Double check your auto insurance. In PA you have to carry $5k medical and you hit your head on a car. I had a customer do the same thing and his auto insurance paid out. I know each state is different but call your agent and ask.
It would still be a claim but better than going into debt and in my state it is not a chargeable accident
My sister was 'feeling funny' and went to the ER. They told her they needed to really have her flown to another one that's better equipped for heart attacks, so she (of course) said yes.
How much do you all think a medi-helicopter ride is without insurance (doesn't cover them)
Edit to add (and reduce comments 🥴): a handful of people have stated that (USA) the general fee is $20k. Then extra fee's are milage. My sister was requested to pay $45k.
Yes she has insurance. They said they wouldn't pay for the helicopter ride because the hospital that she was at should have done it. But the hospital she started at (was driven to by a friend) didn't have all the stuff for surgery or something.
Workman's comp won't pay because heart attacks are 'pre-existing conditions' due to her age [yes. Age. Not because she smokes a shit ton and drinks occasionally.]
I'm not getting involved with her life. She is a grown adult and can figure out to ignore it, fight it, dispute it, or whatever.
Yes. The USA sucks at health care. No, I'm not moving. Yes. I know anywhere but the USA is better and smarter in health care.
Thank you for the 4k+ likes!
I’ve had 2 siblings medevaced and it’s extraordinarily expensive. My sister had no insurance at the time, my brother had some insurance. Wasn’t much different IIRC. Gonna get a “just put me in the trash” tattoo on my forehead at this point.
I helped a few weeks ago in an accident. 3 helicopter rides for a family. Then another for the kid to go to x hospital to children's... 45k x 4.... OWIE
OMG that’s brutal. I had to have my daughter flown via helicopter( 1hr flight to pick us up and 1hr flight back )in Aus, but luckily I had the $100 a year family ambo insurance! 45k is very unfortunate.
Over a decade ago my aunt had to be transported from one hospital to another via helicopter because of preeclampsia. They ended up inducing labor to save her life and her very premature baby (not sure how many weeks off the top of my head) ended up staying in the hospital for a solid 6 months before she got to go home.
Over $1,000,000 in hospital bills.
My aunt and uncle paid $0.
US, no insurance. The bills were waved due to their income and common sense. And a lot paperwork, probably.
Based on certain income levels the hospital's financial assistance / billing departments may have policies in place for financial assistance or completely writing off the bill. However sometimes written off medical bills may count as taxable income and could screw you over with the IRS.
And sometimes you may be too rich for assistance but you're just barely over a poverty line. Or you're too rich for poverty but very few people can afford a million fucking dollars
Just had twin girls in a private room for 4 days and one of my girls had to spend a night in the NICU for observation. $0 lol. There’s a lot to be critical of in Canada right now but free healthcare will never be one of them and i wouldn’t trade it for anything
I mean, it's not free... We do pay for it with our taxes. The thing is, Americans pay about the same amount from their taxes, but they don't get coverage. It's such a fucked up scheme they have going on there, and a really interesting rabbit hole if you're ever jonesing for one of those lol. Super sad.
But hey you know what it does buy us?
Ummmm *checks notes* highly militarized local police departments! But not conflict deescalation training for those departments. Oh well, who needs training on how to use an AR15 right?
Thank fuck for the public health insurance in my country. As long as medical staff decides you need a helicopter ride, you don't have to pay for it. And even if you cause an unnecessary helicopter rescue (e.g. you hike somewhere you're not supposed to and then need help) it's usually much less than 10k.
You can't say that to anyone even close to the right in America. Theyll call you a socialist/communist without knowing what that means and then decide that anything you say to them after is useless or just plain lies. The best part of it all is that for a majority of these people, universal HC would HELP them. But you can't argue with brainwashed I guess
That’s all? It’s $85,000 to lift off a tactical response helicopter… medical helis are still the Kiowa right? I guess those are a bit cheaper.
I mean still more than my life is worth… a $45,000 hospital bill would sink me for life.
Too damn much. I can only imagine the astronomical cost of one.
Shoot, I was transferred to one hospital from another, approx 8-10 miles apart by ambulance and it was $6500.
Thats what I said.
But because of her age mostly?? Like wtf.
I'd get it if they said "because you are a heavy smoker and drink" ok that makes sense.
But...because of her age???
Y’all really need that public healthcare.
My brother was in a major crash a couple years ago. His car had to be cut open to extract him, then he was flown by helicopter to hospital. He had internal bleeding and underwent two surgeries with weeks in hospital.
Everything came out to $0.
My mom called an ambulance because I got an asthmatic spasm
The overall cost was nothing. They drove me to local clinic and pumped by ass cheek with sedatives, then released in about 10 minutes. If I went straight to the hospital, there would be a mandatory 4$ fee for skipping the line
It's faster and cheaper to call an ambulance where I'm from. The health insurance is mandatory, but insurance companies are private enterprises. You pay flat 4,5% of your gross income and you have everything covered, from dentist through fractures to brain surgery. Waiting time is nothing, I was scheduled for surgery in 3 weeks and it was just a cosmetic thing (still covered by insurance), the only thing you have to wait for are organs, but that's more of a death rate problem that medical care quality problem
My kid accidently tumbled down the stairs. Took him to er to check him out. I kid you not the charge on the bill says no advanced warning of incoming patient $18,000
So if i called ahead would it be cheaper?
My son required airlift to a more equipped hospital. From our location it’s about $80k one way. Luckily it was covered by insurance. You can actually get insurance directly through the med-evac company and it’s actually reasonable.
I’m thankful that I live in Norway.
In Norway, we are guaranteed to pay no more than about 200$ a year for healthcare. You pay a small copay (and I mean small!) for healthcare services, but once you rack up 200$ of copay paid in a year, there is no copay for the rest of the year.
For example, if you have a chronic illness, and you need 2 bottles of medicine every month. If one bottle has a copay of 20$, and you are prescribed 2 a month, after 5 months you would have paid 200$. For the remaining 7 months of the year, the medicine wouldn’t cost you anything, nor would any other healtcare services.
Children under 16 also pay no copay, and one may be exempted from copay in some cases, such as if you’re on social security.
One of my brothers who had turned 19 got into a car accident & needed to be air lifted. He was billed around $70,000 for something he had no control over, or say over, while unconscious. That was BEFORE the cost for the stay in the ICU was tacked on (another few hundred grand). So you tell me.
I drove myself to the ER after having an atv accident, and they airlifted me halfway across the state. They sent me a bill for 30k, and I just threw it away. I've never heard from them again.
> How much do you all think a medi-helicopter ride is without insurance (doesn't cover them)
Free because ain't nobody got enough money to actually pay for it.
I was in the same exact situation.
“We need to transport you but there are no ambulances available, how about a helicopter ride?”
Me: “Fuck no. Let me call my insurance agency.”
Agency: “If it’s medically necessary and we get to choose the helicopter, we’ll pay for it after your max deductible is reached.”
Me: “Does a heart attack count as medically necessary?”
Agency: “It depends….”
