the reason.

This would be AB 716, which is supposed to protect patients by ensuring they only pay the in-network rate for emergency services, even when treated out-of-network.

While this situation may seem like a win for the uninsured, it raises serious concerns for those who are insured. Why pay hundreds (or even thousands) each month for health insurance, only to end up being charged more for healthcare than someone without it? Sure, having insurance can help in certain situations, but no one should ever be penalized with a higher bill because they have coverage.

Naturally, commenters were stunned by the audacity of it all, with many calling the entire healthcare system a "scam." Overall, @thesephew's story is yet another example of how the insurance industry is failing its customers and why it desperately needs to do better.