California dad sees ambulance bill more than double with insurance

Yahoo

12-03-2025

(NewsNation) — A California father is raising the alarm after he said his ambulance bill more than doubled after providing his insurance information.
Robert Witt, whose TikTok video detailing the price jump went viral, told 'Morning in America' that there has to be 'a more simple way' to handle insurance in the United States.
'The first bill we got without the insurance was $600, and then the second one was almost $1300,' Witt said in the TikTok, which has garnered millions of views.
'Okay, yeah, so that the first thing you received, that's a discount that you received if you're uninsured,' an unknown representative said in response. 'So, you're not eligible for the discount since you are insured.'
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The representative pointed to AB 716 as the source of the so-called 'discount.' It's a law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom aiming to prevent 'surprise' ambulance bills by capping the cost of a ride at an insured person's in-network cost. Uninsured patients are instead capped at the Medi-Cal or Medicare rate.
In the TikTok, the representative explains that the full bill for the ambulance ride was $2,342.14 — and that his insurance only paid $1,078.85, leaving him with a nearly $1,300 bill.
By providing his insurance information, Witt became ineligible for the uninsured cost cap provided by AB 716.
The father told NewsNation he was 'absolutely shocked' to find out the bill — which came about because his young daughter had an allergic reaction — only grew once insurance got involved.
He said he's found many people with similar stories since making his post.
'I make comedy skits online, and I don't have the answers to these questions,' Witt said. 'But what I do have, like you mentioned, is millions of people who have said, 'I can't stand my insurance.' We need to do something in this country.'
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Witt said making the health care landscape less 'complicated' should be a priority, but he feels as though politicians with medical-leaning stock portfolios might not have patients' best interests at heart.
Witt went on to make two subsequent TikToks to call out what he described as 'insider trading' among politicians.
'It feels like they might, when they go to legislate, try to pad their own bank accounts a little bit,' Witt said. 'And that really just doesn't sit well with anybody.'
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