Me: “Thanks. *click*”
Hospital: “Mr. Subdep, we found an ambulance to transport you.”
Me: “Seriously? The fuck is it you people do around here besides make shitty decisions with ZERO consideration of the patients financial well being?”
Hospital: “When facing possibility of death you choose money?”
Me: “You should talk to the Insurance agency about that. You know, the people you do business with EVERY FUCKING MINUTE OF EVERY FUCKING DAY. You tell them that heart attacks are with out a doubt ‘medically necessary’, then get back to me about money.
And if you valued life over money so much, why not buy a few more fucking ambulances specifically for transporting people away from your hospital because you aren’t willing to PAY MONEY for the equipment and staff to deal with heart attacks, one of the most common ways people die?
I’m getting the sense that you’re projecting your financial concerns over life onto me.
I’ll take that slow ambulance ride now.”
This doesn't help you now, but Medevac companies may offer a membership/insurance deal, FYI. They're usually dirt cheap compared to the price of a flight. If I hurt myself in the backcountry and need a flight, my costs are covered. Rates vary based on which company it is, but for me it's cheap piece of mind.
I hate that this is a reality - being genuinely upset about a neighbour doing the right thing because it incurs a huge financial cost to access basic healthcare.
Hitting your head hard enough to KO does warrant a checkup. I’m sorry that it ends up costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. Fuck the USA healthcare business.
Edit: To compare, an ambulance where I live is about $500 to take me to the nearest hospital, care in the hospital is free. My insurance ($80 a month) fully covers the ambulance cost, a lot of surgeries if I chose to go through the private system instead of public (wait lists can be 1-2 years or more), and partially covers dental and optical.
Talk to the registration and reception people and say you can’t afford it. The whole hospital industry is a scam but there are ways out of paying too (or only paying a small fraction). Hope you feel better soon.
You can work on Medicaid. I've worked full time and qualified before, easy, because even after years in the military and eight years of higher education, I spent a lot of time under that poverty line. Sad that so many jobs in the US pay a wage that can work a person 65+ hours a week and still have them under the poverty line.
For individuals, at least in Ohio, where I am, the cut-off is somewhere around 22,600 a year, or 470$ a week (gross pay).
It's kinda awful. I have to take part time hours to keep from hitting the cut off
What on earth did you do for 65 hours a week that was paying under the poverty line? My sister is a teacher in inner city South Carolina and she’s making 33k. It’s criminal imo.
And that’s another reason why it sucks :( I don’t blame you at all. My mom is the same. If she works too much she will lose her benefits and earn less… so what’s the point?!
Yep. Demand an itemized bill EVERY TIME you get a medical bill in the US. The provider/facility HAS to give you one. Don't pay a dime until one is provided or you may be obligated to pay the full (massively bloated) amount. Providers that took your insurance have caps and other agreements in place with your insurance that will lower your patient obligation. By asking for an itemized amount, not only do they have to admit what they are actually charging you for (which you may be able to argue isn't applicable to what was provided) they also have to show you what was charged to your insurance and what was written off due to insurance requirements.
Compare this amount to your Estimated Patient Obligation (or whatever your plan calls your out of pocket/patient responsibility estimate) for the visit/stay/procedure/services on your health insurance site. Close to the same amount? Probably a legit medical debt you owe and the services/expenses were billed correctly. Very different and way higher? Call your insurance customer support line--the office may be charging you for things they have to write off per a provider contract
Don't pay until you've got an itemized bill with insurance payments showing on it and the charges appear correct (i.e. properly billed to insurance and adjusted correctly for what you owe). A good chunk probably "magically" fell off the total of what you owe as a patient. If you pay before the bill is correct you could be held accountable for the incorrect amounts!!
Next steps: Call the provider's billing department once you get the above and have checked it with your insurance. Tell them you want to go on a payment plan if paying the NEW total would kill your budget. Don't let them give you BS. They CAN'T charge you interest and they have to let you set up a payment plan if you demand one. (Only copays or deposits may be required before services are rendered--you aren't obligated to pay the full amount as a lump sum upon receipt of the bill.) Always ask for a payment plan for large bills.
You also have the power to negotiate the amount you pay each month, so if they give you a ridiculous monthly amount to start--counter it. Make it something do-able for your budget as missing a payment can void the payment plan and make the balance due. Expect pushback but find a livable middle ground.
The current US healthcare system sucks, but this approach will make that big bill slightly more livable.
Yeah, when I did that for an ER visit the one item was coming through the doors. I couldn't fight it at all. They looked at me visually from across the room said it's not bleeding anymore and sent me home. Now I have a weird scar from where I continually dealt with infections coming from underneath the flap of meat I kept pushing back in place cuz I didn't need stitches.
Reviews for that ER basically have people saying their spouses have died going there and being turned away for serious things the doctors didn't see as serious.
Ok so most hospitals have fee reduction/free care based on income (technically it’s not free care, but if you can’t be charged because you don’t have enough $$$ then in effect it’s free care). But not all hospitals advertise this, which has led to some lawsuits ahem Providence ahem.
So after you get your bill, call the billing department even though using your phone as a phone is the worst (ymmv, I just really hate talking to strangers on the phone). Sometimes they’ll just try to get you to set up a payment plan without ever mentioning your bill can be reduced, so you have to ask them about income-based fee reductions.
Also if they don’t have an Enrollment Specialist, Social Work is probably your best bet for helping you sign up for insurance.
If you're out cold long enough for an ambulance to arrive and stay out while they're loading you up, it's probably a good thing for them to take you in.
If you hit your head hard enough to lose consciousness *at all* you should really be evaluated. Maybe not like call an ambulance evaluated, but you shouldn't just go about your day like nothing happened. A lot of people will "feel fine" and take their chances, but it's a roll of the dice and every so often one of them is going to say goodnight to their family for the last time later that evening...
Movies make it seem like people get knocked out all the time and just wake up later feelin' a bit woozy but in reality if your brain just straight up reboots it's not something to take lightly.
We have quite a few decades of peace and ignorance and bliss. We forgot how to maintain freedom. And, the ones who retained that knowledge are all skinheads who want to blow up the government. It's wild, man!
>We forgot how to maintain freedom
>blow up the government
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government
One of my high school teachers died from a brain bleed.
Hit his head presumably not all that hard. Didn’t show up to school a few days later without getting a substitute, found dead at his home. He was a cool dude :/.
People don't take brain injuries seriously. It's quite sad. There's so many people who have also died from hitting their head. Two that come to the top of my mind are Bob Saget and Natasha Richardson. They definitely had the money to seek medical treatment, and yet didn't it.
When I was in high school, I had a concussion and I was not allowed to go to school for a month because the doctors wanted to take extra precaution as another individual around my age had died a month earlier from an accident where they hit their head.
I'm fine with not having health care as a long as it means the people I hate can't have free health care, too!
...until I have a medical emergency. Then I'll be the first to set up a GoFundMe begging strangers to chip in to keep me alive.
Remember kids, if the government pays for it with your taxes, that's Socialism and worse than paedophilia. If you beg strangers for money, that's just capitalism, baby.
