British kids growing up: “If there’s a medical emergency call 999 and get an ambulance!” American kids growing up: “If there’s a medical emergency talk to your parents about their financial situation and, based on that discussion, think about calling 911 and getting an ambulance”
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I mean in the U.S. your friend could be dying and they could be like no don't take me to the hospital I can't afford it. I've had it happen.
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what blew my mind, is when I read someone: "I had an accident about 300ft from the hospital, and they forced me to be taken by ambulance (and got invoiced $500 for that) instead of going by foot."
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They also think we’re joking when they ask how much it costs and we say “we don’t know”. Maybe $500, maybe $8,000. You have no way to know what you’re going to get at the end, no say in the matter, and no one to advocate on your behalf. And it’s coming for the NHS.
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Even if you do have insurance you never know till much later whether specific specialists or treatments are covered by your insurance. I went to the ER for gallstones, and most everything was covered, but the hospital-chosen anesthesiologist was “out of network”.
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We had to take our one year old to hospital in Chicago. Four hours, $800. He wasn't the only one sick that day. We had insurance and money, but the idea that people should work out whether or not they can afford to get their kids to a doctor is horrific.
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I needed an ambulance last December and again in January. Both times they billed my insurance about $1500. Two different insurance plans with the same insurance company. One covered about half of it and I didn't owe the other half, one covered $1100 and I owed a bit over 400.
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Also, same ambulance provider, about the same distance, the January one came with concerns about covid (ultimately false) and higher need for care. That's the one where I owed $400, but I don't think that's down to the care, just the change in my insurance.
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I knew someone in another city, a writer/freelancer, who died of a heart attack--very young. I found out afterward from people deeper inside the circle that she died because she always said she would not call an ambulance for fear of losing her house. That killed her. : (
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Just look up Uber and Ambulance on YouTube, so many news reports of people using one over the other. $35 versus $10,000.
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