To the Editor:

A $785 fee for traveling less than 5 miles. Unfortunately the high cost of a medical test in the Princeton area is not the end of the story of unreasonable medical costs in this area. I recently had a pain in my chest in the middle of the night. Being afraid of driving myself, I called 911. Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad came immediately and got me to the emergency room in a timely fashion. The shock was the bill that came later: $785 for driving me 4.7 miles.

The website of Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad says the organization is nonprofit, and invites us all to contribute. Buried in the website, but not on the donation page, is one reference to the fact that a fee will be charged for the service, but not the amount that will be charged.

The fundraising letter I received this year makes no mention at all of charging a fee for the service, certainly not of charging a fee of $785 for driving less than 5 miles.

Altogether the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad website and fundraising letters can only be characterized as a massive misrepresentation of the financial part of the service they offer. People read “volunteer” and “nonprofit” and assume that the service is free or, if there is a charge, it will bear some relationship to the service that is provided. Unfortunately that is not the case here in Princeton.

If I had lived in Tapestry in Montgomery County and needed to call 911, I would not have been billed $785. The drive, although substantially farther from the hospital than my home, would have been free.

For more than 50 years, my family has been making an annual donation to the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad. Needless to say that tradition will now come to an abrupt end.

But there is an issue here beyond my massive personal annoyance. At the very least, the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad should be required to publicize their fees. In the longer run, the Princeton government needs to look into how the Squad is financed and managed. How come other area 911 services do not charge fees at all? Something must be done to make ambulance fees in Princeton bear some relationship to the service rendered.

Dawn Day

Meadowbrook Drive