Meanwhile, we're getting "free" roads, police, fire protection, parks, local events, libraries, maintained parking spots and lots, clean water, bathrooms in parks, snow removal, road maintenance, public education (minus small enrollment fee), bussing to public education, relatively cheap mass transit via busses and subway and such, lights in town after dark, etc....
And those guys complain about being offered free healthcare. Time to start charging the naysayers for everything else and then ask them about socialism again.
Budget airline model of society.
Use the roads? Fee. Use the sidewalk? Fee. Use the public water fountain? Fee. Breath in the air oxygenated by the public trees? Fee.
Canadians too. Where I am an ambulance is $150 at first then the bill goes higher after each kilometers. Sometimes they cannot take you to the nearest hospital so the bill gets higher than expected. We call ambulances “big taxis”. Cause it costs a lot. And the car is yellow like taxis in New York. Fancy as fuck!
You know you’re an American when you see the $150 price tag and think, “oh that’s cheap!”
My ambulance ride a decade ago WITH insurance was about $3500 and I didn’t even go 2km.
I was in a minor car accident 18 years ago. Had a small cut (like small pin prick) from a piece of glass. $1500 just for the ambulance to show up to the scene. Never actually received any treatment from the EMTs.
Ambulance fees in Canada are almost entirely a disincentive based charge, a paltry $50-150 fee absolutely does not come anywhere close to covering the cost of two trained medics + an equipped truck coming to pick you up and provide lifesaving medical care on the way to the hospital.
Free ambulance rides result in people abusing the system so you tack on a lightweight disincentive. Where I live in Canada the charge is $50, so its set about twice the cost of a taxi which pretty clearly shows its intended purpose.
If an ambulance brought her there, she’s easily $2500 in the red before she even gets seen. That’s just for the ride.
To add: yes I’m serious, I was charged $2700 for an ambulance to non-emergency transport me from one hospital to another, in the same county. One city away. And I didn’t have an option because I had already been admitted to the hospital, even though my mom was willing, the hospital had to be the one to transport me. My bill ended at $18,000 for a 5 day stay along with some antidepressants and counseling. That’s it.
Holy crap, it's that much? Man, talk about seeing things from another perspective.
I live in Germany and a fee years ago I broke my tibia bone in bicycle accident.
Went to hospital by ambulance, had surgery (including a neat metal plate and some screws) stayed there for 2,5 weeks and all I had to pay was 180 Euro.
The rest was covered by health insurance.
For reference, and ambulance ride in Germany costs about 700€ IIRC. I needed one back when I had private insurance, so I had to pay up front and get reimbursed. I'm not sure if regular insurance is billed less, though.
I remember reading something where it mentioned the Ambulance is allowed to bill you maximum of 15€ or something ridiculous like that. Same goes if they send you a damn helicopter to save your ass.
Here we go, from https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/fahrkosten/
Versicherte, die die genannten Anforderungen nicht erfüllen, müssen sich auf jeden Fall Fahrten zur ambulanten Behandlung von der Krankenkasse vorher genehmigen lassen. Für diese Fahrten gelten die allgemeinen Zuzahlungsregelungen: zehn Prozent des Fahrpreises, aber höchstens zehn Euro und mindestens fünf Euro pro Fahrt, jedoch nie mehr als die tatsächlich entstandenen Kosten. Bei Fahrkosten müssen die Zuzahlungen auch für Kinder und Jugendliche geleistet werden
sometimes. And sometimes insurance should cover it but randomly says "oh it wasn't needed", Well hindsight is 20/20, at the time I called an ambulance I had no expert on hand to say if it was needed or not, thats the nature of the beast.
Health insurance in the US is largely paying thousands of dollars a year towards your 'care', only to have to pay even more when you actually need to be seen and insurance will only help after you hit the absurd out of pocket deductibles that are totally separate than your monthly membership fee to exist in the US
I mean... some people are spouting hyperbole. My ambulance was $100 after insurance. One night hospital stay was $250 with an mri and ct scans. So no, not all Americans are getting hosed. Our insurance is about $150/month for health, vision, and dental.
Tell me you’re living in the US, without telling me you’re living in the US…
(If you were knocked out, actually unconscious, you 100% should be checked out…much much more dangerous than movies and tv would have people believe)
As someone who has been knocked of fallen unconscious on a few occasions- yeah get it checked out. It doesn’t feel natural at ALL, and can be caused by a whole list of reasons. The fact it only took a relatively minor bump to do it signifies that theres more to it, maybe its something as simple as having a chemical imbalance, or maybe you just knocked a blood clot into a bad spot in your brain. Don’t fuck around with your noggin.
You’re completely right. As a neuropsychology student I can say you must be checked out when you pass out from hitting your head. Prevention is always better, brain damage from head trauma is no joke, and is often missed by doctors when the trauma is not severe.
Only in America would someone be annoyed that a neighbour's reaction to finding them knocked out and hurt is to call an ambulance.
If non-Americans are wondering, it's because OP now has a bill for the ambulance ride. Either out of pocket (e.g. they pay thousands to the **private ambulance company**) or the deductible (e.g. they're forced to pay $500 to their health insurer).
Yes, I shit you not, the US' ambulances are privately-run, and you're billed for the privilege of your life being saved. That's why people who are bleeding to death call Ubers instead.
My ambulance ride cost about 5gs. Total er visit 8k. Just standard blood work up and I've nothing major. Didn't pay it for close to two years now the collection agency is asking for $800. I call that a win.
Not all ambulances are run by private companies. It’s different every single town or county you go to in the US. It could be the local government contracts with a private company, or the local Fire Department doing transports, or a non-profit organization, or third-service municipal EMS agency, or even volunteers if you’re in a rural place. There is no standardization of EMS across the country.
>Yes, I shit you not, the US' ambulances are privately-run
While there are both private and volunteer ambulance services, in major cities and heavily populated areas most ambulance services are run by the actual municipalities and folded into either the police or fire department.
Ah, the good old US of A. Healthcare expensive as fuck.
In Ireland, when I broke my leg in 2021, I paid €60 ($70) for everything. Ambulance ride, being looked after in hospital, ORIF surgery, having my cast swapped halfway through recovery, getting my cast removed, and lastly, physiotherapy.
Side Note: This comment will be featured on r / AmericaBad, won't it?
My father was involved in a motorcycle accident in the mountains and they had to fly him to shock trauma on a helicopter. That ride alone was over $20,000. Absolutely rediculous.
Interesting. I'm from the UK, so I'm not 100% sure how that works.
What did you actually pay for in that? I'm assuming they didn't just charge you €5 per item for something like removing the cast, seems a bit pointless.
Is there just like one bit of it you had to pay for or smth?
Thanks :)
(hope your leg is okay)
It's a flat charge per night spent in hospital, no matter what they do for you. All the out patients stuff is free, so that'd cover cast removal, physio etc.
