YuriLowell
Member
because we like freedom.
I just got threatened to be sent to collections because I can't pay for an ambulance
- Thread starter KevinCow
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because we like freedom.
don't think emts are getting rich off anyone. neither are most hospital staff, except your surgeons, anesthesiologists, specialists. nursing staff isn't getting rich off anyone and mostly work very long hours for moderately good pay.
This is not true.
The United States has awesome hospitals, great doctors, and premier research centers.
What you mean is that the American healthcare system is in need of reform.
Honestly, you hear horror stories about runaway billings and uninsured individuals. We hear horror stories of people in great pain being made to wait months for treatments and surgeries deemed low priority. And you know, both are true and both are exaggerated because people do that. No healthcare system is perfect, but you wouldn't know that by reading Neogaf.
If you have a $2,000 deductible, you have to meet that before the insurance will pay their share. The services will be "covered" they are just subject to your deductible. It's not that complicated. Go on a payment plan and pay the bills month to month. Are you unemployed or disabled? If not, and you are healthy, you are making it seem like you are frigging helpless here.
There's no fault. That's just how their system worked.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
This is the reality of millions of Americans. My family has hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that we're never going to pay.
Because there's a very thin line between 'having an NHS' and 'gay minorities aborting guns'.
That's why.
Yeah, that's my point.
I find this disingenuous.
We have a higher infant mortality rate. A higher amenable death rate. A lower quality of service metric than the rest of the first world. The only area we excel in is cancer treatment. And for all this we substantially pay more than the rest of the first world and we can't even insure everyone for all that extra we pay.
Fact is a prisoner has better health insurance than an unemployed person or a person that's under employed.
We can't just look at that and say "Yeah well, things are screwed up everywhere else."
Yeah, that's true. But similar does not mean equivalent.
I am unemployed. I think I've mentioned that several times now.
And now, thanks to the hospital pressing charges because of the way I acted while I was there (on account of I was out of my mind on the pills and alcohol I almost killed myself with, not to mention my long-standing mental issues), I seem to be having trouble getting a job since I guess that shit shows up on background checks.
So I can't get a job to pay for these hospital bills because I had a mental breakdown and went to the hospital. It's like the system is 69ing itself to fuck me.
You know what the hilariously ironic thing is? The reason I went to the hospital was a mental breakdown caused by the anxiety and depression from losing my last job and being unable to pay my bills. So hey, let's just slap even more bills and criminal charges on top of that! Surely that will make things better! Thanks, hospital!
Surgeons and anesthesiologists work even longer hours, and work just as hard as anyone. The problem with these debates is that they tend to miss the point. ALL physician salaries only account for about 5-6% of total healthcare spending, and has been going down for 15 years (relative to inflation). You want to find the "rich guys", go after the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Total annual healthcare spending in the US is $2.6 Trillion. Doctors aren't getting shit of that.
$2.6 Trillion. Just like how the EMTs don't get any real share of ambulance service money, neither are Surgeons. Go look at the pharma companies, insurance companies, and med tech companies.
You mean like how I was told to wait 6 weeks to get a lump on my testicle checked out with an ultrasound, and I had to call the medical clinic 4 times until I got a receptionist that would make room for me sooner? And I still had to wait a week?
That's America's system. So I'd like to hear you shut up about other countries and their "wait times" until we, at the very least, catch up to them.
CornBurrito
Member
Personal Responsibility. (tm)
Also just get insurance? Can't afford it? Bootstrap yourself to a better job.
phosphor112
Banned
Are you dense!? Those gay minorities are aborting our guns!(?) God Bless America!
the_prime_mover
Member
$2k on top of the amount you pay for insurance?! Out of curiosity, approximately how much do you pay (percentage) for income tax? I am sure Canada's Health Care System is inefficient and constantly abused (and obvious GPs are underpaid 'cause I can't seem to find one!), but there is a nice sense of relief from knowing that a hospital visit isn't going to break my bank.
Obviously this isn't a simple issue and we don't have the oversight in place to discourage abuse or penalize risk takers who get far more benefit from such a system when compared to the risk adverse. It will be interesting to see how things change up here as the population ages...
Or just buy more money.
Guess what? He probably also has a co-pay after that $2000 deductible.
Ninja Scooter
Member
oddly enough I had this done at an ER.
I pay around 33-35% in taxes.
Almost $300 a month in insurance premiums.
And a car payment a month in co-pays for prescriptions and doctor's visits.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
If you have significant non-student loan debts and no income - I'd just file bankruptcy. Fuck 'em
phosphor112
Banned
Yes, 2k + Premiums.
My wife and I have a 3k deductible with ~120(? I'd have to check again) in monthly premiums. We pay 20% on all services, except co-pays, which are roughly 30-40 for a doctors visit, and upwards from 150-300 for ER.
I personally am in the 20% tax range.
