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Lol, in the US ambulances are often run by private companies and the bill is delivered to the patient. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_medical_services
by c22 8y ago
Lol, in the US ambulances are often run by private companies and the bill is delivered to the patient.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_medical_services_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_medical_services_in_...
- eknkc 8y agoHoly shit. Forget Uber, you better be able to walk to Canada or something.
- slavik81 8y agoIt is not cheap to take an ambulance in Canada. In my province, they cost $250-$400 per trip. You do not call an ambulance unless you actually need medical attention at the scene or en route to the hospital.
- cavanasm 8y agoIn the US, an ambulance trip can cost thousands. Also, if after being treated / examined, your insurance decides you didn't need the ambulance, they often won't cover it.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoMuch better than the alternative where everyone pays and sometimes poor people use them /s
- mschuster91 8y agoI know. But I still cannot believe what I'm reading. Not as a German. When I call an ambulance and get delivered to the hospital, I don't have to worry about anything financial related aside from a bit of copay for the hospital stay, but that's it.
- aembleton 8y agoCost a friend from the UK €500 to get an ambulance in Germany. She was covered by her insurance but it was still a bit of a surprise for us as we don't charge anything for an ambulance.
- mschuster91 8y agoThis situation might be because the ambulances are operated by NHS which is also UK health insurance, therefore for citizens no charges apply. Similar thing in Germany: the ambulances directly bill w/ health insurances, nothing needed except the insurance cards. Now, the NHS may not charge German patients themselves for an ambulance ride in UK but either quietly deal directly with the German insurance to get the cost back, or eat it entirely because the administrative overhead would cost more than the fees paid by German insurance would actually bring in - while the German ambulance operator might have decided to put the administrative burden on your friend. tl;dr: international health care insurance/refunds are weird, avoid if possible...