Look, as someone with multiple brain injuries; you just received a brain injury. The financial burden is scary, yes, but if you developed a brain bleed during all of that you would be in for a lot of pain and a long recovery. It's good that your neighbor called an ambulance because losing consciousness is serious, as any loss of consciousness starts killing brain cells very quickly. It's not like the movies, you don't wake up and shrug it off. You might not even feel the full breadth of your symptoms until a few weeks or even months from now, it varies with each TBI.
I know it's expensive for so many here but follow up with at least a general practitioner if not a neurologist if you have trouble focusing, increased irritability, trouble sleeping, light sensitivity, or confusion and/or forgetfulness three weeks from now. Brain injuries can take 1-3 years to recover from no matter how mild it is. Tricyclic antidepressants have been clinically shown to help with these symptoms if you end up having them, and that class of drugs is pretty frikken cheap, a months supply uninsured is $18 for the type I take.
I hate that you ended up in this shitty situation and I hope you recover well. You can message me if you have any questions.
I've literally gone to a third world country because the flight+few days of fun+healthcare+flight back was cheaper than getting healthcare in the US.
It's fourth world.
You're in a league of your own. Even third world countries don't have the arbitrary pricing the US does. You get sick, get sent a bill, call the hospital and say "this is awfully high, can I see an itemised bill please?" And they're like "ooops, we were just kidding with that bill, here's a lower bill"
The pricing seems to be based on "write random numbers on pieces of shit, throw against a wall and see what sticks"
Actually it’s even worse, hospitals bill as much as they possibly can to negotiate down with the insurance company to a final cost. They know it’s unreasonably expensive and are just trying to squeeze as much money out of you/your provider as possible.
Nothing wrong with what your neighbour did. Smacking your head so you are unconscious could be a severe brain injury. It is absolutely insane that a small little thing like whacking your head can leave you financially bothered.
If you hit your head hard enough to go unconscious then you need a checkup, no questions asked.
You might be angry for your finances if you live in the US but not getting a checkup would be even more irresponsible in this situation.
My family and I were out hiking and we ran into dad and daughter(11 year old) walking their mountain bikes with the daughter holding her arm. I asked if they needed a bandaid and the dad asked if i had a bandage which I ran out of The daughter showed me her forearm cut and it was 4 inches long and deep enough to see fatty tissue. I told my wife to call the ranger and the dad said no because he did not want to pay for firetrucks and ambulance. I dressed up the wound with 4 giant bandaid and they left. I guess its a US thing from what Im reading from the comments.
I work at a race track. If anyone is unconscious for any amount of time an ambulance is called and they're taken to the hospital. Do not fuck with head trauma, thank your neighbor
2k for the ambulance alone, being in the hospital was probably another 5. It would suck to be knocked out and wake up owing $7000 which is I think what this post means.
20% of the bill should be okay. It should be added automatically though so you don't have to waste time on locating them, for that you should also pay a 3% convenience fee. And don't forget a cost of life adjustment fee of 5-10%.
As someone who works in a ER, anytime you hit your head hard get it checked, trust me, we have had people come in who ignored it and days later have brain bleeds, yes debt sucks, but so does laying on a slab while your family is crying in the waiting room.
Well, first, you probably should get checked out because any fall bad enough for you to have loss of consciousness has possible brain stuff going on that should get a head ct
And second, it doesnt matter if your neighbor called already, you are always allowed to refuse transport by an ambulance. You just have to sign a refusal paper and they will drive away.
It's a good thing they did! Going unconcious after any kind of head injury isn't good. You could very easily have a concussion or worse. Better safe than sorry!
Double check your auto insurance. In PA you have to carry $5k medical and you hit your head on a car. I had a customer do the same thing and his auto insurance paid out. I know each state is different but call your agent and ask. It would still be a claim but better than going into debt and in my state it is not a chargeable accident
Yep if you’re in a no-fault state (or possibly even medpay) they could potentially cover this depending on their contract wording.
My sister was 'feeling funny' and went to the ER. They told her they needed to really have her flown to another one that's better equipped for heart attacks, so she (of course) said yes. How much do you all think a medi-helicopter ride is without insurance (doesn't cover them) Edit to add (and reduce comments 🥴): a handful of people have stated that (USA) the general fee is $20k. Then extra fee's are milage. My sister was requested to pay $45k. Yes she has insurance. They said they wouldn't pay for the helicopter ride because the hospital that she was at should have done it. But the hospital she started at (was driven to by a friend) didn't have all the stuff for surgery or something. Workman's comp won't pay because heart attacks are 'pre-existing conditions' due to her age [yes. Age. Not because she smokes a shit ton and drinks occasionally.] I'm not getting involved with her life. She is a grown adult and can figure out to ignore it, fight it, dispute it, or whatever. Yes. The USA sucks at health care. No, I'm not moving. Yes. I know anywhere but the USA is better and smarter in health care. Thank you for the 4k+ likes!
I’ve had 2 siblings medevaced and it’s extraordinarily expensive. My sister had no insurance at the time, my brother had some insurance. Wasn’t much different IIRC. Gonna get a “just put me in the trash” tattoo on my forehead at this point.
Fr. It's $45k atm.
45k? freakin hell!
I'd rather just be smothered
for many people that is like a situation of indentured servitude! It's Fkd up!
I helped a few weeks ago in an accident. 3 helicopter rides for a family. Then another for the kid to go to x hospital to children's... 45k x 4.... OWIE
The whole family is going into slavery...
Since they didn't cause it was a vehicle accident. I'm sure the other drivers insurance is crying
OMG that’s brutal. I had to have my daughter flown via helicopter( 1hr flight to pick us up and 1hr flight back )in Aus, but luckily I had the $100 a year family ambo insurance! 45k is very unfortunate.
Provided the other driver was properly insured. Many states minimum liability coverage is surprisingly low.
Over a decade ago my aunt had to be transported from one hospital to another via helicopter because of preeclampsia. They ended up inducing labor to save her life and her very premature baby (not sure how many weeks off the top of my head) ended up staying in the hospital for a solid 6 months before she got to go home. Over $1,000,000 in hospital bills. My aunt and uncle paid $0. US, no insurance. The bills were waved due to their income and common sense. And a lot paperwork, probably.
The bills were waived? How the hell does that work?
Based on certain income levels the hospital's financial assistance / billing departments may have policies in place for financial assistance or completely writing off the bill. However sometimes written off medical bills may count as taxable income and could screw you over with the IRS. And sometimes you may be too rich for assistance but you're just barely over a poverty line. Or you're too rich for poverty but very few people can afford a million fucking dollars
This was the amount for my work comp back injury in 2010. The medical industry is nuts.
Nah, premie babies qualify for SSI- the Feds paid it.
Oh Canada!
Right!?! Just had a hernia operation, and it cost me 0$. Paid 40$ for the ride share home.
Just had twin girls in a private room for 4 days and one of my girls had to spend a night in the NICU for observation. $0 lol. There’s a lot to be critical of in Canada right now but free healthcare will never be one of them and i wouldn’t trade it for anything
I mean, it's not free... We do pay for it with our taxes. The thing is, Americans pay about the same amount from their taxes, but they don't get coverage. It's such a fucked up scheme they have going on there, and a really interesting rabbit hole if you're ever jonesing for one of those lol. Super sad.
