Surprise bills and ambulance bills in Mississippi
If you give your insurer written direction to pay a hospital, doctor or other licensed provider of hospital, nursing, medical or surgical services (not a dentist) directly, the insurer must pay that provider, and the payment is payment in full.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
What Mississippi adds
- State law
Mississippi assignment-of-benefits billing rule and out-of-network ambulance payment law
Law: Miss. Code 83-9-5(1)(i); H.B. 1489, 2024; H.B. 1489 (2024)
- Which plans it covers
Accident and sickness (health) insurance policies and HMO contracts regulated by Mississippi. Self-funded employer plans are not covered by state insurance law.
- What it adds
If you give your insurer written direction to pay a hospital, doctor or other licensed provider of hospital, nursing, medical or surgical services (not a dentist) directly, the insurer must pay that provider, and the payment is payment in full. The provider may not bill or collect from you more than your deductible, coinsurance and copay, plus charges for noncovered equipment or services you asked for. The Commissioner of Insurance may resolve disputes between you and the provider about this.
- Ground ambulance
The state protects you
Under health insurance policies regulated by Mississippi, a payment by your plan to an out-of-network ambulance provider is payment in full for covered services, except for your copay, coinsurance, deductible and other cost sharing. The plan pays the rate set by the local government where the service started or, if none, the greater of 325% of Medicare or the provider's billed charges. This rule is set to be repealed on June 30, 2028. Plans must also cover ambulance treatment in place and transport to an alternative destination after a 911 call. No Mississippi law limits ground ambulance bills for people without insurance.
Law: H.B. 1489 (2024), secs. 1-2 (codified in Miss. Code title 83, ch. 9)
Law: Miss. Code 83-9-5(1)(i); H.B. 1489 (2024)
Where to complain in Mississippi
- Health insurance: Mississippi Insurance Department, Consumer Services · 1-800-562-2957
Your health insurer denied a claim, or a provider billed you more than allowed after you assigned your benefits, or an out-of-network ambulance billed you beyond your cost sharing. - Attorney general: Mississippi Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
A business or debt collector used unfair or deceptive practices.
Free tools, letters and checklist
Questions about medical bills in Mississippi
Am I protected from ground ambulance bills in Mississippi?
Under health insurance policies regulated by Mississippi, a payment by your plan to an out-of-network ambulance provider is payment in full for covered services, except for your copay, coinsurance, deductible and other cost sharing. The plan pays the rate set by the local government where the service started or, if none, the greater of 325% of Medicare or the provider's billed charges.