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I once called 911 when my wife had an Asthma attack that left her unable to speak or stand. She was transfered from an ambulance to a paramedic about half way t
by codazoda 5y ago
I once called 911 when my wife had an Asthma attack that left her unable to speak or stand. She was transfered from an ambulance to a paramedic about half way to the hospital. My insurance covered one as in-network but not the other. My wife was released a few hours later. I was young and it took me about 10 years to pay off the dept I owed. I am extremely hesitant to call an ambulance if the person can be encouraged to move under their own power. So much so, that I was asked to sign papers when a family physician suggested an ambulance. This rule looks like it helps.
- cure 5y agoUgh, that's horrible, sorry to hear that. Note that ground ambulances are excluded from the legislation that Congress passed last year, cf. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/upshot/ground-ambulances-left-off-surprise-medical-bill-law.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/upshot/ground-ambulances-....
- LorenPechtel 5y agoYup--gotta let the mostly government funded ambulances shaft the patients.
- slownews45 5y agoNo kidding. "Family Gets $18,000 Hospital Bill After Their Son Was Treated with a Bottle of Formula and a Nap" That kind of stuff stresses folks out!
- kzrdude 5y agoA good health system should deliver better quality of life to all the people of the country. That includes not just doing actual health, but acting as an insurance, giving actual peace of mind - if something happens, it might not be the end of the world.
- bonzini 5y agoWait, that's not the Onion?
- Forbo 5y agoUnfortunately not. And at it happened at Zuckerberg SF General Hospital. Somehow seems inappropriately appropriate.... https://abc7news.com/zuckerberg-san-francisco-general-hospital-bill-outrageous-medical-bills-family-visiting-sf-charged-18-000-for-baby/3692287/ https://abc7news.com/zuckerberg-san-francisco-general-hospit...
- hef19898 5y agoThat is just crazy. Two years ago my son had a skiing accident. Was evacuated from the mountain by mountain guards, picked up by an ambulance, driven one hour to the next hospital, examined by a doctor and got an x-ray. 6 months later we received an invoice from our public (semi-public, the German system is peculiar) about 30 bucks (if memory serves well) for all of this. And that was mainly the longer distance ambulance ride. Nobody should be afraid of calling an ambulance. Nobody should need ten years to pay debts for medical care, regardless of procedure. Another example, age 28 I was diagnosed with colon cancer. That meant a shit load of colonoscopies since then, removal of parts of the colon and 6 months chemotherapy. Overall bill: around 50 bucks per months for the chemotherapy. Luckily I had supplemental insurance covering my salary, also my employer back then continued to pay after the legal 6 weeks. The risk you run in Germany is loosing your salary after 6 weeks, making that salary insurance so important. It is also dirt cheap, I pay roughly 15 bucks a month, it never increased since my studies. Health care should be a human right.
- vinay427 5y ago> we received an invoice from our public (semi-public, the German system is peculiar) about 30 bucks (if memory serves well) for all of this Honestly, it's remarkable how different it is here across the border here in Switzerland. An ambulance was called to me within the same city from a few km away (although I was across the street from the main hospital), performed an ECG/EKG on me, didn't pick me up or transport me anywhere, and I was billed about 700 bucks for that privilege.
- hef19898 5y agoI honestly wouldn't have expected that. There was a time when ranting about the German system was a favourite pastime, and there a lot of ridiculous and annoying things going on, but the more I learn about other countries I actually am quite happy, or better lucky.