US ambulance rides are payed by the patient?

[Mancowski]

In 2011 i was having chest tightness and pains, thought it was a heart attack brought on by stress or something of the like.

Called an ambulance, they get there, hook an EKG machine up, can't see any signs of an attack, but say i should go to the hospital anyway.
I wasn't given any drugs, or an oxygen feed on the run. Just the EKG deal that was put on in my house.

Rode in the ambulance to the next town, which was 38 miles away. Got a bill for $1940. And it turned out to be a severe panic attack that i has been suffering from 3 days straight.

I realize that the rides need to be paid for, but two-thousand dollars should be illegal when you are just riding in the back

[Mentia]

Compared to your clusterfuck of a system, they basically are free. Your governments spend just as much as Canada does for healthcare (and decidedly more than most european nations), and then you spend as much again in private funds.

We have leeches to thank for that problem.

[Daez]

of course we pay. it's actually a pretty decent business to get into. i'm not sure about how obamacare affects it but it's still a decent business.

in america you pay for everything. if it's something really needed like healthcare or education then you pay exhorbitantly.

what a great country.

It is a great country. We pay for the services we need when we need them. In other countries, they pay 30% higher taxes for services they will most likely never need. I'll take it this way any day.

[Kujako]

You just said that we shouldn't be making a profit from medical. How do you do that when people who provide to our medical system need to make a living?

Salary is a business expense.
Non-profit : income - expense = 0
For-profit : income - expense > 0

In many countries medical staff work for the government rather then private corporations. In the US, even if the hospital is non-profit the ambulances are often a different for-profit company.

[Zabatakis]

Yeah its a scam really. I mean I could see the price being justified if the paramedics had to do life saving protocols in route to the hospital.

But I got knocked out once and my gf freaked and called the ambulance. They took me less than 1 mile and did nothing but take my blood pressure and break a few smelling salts. The bill was a bit over 3500 USD. Seems legit. Then to compound this nonsense bill they did not take my insurance information at any point, nor did they just ask the hospital for it (maybe they couldn't due to law? not sure.) so the bill came to me. By the time I got that straightened out they already dinged my credit score.

[Daez]

The US healthcare system is probably the worst in the world next to the tribal African healthcare where the shamans give you healing potions made of ground up flowers and elephant piss.

The United States healthcare system is one of the best in the world... as evidenced by those that send their patients here from around the world. The only system you can actually put it on par with is that of Europe. The affordability of it, however, leaves much to be desired.

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I believe my medical insurance picks up the tab on it. Though, it would go down as an emergency room visit so I would have to shell out $100.

Or you could just do what thousands of other people do in this country and come here illegally and get free medical.

I'm sure you have proof to back that up and are not just talking out your arse, right!?!

[Mentia]

Salary is a business expense.
Non-profit : income - expense = 0
For-profit : income - expense > 0

In many countries medical staff work for the government rather then private corporations. In the US, even if the hospital is non-profit the ambulances are often a different for-profit company.

Who in their right mind would go through 12+ years in college to work for non-profit?

[Stormdash]

I was browsing Imgur when I saw this:
http://imgur.com/gallery/ZPlt6du

Now, at first I thought it was a funny joke... but then I started reading the comments and I am starting to have doubts it actually is a joke so need to ask, do people in the US actually have to pay 700$ for an ambulance ride? If not, do you actually pay for it, and how much?

Somebody pays for it in every country. I know that's apparently a dirty little secret for those educated in the last 20 years or so, but the cost of the thing doesn't vanish just because a law is passed deciding that Person A doesn't have to pay for it themselves at the point of transaction.

All that's up to discussion is who does or should that cost fall upon. It can fall upon the end-user directly, it can fall on insurance company of the end-user, can fall on the hospital that contracts with the ambulance company, on the ambulance company directly... or it can be taken up by the state and thusly passed on to the entirety of the taxpaying population (and even the non taxpaying population as a function of funds not available to spend on them).

But it is never. ever. EVER. "Free".

[Kujako]

Who in their right mind would go through 12+ years in college to work for non-profit?

Well... when the school is paid for by the government, you end up with people who actually want to help others rather then people who want to be rich. And its not 12 years to be a paramedic... it's like 12 months.

[Rukentuts]

Somebody pays for it in every country. I know that's apparently a dirty little secret for those educated in the last 20 years or so, but the cost of the thing doesn't vanish just because a law is passed deciding that Person A doesn't have to pay for it themselves at the point of transaction.

All that's up to discussion is who does or should that cost fall upon. It can fall upon the end-user directly, it can fall on insurance company of the end-user, can fall on the hospital that contracts with the ambulance company, on the ambulance company directly... or it can be taken up by the state and thusly passed on to the entirety of the taxpaying population (and even the non taxpaying population as a function of funds not available to spend on them).

