Legislation is being worked on at the Indiana Statehouse that would protect Hoosiers from surprise ambulance bills.

It was written by State Republican Representative Brad Barrett of Richmond and co-authored by State Republican Craig Snow of Warsaw.

“Emergency medical services are critical to Hoosiers of every age and demographic. Their necessity crosses rural and urban divides. This legislation would shield individuals from receiving surprise ambulance bills and help ensure our communities maintain access to ambulance services,” said Barrett.

Snow says the bill would allow for out-of-network ambulance providers to get payments from health insurance operators at locally set rates or a capped rate based on Medicare benchmarks.

“Many ambulance providers, especially in our rural areas, struggle to keep up with demand. This legislation will go a long way in ensuring Hoosiers have access to emergency services,” said Snow.

The bill passed out of the House with bipartisan support and is now being reviewed by the Senate.

A study from the Public Interest Research Group says more than three million privately insured Americans are transported via ambulance every year and half of those people receive a surprise bill because they didn’t know the ambulance service provider was not covered by their insurance plan.