Re: Ambulance Bill

Alison Wonderland · ‎02-05-2018

@CatsyCline wrote:
@SXMGirl wrote:
@CatsyCline I have no idea how much an ambulance costs; but, where I live and the ambulance and fire departments are volunteer, we contribute $50 a year to each. That covers any situation where they are needed at my home. You might want to look into that in your town.
the dispatch wasnt made from my house. the hospital contracted w the ambulance company whch is based at the other end of our state,

That's exactly the problem with ambulances - the consumer isn't making the decision about who gets sent out, dispatch is.

It's even worse with air ambulances. NPR's Planet Money did a story last month on a couple who was in a car accident and had to be flown to the hospital. The rescue crew arrived and called in an air ambulance and dispatch sent one. They got the man out and took him to the hospital, but it took a few hours more to get the woman out, so another helicopter had to be called and that time dispatch sent out a privately owned and operated company, not the county helicopter, which was busy elsewhere.

Both the man and the woman took the same trip from the same location to the same hospital.

The man's bill from the county service was $1,700.

The woman's bill from the private company was $13,000.

America needs to do better.

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

The ACA did not ban balance billing for emergency transportation.

Write to DC even your state has laws within the state.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@jlkz wrote:
@CatsyCline

As for the # of miles, ambulances cannot go over train tracks. And, as another poster mentions, there may have been detours that caused the increased mileage.

If that's the case, I'm sure glad I never needed an ambulance when I was growing up. There is absolutely NO way to get from one end of town to the other without going across RR tracks. And, on top of that, one of the more direct ways to the hospital, the train tends to sit on tracks, switching I guess, blocking the roadway a lot of times.

There are certain areas where I currently live that would also be a problem.

september · ‎03-09-2010

Yes, I have. Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of my automobile accident. I was not seriously hurt, but the EMT in charge wanted to take me to a major trauma center about 30 miles away, although there was a good hospital ( where I'd always gone in the past) less than 5 miles away. Due to my insistence, I was taken to the nearby hospital, treated and released about 4 hours later.

then began a six month ordeal, when the county ambulance company charged more than insurance deemed reasonable. I was warned to pay the uncovered charges or it would be turned over to collections. I held my ground. The insurance company coughed up a bit more and it all got settled.

I hate to think how much more those charges would have been if they had taken me to the trauma center

judianne · ‎07-09-2014

As a retired EMT , nurse and Ambulance worker , the transferring hospital is responsible for the cost of the transfer , because they were unable to provide the needed care . At least that’s how it was when I worked on the Ambulance .

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@judianne wrote:
As a retired EMT , nurse and Ambulance worker , the transferring hospital is responsible for the cost of the transfer , because they were unable to provide the needed care . At least that’s how it was when I worked on the Ambulance .

No, this is only allowed if the hospital can not provide the service and the patient must be transferred to another hospital that offers the service needed. You must be transferred to the nearest hospital..not necessary one of your choice.

The hospital is not responsible for the cost of the transfer, the patient is, but covered by insurance if the patient has it.

A transfer to a SNF is usually not covered by insurance and an ambulance is not used for this type of transfer. A van or wheelchair transport vehicle is used.

There are different components to an ambulance bill and van transports as far as billing goes and if a Paramedic is dispatched, that charge is separate.

No how, no way would a hospital be responsible for a patients cost to transfer them to another facility. They do not offer any no cost services....ever.