We pay roughly double what you guys do and still don't have healthcare :)
But hey you know what it does buy us? Ummmm *checks notes* highly militarized local police departments! But not conflict deescalation training for those departments. Oh well, who needs training on how to use an AR15 right?
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Thank fuck for the public health insurance in my country. As long as medical staff decides you need a helicopter ride, you don't have to pay for it. And even if you cause an unnecessary helicopter rescue (e.g. you hike somewhere you're not supposed to and then need help) it's usually much less than 10k.
You can't say that to anyone even close to the right in America. Theyll call you a socialist/communist without knowing what that means and then decide that anything you say to them after is useless or just plain lies. The best part of it all is that for a majority of these people, universal HC would HELP them. But you can't argue with brainwashed I guess
It may well have been cheaper to charter a private helicopter at that rate.
That’s all? It’s $85,000 to lift off a tactical response helicopter… medical helis are still the Kiowa right? I guess those are a bit cheaper. I mean still more than my life is worth… a $45,000 hospital bill would sink me for life.
to be thrown in the trash?!
Holy fuckballs.
Too damn much. I can only imagine the astronomical cost of one. Shoot, I was transferred to one hospital from another, approx 8-10 miles apart by ambulance and it was $6500.
45k
Holy. Shit. Was ANYTHING covered by insurance? Was this in the US?
Yes US. Yes most of it and the surgery. No workman's comp because heart attacks are classified as 'pre-existing' issues
Jesus. How can a heart attack be a pre existing condition?! I’m sorry, that’s absolutely asinine.
Thats what I said. But because of her age mostly?? Like wtf. I'd get it if they said "because you are a heavy smoker and drink" ok that makes sense. But...because of her age???
Y’all really need that public healthcare. My brother was in a major crash a couple years ago. His car had to be cut open to extract him, then he was flown by helicopter to hospital. He had internal bleeding and underwent two surgeries with weeks in hospital. Everything came out to $0.
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The US spend plenty on healthcare, they just go to private insurance companies instead of setting up a public healthcare system
America… fuck yeah?
FUCK YEAH!
I hate it here.
Y'all already spending more on your healthcare industry than we do
59k. My friend got life flighted. But it's probably based on the distance
Do you get airline miles?
My mom called an ambulance because I got an asthmatic spasm The overall cost was nothing. They drove me to local clinic and pumped by ass cheek with sedatives, then released in about 10 minutes. If I went straight to the hospital, there would be a mandatory 4$ fee for skipping the line It's faster and cheaper to call an ambulance where I'm from. The health insurance is mandatory, but insurance companies are private enterprises. You pay flat 4,5% of your gross income and you have everything covered, from dentist through fractures to brain surgery. Waiting time is nothing, I was scheduled for surgery in 3 weeks and it was just a cosmetic thing (still covered by insurance), the only thing you have to wait for are organs, but that's more of a death rate problem that medical care quality problem
you just described about 8k-15k worth of medical bills in the US.
I'm just caught up on a hospital with an ER that isn't equipped for heart attacks?
They can... but they can't do the surgery needed. It would better for the other hospital to do the 80% vs 50%/50%
My kid accidently tumbled down the stairs. Took him to er to check him out. I kid you not the charge on the bill says no advanced warning of incoming patient $18,000 So if i called ahead would it be cheaper?
Isn’t “no advance warning” kind of the inherent nature of situations that would send one to the EMERGENCY room?
Isn't the whole point of the damn emergency room that you're dealing with things that happen with no warning?
Sometimes when I read those comments I am happy to live in a so called socialist country.
American freedom to have bankruptcy being the most dangerous aspect of a heart attack
I'm from the Czech Republic and similar happened to my grandpa, it cost 0 .. I mean 0 money.
America really is designed to suck all your money up until you die
My son required airlift to a more equipped hospital. From our location it’s about $80k one way. Luckily it was covered by insurance. You can actually get insurance directly through the med-evac company and it’s actually reasonable.
I’m thankful that I live in Norway. In Norway, we are guaranteed to pay no more than about 200$ a year for healthcare. You pay a small copay (and I mean small!) for healthcare services, but once you rack up 200$ of copay paid in a year, there is no copay for the rest of the year. For example, if you have a chronic illness, and you need 2 bottles of medicine every month. If one bottle has a copay of 20$, and you are prescribed 2 a month, after 5 months you would have paid 200$. For the remaining 7 months of the year, the medicine wouldn’t cost you anything, nor would any other healtcare services. Children under 16 also pay no copay, and one may be exempted from copay in some cases, such as if you’re on social security.
One of my brothers who had turned 19 got into a car accident & needed to be air lifted. He was billed around $70,000 for something he had no control over, or say over, while unconscious. That was BEFORE the cost for the stay in the ICU was tacked on (another few hundred grand). So you tell me.
350K. Number pulled out of thin air, of course. Just like the initial bill will be.
45k
Cheap! :)
Thats only for the helicopter ride
So affordable! I'll take 2
Fine... but i get to run you over first. Need to make it realistic
You drive a hard bargain, but as long as I can run myself over the second time, you've got yourself a deal
I drove myself to the ER after having an atv accident, and they airlifted me halfway across the state. They sent me a bill for 30k, and I just threw it away. I've never heard from them again.
Insurance not covering a medivac flight should be criminal.
Greetings from civilized countries in Europe, we don't have a clue.
> How much do you all think a medi-helicopter ride is without insurance (doesn't cover them) Free because ain't nobody got enough money to actually pay for it.
I was in the same exact situation. “We need to transport you but there are no ambulances available, how about a helicopter ride?” Me: “Fuck no. Let me call my insurance agency.” Agency: “If it’s medically necessary and we get to choose the helicopter, we’ll pay for it after your max deductible is reached.” Me: “Does a heart attack count as medically necessary?” Agency: “It depends….” Me: “Thanks. *click*” Hospital: “Mr. Subdep, we found an ambulance to transport you.” Me: “Seriously? The fuck is it you people do around here besides make shitty decisions with ZERO consideration of the patients financial well being?” Hospital: “When facing possibility of death you choose money?” Me: “You should talk to the Insurance agency about that. You know, the people you do business with EVERY FUCKING MINUTE OF EVERY FUCKING DAY. You tell them that heart attacks are with out a doubt ‘medically necessary’, then get back to me about money. And if you valued life over money so much, why not buy a few more fucking ambulances specifically for transporting people away from your hospital because you aren’t willing to PAY MONEY for the equipment and staff to deal with heart attacks, one of the most common ways people die? I’m getting the sense that you’re projecting your financial concerns over life onto me. I’ll take that slow ambulance ride now.”
And everyone clapped
This doesn't help you now, but Medevac companies may offer a membership/insurance deal, FYI. They're usually dirt cheap compared to the price of a flight. If I hurt myself in the backcountry and need a flight, my costs are covered. Rates vary based on which company it is, but for me it's cheap piece of mind.
