American Medical Response

On 7/28/2000 my daughter and I were hiking on a steep/cliffy mountain summit when my vertigo & weakness from a previously diagnosed/managed cyst I have in my cervical spine increased. This happens when inflammation causes it to compress nerves, etc & is not a new injury & not medically life-threatening by any means. However, on this day & in this location, getting back down from the summit was extremely dangerous for anyone — a fall would very likely be fatal — and my likelihood of falling (vertigo/weakness) was pretty high. My daughter called the county sheriff to ask if we could get assistance getting down safely. Through a long process, a SAR helicopter came & picked us up from the summit & landed at a landing zone on top of a hospital. I told the helicopter crew I didn't need emergency medical services, as the issue was managed, not emergent in any way except for falling off a cliff if I had tried to get down. I said that repeatedly, as did my adult daughter.
Upon landing, a stretcher was waiting to put me on & I said I do not need to be on a stretcher, I'm ok. I explained again that I didn't need emergency medical services, as the issue was managed, not emergent in any way except for falling off a cliff if I had tried to get down. The EMS personnel, who I assumed worked at the hospital we had landed on top of, asked me to just sit down on it & let them put the seatbelt on so they could move me from the landing zone, as it was protocol. I sat down & was pushed into a waiting ambulance (?!?) that was waiting there on the roof of the hospital. Being an EMT myself, I knew they couldn't transport me without consent, and I also recognized the privately owned ambulance service that had me. I again, REPEATEDLY, said I do not want to be transported anywhere, I do not need to be transported, the prior vertigo & weakness is due to a known, *managed* cyst on my c-spine. My adult daughter, also an EMT, also chimed in & said ambulance transport was definitely not needed or wanted. I could walk just fine & we were parked on the top of the hospital, if I had needed to be seen I would have walked the few feet to the hospital door. Also I didn't want to risk unnecessary contact with CoVid 19/transmission. Why was the privately owned ambulance even there? The EMT repeated that it was protocol, ignored my protests and the ambulance started driving — with me & my daughter in it, without our consent. There was no medical necessity, I was fully conscious, alert & oriented. I became louder & stated that I knew they were doing this so they could charge me for an ambulance ride, as we were already AT the hospital. The ride took a total of approximately 2 minutes to pull around to the outer ER doors. Still repeatedly stating I did not want or need transport and treatment, I was wheeled into the ER to be seen. I was extremely worried about being exposed to CoVId19 at that point — from being inside an ambulance to inside of an ER during CoVid19. The AMR ambulance crew "handed me over" to the ER staff, where I finally was listened to by hospital staff & "allowed" to leave. It felt like I had been kidnapped & wasn't legal without my consent.
The punchline? I received a bill for $2, 010.54 from the AMR ambulance service (this isn't the helicopter transport nor the hospital). Over two thousand dollars for a transport that was to/from the same hospital and against my consent, as witnessed by my adult daughter.
I am working on finding out who to contact in WA state about my legal avenues if this bill is not dropped, as my consent was never given nor implied, I was put at risk by being transported against my will and the resulting bill is absolutely insane.

Desired Outcome
First, I would like AMR to rescind the bill. Also, I would like the EMS crew involved to receive additional education regarding obtaining patient consent prior to touching/transporting patients, *especially* in light of exposures to CoVid 19.

Trip # 490-[protected]-00
Date of Service 7/29/2000
Account # [protected]-0000
Julia Hussey Schwartz
Seattle, WA — LZ at Harborview Medical Center to Harborview Medical Center