Saturday, September 19, 2009
911 Pay to Play
How is it that this type of plan took so long to implement, and why aren't we all doing it? Of course, one wonders if the way they have written this out in the gay area will actually cut down on transports... seems to me that if the choice was pay $200 and don't go to the hospital or pay 0$ and go to the hospital I might pick #2... hmmm.
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It is about time!! I think it should be implemented in all cities. The people who call for BS stuff should be charged too.
ReplyDeleteUnless a legit issue, people should be charged. Then the question of what is legit comes in. Ya know what, if I needed 911 for something serious, id pay the 200 bucks to ensure theyd arrive.
ReplyDeleteTransport? This ain't about transport, it's about calling.
ReplyDeleteI once got myself mugged by @ 5 guys and, in addition to the bill for many $Thousands for "lodging", an ORIF, and everything else, the ambulance was right there on the bill. If you folks aren't charging for transport, some areas sure are!
Meanwhile, F 13, T 6 at the Half, so I have that going for me.
Our fire department started a volunteer program where you pay a monthly fee for paramedic service, and if you have to be transported, it's covered.
ReplyDeleteImagine my surprise when I found out that they also billed my health insurance for transport on top of the monthly fee, when I became violently ill a couple of years ago.
Nightingale,
ReplyDeleteIf you were surprised, you must not have read all the info on your subscription. Your membership waives your co-pay. No ambulance, private or Fire/EMS, can afford to run on that amount.
In the case of all the BS calls we run for stubbed toes and papercuts, Medicaid picks up the ambulance bill for most of those idiots-because they won't pay for a taxi.
John,
ReplyDeleteWe read the fine print. When this was first proposed 10 years ago it was sold to the community just as I described to get the door open, but evolved to what you described.
It's kind of like a tax, and once a tax is imposed, it gives birth to all sorts of bureaucratic monsters.
Hmmm, for more years than I can remember, a hx of false calls gets charged around here. Goes for alarm systems as well if you forget to turn it off etc. Business and residential.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you're gonna pay for that ride no matter what.
-SCNS
Anon,
ReplyDeleteWe should pay for services rendered, but I pay 3 times for the same service: 1)that little monthly fee to my city, 2)my state taxes, which in California are getting higher everyday, 3)and through my health insurance.
Someone's making out like a bandit.
nightingale,
ReplyDeletethe people 'making out like bandits' are the, in some places, 70% of folks who will pay exactly bupkis for their medical care delivered through the entryway of the EMS system and the ER. you are paying for them.
Yeah, I hear you 911. And like "single-payer" is going to fix everything.
ReplyDeleteHey, is the Snidely Whiplash new?? I like it.
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ReplyDeleteI was a former law enforcement officer before beginning my medical career. This is no BS.. One night while I was on duty, a call to 911 came in. The caller stated she did not want to go outside in the cool weather to retrieve her daily newspaper. The caller was asking that the sheriff's dept send a deputy to her house to bring her newspaper to the front door for her. You may read more on the similarities of law enforcement and emergency medicine at
ReplyDeletehttp://bedpans-lortabs.blogspot.com/
ER-SCUT - Couldn't you have hauled her in for a complementary mental evaluation? Just to make it worth your while?
ReplyDeletePeggyU,
ReplyDeleteto my recollection she was ultimately cited for improper use of 911.. no one was dispatched to her residence. i just listened to the 911 tape playback..