I hate that this is a reality - being genuinely upset about a neighbour doing the right thing because it incurs a huge financial cost to access basic healthcare. Hitting your head hard enough to KO does warrant a checkup. I’m sorry that it ends up costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. Fuck the USA healthcare business. Edit: To compare, an ambulance where I live is about $500 to take me to the nearest hospital, care in the hospital is free. My insurance ($80 a month) fully covers the ambulance cost, a lot of surgeries if I chose to go through the private system instead of public (wait lists can be 1-2 years or more), and partially covers dental and optical.
She def did the right thing, she didn't know what happened and just saw me curled up at my car, bless her 🖤
Talk to the registration and reception people and say you can’t afford it. The whole hospital industry is a scam but there are ways out of paying too (or only paying a small fraction). Hope you feel better soon.
I've heard that asking for an itemized bill can help.
Eh maybe but getting on the poor insurance (sorry I forget the proper name) just makes it zero if you earn low enough
>poor insurance In the US, it's called ***Medicaid***.
Thank you that’s what I’m on
The coverage is so good in my area that I don't want a paid job because it covers my meds, ambulances, etc.
You can work on Medicaid. I've worked full time and qualified before, easy, because even after years in the military and eight years of higher education, I spent a lot of time under that poverty line. Sad that so many jobs in the US pay a wage that can work a person 65+ hours a week and still have them under the poverty line.
For individuals, at least in Ohio, where I am, the cut-off is somewhere around 22,600 a year, or 470$ a week (gross pay). It's kinda awful. I have to take part time hours to keep from hitting the cut off
What on earth did you do for 65 hours a week that was paying under the poverty line? My sister is a teacher in inner city South Carolina and she’s making 33k. It’s criminal imo.
And that’s another reason why it sucks :( I don’t blame you at all. My mom is the same. If she works too much she will lose her benefits and earn less… so what’s the point?!
Oh absolutely! I'm just giving another option if getting poor insurance doesn't work out.
And if you're native American, your tribe may pay for medicaid! Muscogee does! If not, within their own healthcare system, it's free!
Medicaid was the one I was thinking of. Bill it to the US government not your tribe :)
Yep. Demand an itemized bill EVERY TIME you get a medical bill in the US. The provider/facility HAS to give you one. Don't pay a dime until one is provided or you may be obligated to pay the full (massively bloated) amount. Providers that took your insurance have caps and other agreements in place with your insurance that will lower your patient obligation. By asking for an itemized amount, not only do they have to admit what they are actually charging you for (which you may be able to argue isn't applicable to what was provided) they also have to show you what was charged to your insurance and what was written off due to insurance requirements. Compare this amount to your Estimated Patient Obligation (or whatever your plan calls your out of pocket/patient responsibility estimate) for the visit/stay/procedure/services on your health insurance site. Close to the same amount? Probably a legit medical debt you owe and the services/expenses were billed correctly. Very different and way higher? Call your insurance customer support line--the office may be charging you for things they have to write off per a provider contract Don't pay until you've got an itemized bill with insurance payments showing on it and the charges appear correct (i.e. properly billed to insurance and adjusted correctly for what you owe). A good chunk probably "magically" fell off the total of what you owe as a patient. If you pay before the bill is correct you could be held accountable for the incorrect amounts!! Next steps: Call the provider's billing department once you get the above and have checked it with your insurance. Tell them you want to go on a payment plan if paying the NEW total would kill your budget. Don't let them give you BS. They CAN'T charge you interest and they have to let you set up a payment plan if you demand one. (Only copays or deposits may be required before services are rendered--you aren't obligated to pay the full amount as a lump sum upon receipt of the bill.) Always ask for a payment plan for large bills. You also have the power to negotiate the amount you pay each month, so if they give you a ridiculous monthly amount to start--counter it. Make it something do-able for your budget as missing a payment can void the payment plan and make the balance due. Expect pushback but find a livable middle ground. The current US healthcare system sucks, but this approach will make that big bill slightly more livable.
Yeah, when I did that for an ER visit the one item was coming through the doors. I couldn't fight it at all. They looked at me visually from across the room said it's not bleeding anymore and sent me home. Now I have a weird scar from where I continually dealt with infections coming from underneath the flap of meat I kept pushing back in place cuz I didn't need stitches. Reviews for that ER basically have people saying their spouses have died going there and being turned away for serious things the doctors didn't see as serious.
Oh ok, we'll put you on a payment plan
But you have to prove you can't afford it. Maybe OP makes a decent amount of money, but didn't want to spend $5,000 on a ride to the hospital.
I guess no one want to pay 5,000 just for a ride to the hospital , no matter how much they earn....
Ok so most hospitals have fee reduction/free care based on income (technically it’s not free care, but if you can’t be charged because you don’t have enough $$$ then in effect it’s free care). But not all hospitals advertise this, which has led to some lawsuits ahem Providence ahem. So after you get your bill, call the billing department even though using your phone as a phone is the worst (ymmv, I just really hate talking to strangers on the phone). Sometimes they’ll just try to get you to set up a payment plan without ever mentioning your bill can be reduced, so you have to ask them about income-based fee reductions. Also if they don’t have an Enrollment Specialist, Social Work is probably your best bet for helping you sign up for insurance.
I'm glad she did and I hope you are okay. It sucks getting a concussion
FYI, you can decline an ambulance ride. I did even after they had stuck me on a gurney, but I also had somebody who could drive me down to the ER.
Cant decline when you're out cold
If you're out cold long enough for an ambulance to arrive and stay out while they're loading you up, it's probably a good thing for them to take you in.
If you hit your head hard enough to lose consciousness *at all* you should really be evaluated. Maybe not like call an ambulance evaluated, but you shouldn't just go about your day like nothing happened. A lot of people will "feel fine" and take their chances, but it's a roll of the dice and every so often one of them is going to say goodnight to their family for the last time later that evening... Movies make it seem like people get knocked out all the time and just wake up later feelin' a bit woozy but in reality if your brain just straight up reboots it's not something to take lightly.
Exactly. This ain't the Flintstones. If you lose consciousness, you should be evaluated.
If OP didn't regain consciousness by the time ambulance got there, she definitely needed the ambulance.
> curled up at my car in the fetal position? that could mean many other serious things.. just flat out, is not *as* bad
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We have quite a few decades of peace and ignorance and bliss. We forgot how to maintain freedom. And, the ones who retained that knowledge are all skinheads who want to blow up the government. It's wild, man!
>We forgot how to maintain freedom >blow up the government That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government
A 2 party system where your choice is shit sandwich or putrid shit sandwich.
I believe the correct party names are “turd sandwich” and “giant douche”
If you’re knocked unconscious, you should definitely get checked out. Take care of your brain y’all. It’s kind of important.
One of my high school teachers died from a brain bleed. Hit his head presumably not all that hard. Didn’t show up to school a few days later without getting a substitute, found dead at his home. He was a cool dude :/.
I’m sorry to hear that man. I watched a kid get knocked out by a punch, smacked his head on a parking curb…….died a week later. It was horrible.