There are hospital services that will help you with all of this. Call the main hospital line and tell them your issues.
What a lazy, entitled, POS of a human being.
OR we have a system that works for all?
I wonder how much that would cost in the United States if the patient had no insurance.
More than $100k?
the_prime_mover
Member
Shit! You are paying approximately what I pay in taxes. Doctor's visits are paid but I would have to pay for prescriptions if I didn't have a health plan through work (which does cost in most private sector positions).
I guess you tend to have a higher annual income though.
Personally I would support a degree of privatization if it would help discourage abusers and drop prices/taxes for responsible people, but I don't really know how that would be managed and it would probably result in prices going up. Deregulation always seems to increase consumer costs across the board for some reason!
Because the elasticity of demand is near 0.
Prices going up doesn't mean people stop needing health services. It just means they get fucked over more.
And if you are trying to maximize profit, you will introduce inefficiences for the consumer every s tep of the way to maximize the # of transactions and pad your margins.
They do. But you can't get blood out of a turnip.
You might get a few collection calls and letters, but when the agency does a credit check on you and does some skip tracing and sees that you are unemployed, they'll move on to someone else.
But it will sit on your credit file as an unpaid bad debt for 7 years, and may stop you from getting approved for loans, or if you do get approved, getting an interest rate that isn't highway robbery.
Welcome to evil socialism where everybody helps each other out.
Meanwhile in Europe, my appendix cost me 20 euros something.
WAY over a million.
Phat Michael
Banned
this sounds awful. I live in the UAE and we get private health as part of our expat packages. basically i pay the first $15 of any treatment and the rest is free up to $1million.
Clay Davis
Member
right? I knew they charged crazy prices for hospital stays, seeing a doctor and so on, but charging people for the ambulance ride as well?
well, shit. this is crazy. first I learn they get charged for receiving calls and texts and now I learn that they charge for ambulance rides as well?
Mecha_Infantry
Banned
I'm never moving to Murica
Isn't this what Obamacare will be sorting out?
Isn't this what Obamacare will be sorting out?
anotherVegan
Member
Get a lawyer. Personal injury lawyers don't ask for anything up-front.
electricshake
Member
I've never understood why socialism (as in welfare state socialism, not planned economy socialism) is so looked down on in America. Is everyone really that selfish?
dave is ok
aztek is ok
Nope.
The best we can hope for through Obamacare is to have something similar to the NHS in 10-15 years.
word
Ok for services where the deductible applies, like the ones you received here, you will have to satisfy your deductible before your health benefits kick in.
What is likely happening here is you have 2 or 3 separate claims that your insurance received or could have received. One for the ambulance, one for the hospital, and maybe one for the mental hospital/physician if you were transferred. If your insurance's total $ allowance for all of these services is $2000 then you will owe that much because those are the terms of your insurance. If its more than that, you will owe the $2000 + your benefit.
You should have your mom call her insurance and ask them to email her your explanation of benefits for all services related to this incident in october. She can forward it to you to look over and you will know exactly what you owe. After this, call the ambulance company, hospital, etc. and see if they will send you a "hardship help" form...this could help in a partial or complete write off, and also get you started on a payment plan. Get the names of the providers from the EOBs and call each of them for this form.
I know it can be confusing, but its not as hopeless as it seems. You can PM me anytime if youd like.
Edit: actually, you can call and request the email from your moms insurance. That would be easier too...my bad, typing all this on my phone.
I'm already trying to get a lawyer to deal with the charges being pressed against me by the hospital.
Yes. We are taught from a very young age that greed and selfishness are virtues.
Not really. Obamacare is just a mandate that everyone buy shit insurance from for-profit insurance companies. It does impose some limits on these companies in regards to profits (80% of revenue must be spent on healthcare) and by preventing them from denying coverage based upon preexisting conditions. Supposedly the government will be offering its own insurance that citizens can buy into.
Welcome to America. Fuck this country.
Pretty sure that's called sarcasm, bro.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
I think everyone is pretty aware that American healthcare allows for this sort of pretty cruel situation to happen. It's a problem. You're basically preaching to the choir.
- You have ambulance bills. This is probably unfair.
- The hospital is pressing charges. This is probably unfair.
- You feel the charges are preventing you from getting a job. This is probably unfair.
- All of this is taking place against a backdrop of mental illness, which makes things very difficult for you.
Okay. That's the situation. I think you know the situation. I think everyone who has followed your posting here knows the situation. If you just want to vent about it, that's okay. Feel free to vent about it. But the point of venting is to achieve catharsis or to get information about how to move on or act. You've been venting here for a very long time, so I think it's fair to say that emotionally posting about it online is not really helping your disposition.
So let's look for how you can act.