But it is never. ever. EVER. "Free".

Except as a % of GDP we also pay out the ass compared to other developed countries.

[Daez]

Yes, your insurance pays. But why can't Canadians and Europeans grasp the concept that their "free" healthcare isn't free? Who pays for your ambulance ride in Toronto or London? EVERYBODY PAYS. Taxes...aren't they a bitch?

Yeah, but you also get to pay for everyone else as well. So, if someone decides to constantly put their life at risk and gets hurt constantly because of it you get to continuously pay for them even if you live the life of a Mormon school teacher.

[Mentia]

I'm sure you have proof to back that up and are not just talking out your arse, right!?!

Who pays for the illegal's medical bills? They sure as heck don't.

[Iphie]

Ignorant question: Is there some sort of "travel insurance" for trips abroad to cover a scenario like this?

There is, usually, but at least when I worked for a dutch health insurance company you needed to have a separate insurance if you went to the States because of the ridiculous cost. To clarify: you could go anywhere you liked on the insurance, but if you went to the states you needed a premium insurance.

[Wildtree]

Ignorant question: Is there some sort of "travel insurance" for trips abroad to cover a scenario like this?

Absolutely.....
http://www.arag.de/versicherungen/ge...nversicherung/
For Germans.... starts with 8 Euro per day. Includes everything, ER, Hospital stay, Ambulance transport, Return home transport, Dental.

How am I covered:

Der Versicherungsschutz gilt weltweit – überall im Ausland, wo Sie keinen ständigen Wohnsitz haben.
Für die ersten 42 Tage einer Auslandsreise übernehmen wir 100 % der Behandlungskosten

Coverage is worldwide - anywhere abroad, where you have no permanent residence.
For the first 42 days of a trip abroad, we assume 100% of the cost of treatment

Why do I need travel insurance:

Wenn Sie gesetzlich versichert sind, zahlt Ihre Kasse die Behandlung nur innerhalb der Europäischen Union, außerhalb nur in Staaten mit Sozialversicherungsabkommen.

If you're insured by law, the provider only pays for trips within the EU and outside of that only in countries that are in social security agreements with Germany.

Should me mentioned, Germany and the US do have such agreement.. A German would therefore be covered by his home insurance in the US.
I would still go for a travel insurance in addition, to be honest. Just to rule out any tricky situations.

[Rukentuts]

There is, usually, but at least when I worked for a dutch health insurance company you needed to have a separate insurance if you went to the States because of the ridiculous cost. To clarify: you could go anywhere you liked on the insurance, but if you went to the states you needed a premium insurance.

So...being a resident of the states, I probably wouldn't need much (anything) to say, go abroad to one of these more progressed nations?

[Daez]

i would consider accessibility an important factor in determining how good a healthcare system is, and having to pay through the nose like this definitely drops it way way down my list.

Accessibility is still 100%. The ambulance is required by law to transport you and the hospital is required by law to provide you the minimum needed care even if you cannot pay. You just get a bill that you cannot pay, and in most cases the ambulance transporter and the hospital has forgiveness programs if you are truly unable to pay. This can be any sort of a discount from none to 100% based on your personal income. In those cases, the company pays (so in return, the other people that use that company pay).

[Waaldo]

Paramedic reporting in! Some insurance companies do cover it under medical costs, depending on the cause of the ambulance ride. Usually retirement insurances like Medicare will cover X number of trips per month depending on what coverage you choose. For example, my grandmother's insurance allows up to 2 ambulance rides per month and I believe she has to pay a $100 deductible. Anything past those 2 trips she has to pay out of pocked, and yes, $700 is on the very, very, low end. I've seen trips cost almost $3,000 depending on distance, treatment given, number of ambulances responding, and some other factors.

In most places in the US you can have an ambulance at your house in 2-5 minutes. Go to Google Maps and type "fire department" into the search box and have your mind blown at how many fire departments there are in this country, and then think about how those fire departments are paid for. Taxes don't even begin to make a dent in the cost of medical supplies.

[Mentia]

Well... when the school is paid for by the government, you end up with people who actually want to help others rather then people who want to be rich. And its not 12 years to be a paramedic... it's like 12 months.

Who pays for the government expenses? We do. So either way it's coming out of our pockets.
I was obviously talking about doctors when I said 12+ years of education.

[Knocturnall]

Canadians pay for ambulance rides too.

[Daez]

No they dont

Actually, the real answer is it depends, but you better believe that if there is assets left in probate the creditors in most cases will get it way before the children do. Now, there are ways to get around having anything left in probate, but in most cases that requires the help of a skilled trust and estates attorney, and most of those have fees that start at $350 an hour.