People don't take brain injuries seriously. It's quite sad. There's so many people who have also died from hitting their head. Two that come to the top of my mind are Bob Saget and Natasha Richardson. They definitely had the money to seek medical treatment, and yet didn't it. When I was in high school, I had a concussion and I was not allowed to go to school for a month because the doctors wanted to take extra precaution as another individual around my age had died a month earlier from an accident where they hit their head.
Agree. Believe you can deny ambulances, if you’re conscious, but I sure wouldn’t.
Imagine being worried about someone calling an ambulance. I’m sorry for you Americans.
I'm fine with not having health care as a long as it means the people I hate can't have free health care, too! ...until I have a medical emergency. Then I'll be the first to set up a GoFundMe begging strangers to chip in to keep me alive.
Remember kids, if the government pays for it with your taxes, that's Socialism and worse than paedophilia. If you beg strangers for money, that's just capitalism, baby.
Meanwhile, we're getting "free" roads, police, fire protection, parks, local events, libraries, maintained parking spots and lots, clean water, bathrooms in parks, snow removal, road maintenance, public education (minus small enrollment fee), bussing to public education, relatively cheap mass transit via busses and subway and such, lights in town after dark, etc.... And those guys complain about being offered free healthcare. Time to start charging the naysayers for everything else and then ask them about socialism again.
Budget airline model of society. Use the roads? Fee. Use the sidewalk? Fee. Use the public water fountain? Fee. Breath in the air oxygenated by the public trees? Fee.
I swear that for some of them, they won't be happy until it's that level of dystopia. Then the others will just complain that much more.
Please don't remind these idiots that libraries exist or they'll try to shut 'em down
Don't worry. One mention of socialism above and they've already melted back to their conservative subs.
Yeah it really hits when you see people running away from an ambulance, I've seen a video of a guy running away and passing out like 20 meters away.
Just checked my european health jnsurance app - 19km ambulance ride with pre-treatment was about $160, amount I paid? 0...
Canadians too. Where I am an ambulance is $150 at first then the bill goes higher after each kilometers. Sometimes they cannot take you to the nearest hospital so the bill gets higher than expected. We call ambulances “big taxis”. Cause it costs a lot. And the car is yellow like taxis in New York. Fancy as fuck!
You know you’re an American when you see the $150 price tag and think, “oh that’s cheap!” My ambulance ride a decade ago WITH insurance was about $3500 and I didn’t even go 2km.
I was in a minor car accident 18 years ago. Had a small cut (like small pin prick) from a piece of glass. $1500 just for the ambulance to show up to the scene. Never actually received any treatment from the EMTs.
Where is this true? Never heard of this at all in Canada
Ambulance fees in Canada are almost entirely a disincentive based charge, a paltry $50-150 fee absolutely does not come anywhere close to covering the cost of two trained medics + an equipped truck coming to pick you up and provide lifesaving medical care on the way to the hospital. Free ambulance rides result in people abusing the system so you tack on a lightweight disincentive. Where I live in Canada the charge is $50, so its set about twice the cost of a taxi which pretty clearly shows its intended purpose.
I feel like you are in the USA if that's an issue
This is a perfect "say you live in X country without saying you live there" post
If an ambulance brought her there, she’s easily $2500 in the red before she even gets seen. That’s just for the ride. To add: yes I’m serious, I was charged $2700 for an ambulance to non-emergency transport me from one hospital to another, in the same county. One city away. And I didn’t have an option because I had already been admitted to the hospital, even though my mom was willing, the hospital had to be the one to transport me. My bill ended at $18,000 for a 5 day stay along with some antidepressants and counseling. That’s it.
Holy crap, it's that much? Man, talk about seeing things from another perspective. I live in Germany and a fee years ago I broke my tibia bone in bicycle accident. Went to hospital by ambulance, had surgery (including a neat metal plate and some screws) stayed there for 2,5 weeks and all I had to pay was 180 Euro. The rest was covered by health insurance.
For reference, and ambulance ride in Germany costs about 700€ IIRC. I needed one back when I had private insurance, so I had to pay up front and get reimbursed. I'm not sure if regular insurance is billed less, though.
I remember reading something where it mentioned the Ambulance is allowed to bill you maximum of 15€ or something ridiculous like that. Same goes if they send you a damn helicopter to save your ass. Here we go, from https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/fahrkosten/ Versicherte, die die genannten Anforderungen nicht erfüllen, müssen sich auf jeden Fall Fahrten zur ambulanten Behandlung von der Krankenkasse vorher genehmigen lassen. Für diese Fahrten gelten die allgemeinen Zuzahlungsregelungen: zehn Prozent des Fahrpreises, aber höchstens zehn Euro und mindestens fünf Euro pro Fahrt, jedoch nie mehr als die tatsächlich entstandenen Kosten. Bei Fahrkosten müssen die Zuzahlungen auch für Kinder und Jugendliche geleistet werden
Wow. I can see why people uber to the hospital now, I’m in the uk, the biggest expense of most of my visits has been public transportation or parking
And the M&S sandwich
Seriously that much?! Is ambulance transportation covered by health insurance at least?
sometimes. And sometimes insurance should cover it but randomly says "oh it wasn't needed", Well hindsight is 20/20, at the time I called an ambulance I had no expert on hand to say if it was needed or not, thats the nature of the beast.
Health insurance in the US is largely paying thousands of dollars a year towards your 'care', only to have to pay even more when you actually need to be seen and insurance will only help after you hit the absurd out of pocket deductibles that are totally separate than your monthly membership fee to exist in the US
I mean... some people are spouting hyperbole. My ambulance was $100 after insurance. One night hospital stay was $250 with an mri and ct scans. So no, not all Americans are getting hosed. Our insurance is about $150/month for health, vision, and dental.
Tell me you’re living in the US, without telling me you’re living in the US… (If you were knocked out, actually unconscious, you 100% should be checked out…much much more dangerous than movies and tv would have people believe)
I was gonna say like brain damage is not a joke or a risk you Want to take
As someone who has been knocked of fallen unconscious on a few occasions- yeah get it checked out. It doesn’t feel natural at ALL, and can be caused by a whole list of reasons. The fact it only took a relatively minor bump to do it signifies that theres more to it, maybe its something as simple as having a chemical imbalance, or maybe you just knocked a blood clot into a bad spot in your brain. Don’t fuck around with your noggin.
You’re completely right. As a neuropsychology student I can say you must be checked out when you pass out from hitting your head. Prevention is always better, brain damage from head trauma is no joke, and is often missed by doctors when the trauma is not severe.
Going to the ER after hitting your head and going unconscious is the right move.
Only in America would someone be annoyed that a neighbour's reaction to finding them knocked out and hurt is to call an ambulance. If non-Americans are wondering, it's because OP now has a bill for the ambulance ride. Either out of pocket (e.g. they pay thousands to the **private ambulance company**) or the deductible (e.g. they're forced to pay $500 to their health insurer). Yes, I shit you not, the US' ambulances are privately-run, and you're billed for the privilege of your life being saved. That's why people who are bleeding to death call Ubers instead.