- You feel the ambulance bill should be covered by your mother's insurance. Call your mother's insurance and find out if this is the case. Call the hospital and find out if this is the case. Get a solid answer so that you can deal with any future collections threats appropriately. If you are not covered by your mother's insurance, you need to find a way to stave off collections. This will involve making tiny minimum payments. You don't have the money, I know. Do you have any sources to get a tiny amount of money to buy yourself some time? Do you have any games you could sell quick to raise, say, $200? Are there local blood donation services you might be able to get a few dollars for? Look, is it fair that you have to do this stuff? No. It's not. It's cruel. But you are living in the society you live in, so it's important to set aside questions of fairness momentarily to try to deal with reality.
- The work situation is going to be a big deal going forward. You need to assess your options. If you feel your mental illness makes it impossible for you to work, you should see if your area allows for you to go on disability, reflecting this. Disability is not enough to live comfortably, and it does not solve your problems, but it will provide a vital lifeline if you can have it. Are you able to work at all? Maybe a few shifts a week? McDonalds? If you can't, you can't... but if you can, you should try. I know you feel stuff will come up on a background check, but it's better to try to get the jobs and be rejected if it does come up than not try at all.
What I'm saying is that you should feel free to keep posting the stuff that you're going through here, but it doesn't help us and it doesn't help you if that's all you're doing. At some point some sort of action needs to be taken. And it'd be much better for your outlook if instead of emphasizing all the things that stop you, you tried to set clear and simple goals and executed them to the best of your ability, taking into account that, yes, you face challenges and you might not always be able to achieve your goal.
The question is: What are you able to do today to help yourself? And if that's nothing, it's okay. Ask the same question tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And eventually, hopefully you'll have fought hard to get a few small wins that might help improve the situation you have in life. I'm sure if you post about the progress you're making, people here will encourage you.
- You have ambulance bills. This is probably unfair.
- The hospital is pressing charges. This is probably unfair.
- You feel the charges are preventing you from getting a job. This is probably unfair.
- All of this is taking place against a backdrop of mental illness, which makes things very difficult for you.
Okay. That's the situation. I think you know the situation. I think everyone who has followed your posting here knows the situation. If you just want to vent about it, that's okay. Feel free to vent about it. But the point of venting is to achieve catharsis or to get information about how to move on or act. You've been venting here for a very long time, so I think it's fair to say that emotionally posting about it online is not really helping your disposition.
So let's look for how you can act.
- You feel the ambulance bill should be covered by your mother's insurance. Call your mother's insurance and find out if this is the case. Call the hospital and find out if this is the case. Get a solid answer so that you can deal with any future collections threats appropriately. If you are not covered by your mother's insurance, you need to find a way to stave off collections. This will involve making tiny minimum payments. You don't have the money, I know. Do you have any sources to get a tiny amount of money to buy yourself some time? Do you have any games you could sell quick to raise, say, $200? Are there local blood donation services you might be able to get a few dollars for? Look, is it fair that you have to do this stuff? No. It's not. It's cruel. But you are living in the society you live in, so it's important to set aside questions of fairness momentarily to try to deal with reality.
- The work situation is going to be a big deal going forward. You need to assess your options. If you feel your mental illness makes it impossible for you to work, you should see if your area allows for you to go on disability, reflecting this. Disability is not enough to live comfortably, and it does not solve your problems, but it will provide a vital lifeline if you can have it. Are you able to work at all? Maybe a few shifts a week? McDonalds? If you can't, you can't... but if you can, you should try. I know you feel stuff will come up on a background check, but it's better to try to get the jobs and be rejected if it does come up than not try at all.
What I'm saying is that you should feel free to keep posting the stuff that you're going through here, but it doesn't help us and it doesn't help you if that's all you're doing. At some point some sort of action needs to be taken. And it'd be much better for your outlook if instead of emphasizing all the things that stop you, you tried to set clear and simple goals and executed them to the best of your ability, taking into account that, yes, you face challenges and you might not always be able to achieve your goal.
The question is: What are you able to do today to help yourself? And if that's nothing, it's okay. Ask the same question tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And eventually, hopefully you'll have fought hard to get a few small wins that might help improve the situation you have in life. I'm sure if you post about the progress you're making, people here will encourage you.
User 100115
Banned
I've told you guys before about my daughter being premature and the helicopter ride to the hospital that could treat her, which was two hours away, by itself, was 10,000 dollars.
I hate our system. I have a huge amount of medical bills I can't pay.
I hate our system. I have a huge amount of medical bills I can't pay.
empty vessel
Member
Yep. Rent-seeking in the health care provider industry--led by corporate involvement in the industry--is the root cause of America's health care problem. Health care is the perfect industry for this kind of behavior because those who need health care have no meaningful choice in either whether to obtain it or what they obtain. These are perfect conditions for abuse by sellers and what makes something like the NHS or a single-payer insurer that can impose its will on sellers an ideal solution.
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