<prompt> Human: A few weeks back I was visiting San Francisco and had a severe panic attack. My wife called the ambulance since I did not have my medication on me and had not experienced a panic attack as severe as this one. I was transported to a hospital but half way there told the medic I was fine. Today I received a bill from the San Francisco Fire Department for 2050 for Emergency Medical Services. The Invoice has my Insurance Policy number but it is not itemized and does not mention anything about my insurance paying for any of it. I have a high deductible health plan at 1000. What can I do, am I totally screwed here?Assistant: Call your insurer to see if they cover EMS. If its an eligible expense, youre probably on the hook for at least your deductible 1k, at which time your insurance will kick in. Itll either be a co-pay i.e. you owe a fixed dollar amount, maybe 200 or co-insurance i.e. you owe a fixed percent, maybe 20. If your insurer does not cover EMS you can call the billing department of SFFD and try to work out a deal. They may be willing to cut you a significant discount if youre willing to pay in cash up front. With your HDHP you should at least have 1000 tucked away since its your deductible, after all, so maybe theyll take that and be happy.Human: I checked google maps and found that they took me to a hospital almost 5 miles away when there was another hospital less than 1 mile away. Do they have some type of contracts with hospitals? Does the mileage make a difference in the total invoice amount?  <response>: When ambulances transport patients they sometimes can be diverted to other hospitals because one emergency room may have more beds available, or most likely in your case the hospital that you were being transported was better equipped to handle your condition. 