My ride cost me around $1,000 USD, which sounds like a bargain compared to numbers I've heard from others. But, it was still a big financial burden considering I'd just been laid off from work.

There's only one ambulance service operating in my rural area, and my health insurance considers them "out-of-network". Not that it would have mattered, when you call 911 (emergency services), you don't get to haggle and negotiate with the operator and your insurance provider to send an in-network unit, you get what you get.

Probably a good thing I refused treatment, other than bandaging to stop the blood loss, during the ambulance ride. The 2 ibuprofen I was given in the emergency room cost $40 since they were considered non-necessary and I did not get prior approval. I can only imagine what the ambulance up-charge would have been if I'd accepted anything from them aside from letting them wrap me up so I didn't bleed to death on the way to the hospital.