An inmate who was about to be released from prison contacted the Ombudsman to complain that he was suddenly receiving billing notices from a collections agency claiming that he owed more than $1,300 for his transport from Anchorage Correctional Center to a hospital nearly two years before. The inmate believed that DOC should be responsible for the cost since they called the ambulance. He provided paperwork to show that he had attempted to resolve the problem through DOC complaint processes up to the Director of Institutions, to no avail. The Ombudsman contacted DOC’s medical administrator who checked the complainant’s medical file. She confirmed that, while DOC had paid the hospital and physician bills, it had not paid for the ambulance. She immediately directed that the invoice be paid. In the meantime, the complainant was released. (J2016-0024)