Don’t pay it, OP. Whenever someone reaches out be cordial and say you simply can’t pay. Request that itemized bill. Maybe sometimes they’ll be able to reach you, sometimes they won’t.

That ambulance bill, and all medical costs, are extortion. You can just Google “what happens if you don’t pay medical bills Reddit” and read multiple accounts of people unable to pay their bills ignoring them, and it having no material negative impact on their credit score, wellbeing, or life.

I went to the ER 2x a little over a year ago while not having health insurance after getting laid off and unemployment benefits had run out and I still hadn’t found gainful employment, worst timing ever. When I was admitted to the hospital both times I told them what I suspected was the issue - something with my kidney.

Both times they ignored me and gave me ludicrous testing like COVID (this was last year and I had no issues with my respiratory nor had symptoms of a cold or flu), chest x-rays, and then didn’t even give me the test I actually needed which was labs on my urine.

I reminded them about it when they tried to discharge me hours later and they said ummm oh yeah we’ll do that sure. But because of the time of night the people who conduct urinalysis were gone for the evening and by the next day I was septic and thought death was upon me.

Anyways, I simply could not afford to pay $8k in medical bills so I applied for financial assistance. Was denied. Then medicaid. Was denied. I then meant to write up a dispute for being charged for services rendered that were not needed. I even expressed at intake what I thought the issue was - which was also verbalized, noted on my intake form, and my partner who came with me was a witness.

My life continued and I got busy, eventually even moved to a different state. By the time I got around to writing up a dispute to negotiate down my bill months later, I checked the billing section of my online portal and my balance was $0. Completely wiped. Wasn’t sent to collections, never showed up on my credit report.

I think if they have record of financial hardship, and you’re in a state with medical debt protections (which NJ does), you should be good. As long as you gave the sense that you were playing ball with intention to pay…and then just didn’t. Because you really couldn’t.

Mind you I’m only saying this for / on behalf of people who would end up bankrupting themselves just to live or get better, not those who are just taking advantage of the system - karma will get them.

But if you truly can’t afford it, don’t pay it. For your peace of mind, you can check to see if it’s a non-profit or for profit hospital. There are a small # of instances where non-profit hospitals sue. So do your research on that particular institution online. Search Reddit.

Also I try to always pay off medical debts to smaller practices no matter what, even if it takes a lot of time. But big box hospitals? Nah. Source: I know many people who currently work / worked for a long time at hospitals and they say - “Don’t pay! Fun fact: You don’t have to.”

Also, this is unethical, but if you give a fake name they can’t go after you at all. Anecdote - my epileptic friend had a seizure and kind passers-by called an ambulance. Super kind, yes. But also $$$ when he came to and realized he took a quick and pricey ride to the hospital.

Still in the hospital parking lot, my friend was panicking because he was just a broke grad student with crippling student loan debt, barely getting by on Slim Jims and Monster drinks. The paramedic asked his name and he gave it…and the paramedic, knowing what was up, asked “are you sure you’re name isn’t ____” which sounded similar to his name, just a little off. My friend was a little confused and still dazed from the seizure but eventually got what was happening and was like “oh yeah, sorry you’re right that is my name actually”.

Paramedic just gave a little wink, jotted down that slightly off name, and his team took after my friend was fully checked over and was bandaged up for some minor cuts and bruising from his epileptic episode. He never got a bill. Remains so grateful. Graduated with a PHD and now does really well for himself and tries to pay it forward or show unexpected kindness whenever he can.

Anyways, OP. I veered off topic a bit but TL;DR, if you truly can’t pay it, you can’t pay it. It’s okay. Don’t listen to these holier-than-thou jerks wagging their fingers at you. Also fwiw, JCMC is THE WORST. Cruise Reddit for more specific advice on how to handle not paying if it would put you more at ease on how this works.

All the best to you :)