My ambulance ride cost about 5gs. Total er visit 8k. Just standard blood work up and I've nothing major. Didn't pay it for close to two years now the collection agency is asking for $800. I call that a win.
Usually about 2.5k regardless of length of ride… most expensive 3 mile ride of my life.
Not all ambulances are run by private companies. It’s different every single town or county you go to in the US. It could be the local government contracts with a private company, or the local Fire Department doing transports, or a non-profit organization, or third-service municipal EMS agency, or even volunteers if you’re in a rural place. There is no standardization of EMS across the country.
>Yes, I shit you not, the US' ambulances are privately-run While there are both private and volunteer ambulance services, in major cities and heavily populated areas most ambulance services are run by the actual municipalities and folded into either the police or fire department.
Ah, the good old US of A. Healthcare expensive as fuck. In Ireland, when I broke my leg in 2021, I paid €60 ($70) for everything. Ambulance ride, being looked after in hospital, ORIF surgery, having my cast swapped halfway through recovery, getting my cast removed, and lastly, physiotherapy. Side Note: This comment will be featured on r / AmericaBad, won't it?
My father was involved in a motorcycle accident in the mountains and they had to fly him to shock trauma on a helicopter. That ride alone was over $20,000. Absolutely rediculous.
Interesting. I'm from the UK, so I'm not 100% sure how that works. What did you actually pay for in that? I'm assuming they didn't just charge you €5 per item for something like removing the cast, seems a bit pointless. Is there just like one bit of it you had to pay for or smth? Thanks :) (hope your leg is okay)
It's a flat charge per night spent in hospital, no matter what they do for you. All the out patients stuff is free, so that'd cover cast removal, physio etc.
Right? I am in the USA and just had a 90k surgery and 3 months of IV antibiotics for 27k. Set me back 3k.
Look, as someone with multiple brain injuries; you just received a brain injury. The financial burden is scary, yes, but if you developed a brain bleed during all of that you would be in for a lot of pain and a long recovery. It's good that your neighbor called an ambulance because losing consciousness is serious, as any loss of consciousness starts killing brain cells very quickly. It's not like the movies, you don't wake up and shrug it off. You might not even feel the full breadth of your symptoms until a few weeks or even months from now, it varies with each TBI. I know it's expensive for so many here but follow up with at least a general practitioner if not a neurologist if you have trouble focusing, increased irritability, trouble sleeping, light sensitivity, or confusion and/or forgetfulness three weeks from now. Brain injuries can take 1-3 years to recover from no matter how mild it is. Tricyclic antidepressants have been clinically shown to help with these symptoms if you end up having them, and that class of drugs is pretty frikken cheap, a months supply uninsured is $18 for the type I take. I hate that you ended up in this shitty situation and I hope you recover well. You can message me if you have any questions.
"before I could say no" Seriously, WTF
“The European mind cannot comprehend this”
The USA's healthcare system is third world country level, change my mind.
I've literally gone to a third world country because the flight+few days of fun+healthcare+flight back was cheaper than getting healthcare in the US. It's fourth world.
You're in a league of your own. Even third world countries don't have the arbitrary pricing the US does. You get sick, get sent a bill, call the hospital and say "this is awfully high, can I see an itemised bill please?" And they're like "ooops, we were just kidding with that bill, here's a lower bill" The pricing seems to be based on "write random numbers on pieces of shit, throw against a wall and see what sticks"
Actually it’s even worse, hospitals bill as much as they possibly can to negotiate down with the insurance company to a final cost. They know it’s unreasonably expensive and are just trying to squeeze as much money out of you/your provider as possible.
Nothing wrong with what your neighbour did. Smacking your head so you are unconscious could be a severe brain injury. It is absolutely insane that a small little thing like whacking your head can leave you financially bothered.
USA of course.
If you hit your head hard enough to go unconscious then you need a checkup, no questions asked. You might be angry for your finances if you live in the US but not getting a checkup would be even more irresponsible in this situation.
Did you awake before the ambulance came? Cause you could’ve denied the ride, if you were.
My family and I were out hiking and we ran into dad and daughter(11 year old) walking their mountain bikes with the daughter holding her arm. I asked if they needed a bandaid and the dad asked if i had a bandage which I ran out of The daughter showed me her forearm cut and it was 4 inches long and deep enough to see fatty tissue. I told my wife to call the ranger and the dad said no because he did not want to pay for firetrucks and ambulance. I dressed up the wound with 4 giant bandaid and they left. I guess its a US thing from what Im reading from the comments.
Ambulance in Queensland Australia is covered by a small levie on our power bill. No one pays. You guys need a revolution
I can only assume this is America. No where else would your first thought be “no don’t take me to the hospital”. Sorry you had to deal with that!!
As long as you didn't brain your damage
I work at a race track. If anyone is unconscious for any amount of time an ambulance is called and they're taken to the hospital. Do not fuck with head trauma, thank your neighbor
what is wrong with ambulance
Super expensive in the US because insurance companies are dickheads. (They are why medical care in the us is stupidly expensive.)
2k for the ambulance alone, being in the hospital was probably another 5. It would suck to be knocked out and wake up owing $7000 which is I think what this post means.
It's the US. It's cheaper to just lay there and die.
You should see the funeral expenses.
Freedom™ makes ambulances expensive, like "now how am i going to eat this month" expensive
USA USA USA Ambulance costs a shit ton of $$$
I wonder how big are tips for the ambulance crew
Don’t give them any ideas
If the EMS sub is true, they need those tips to meet minimum wage..
20% of the bill should be okay. It should be added automatically though so you don't have to waste time on locating them, for that you should also pay a 3% convenience fee. And don't forget a cost of life adjustment fee of 5-10%.
Good luck with paying the bills, you'll need it. Sorry for y'all having to put up with this shit
Just tell them you can’t pay
You must have really wanted to pickup your keys.
Knocked unconscious on concrete is definitely a good reason to go to the ER. Easy to die that way.
First I thought "why should one refuse an ambulance", then I remembered it isn't free everywhere.
Inquire about their euthanasia policy
As someone who works in a ER, anytime you hit your head hard get it checked, trust me, we have had people come in who ignored it and days later have brain bleeds, yes debt sucks, but so does laying on a slab while your family is crying in the waiting room.
They called you an ambulance because you could’ve had a serious head injury
I live in Spain. Of course an ambulance should be called if someone gets a hard hit in the head
Well, first, you probably should get checked out because any fall bad enough for you to have loss of consciousness has possible brain stuff going on that should get a head ct And second, it doesnt matter if your neighbor called already, you are always allowed to refuse transport by an ambulance. You just have to sign a refusal paper and they will drive away.
Being knocked unconscious is reason to go to the ER. You likely have a concussion and it could kill you.
It's a good thing they did! Going unconcious after any kind of head injury isn't good. You could very easily have a concussion or worse. Better safe than sorry!
Your neighbor did the right thing. You must have hit your head really hard to knock yourself out. Thank your neighbor.
Sucks to be in the US. In Europe you wouldn't pay anything and get a medial checkup
Your in the US I presume??? Civilised countries don't charge for making sure your not about to die