patrick.net

What are the other states?

This is exactly what happened to me once: got charged $8K for a half-hour ambulance ride. My ins co paid the ambulance co $700 and instructed me to never pay the rest and if billed directly forward the bill to them and they will instruct the ambulance guys how to properly fuck themselves.

Booger says

What are the other states?

I don't know. If anyone figures that out, please post it here.

FuckCCP89 says

This is exactly what happened to me once: got charged $8K for a half-hour ambulance ride. My ins co paid the ambulance co $700 and instructed me to never pay the rest and if billed directly forward the bill to them and they will instruct the ambulance guys how to properly fuck themselves.

Ah, was that in California? One nice thing about insurance companies is that they do know the law, unlike most people.

Most people get a crazy bill and think "Oh well, I have to pay this." The ambulance companies count on enough people doing that to make the fake billing worthwhile.

There should also be a law against sending fake bills.

Patrick says

Ah, was that in California?

Yep.

Patrick says

Obamacare does nothing about this scam.

If Obama had done what the right accused him of and unilaterally "shoved Obamacare down America's throat," we would have had a PUBLIC OPTION to buy in to the Medicare risk pool, and reforms of secret billing practices and drug pricing.

Instead, he constitutionally put it through Congress and the Senate, whose oligarch patrons in the Pharma, hospital, and insurance industries changed it into the FUCK YOU PAY ME system we ended up with.

My Dad had a slow advancing case of MS and was given 3-5 years the last 25 years of his life by doctors. His disability insurance, which was part of his compensation for working long hours away from the family and giving the company the best years of his life, continuously tried to dump him along with the company that bought out my Dad's company. My parents spent decades fighting the likes of Aetna, lawyers and court hearings the whole nine. My Mom who was a liberal balance to my Dad's conservative stance really bought in to the Fox/Limbaugh version of conservatism, and not too long after my Dad had finally passed, was red-face shouting about Obama trying to ruin medicine. More than once she unironically said "Keep government hands off my Medicare!" I asked her calmly how she could think that especially given our family's history? She responded with honest lack of understanding the connection I was trying to make. "What do you mean by THAT?" with wide-eyed childish innocence. I just dropped the topic because I didn't want the turkey to end up in her lap a few sentences later. Our relationship was strained for many of the Obama years.

Booger says

What are the other states?

Found them:

Only six states—California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and New York—have a comprehensive approach to protecting consumers.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/balance-billing-what-it-is-how-it-works-1738460

HunterTits says

So, O-Care has nothing to do with the GOP.

The GOP partisanized, strawmanned, and obstructed Obamacare in every way they could, with some even openly stating they intended to make it "Obama's Waterloo." This was instrumental in the aforementioned oligarchs reworking it into the piece of shit we got in the end, with a few kernels of the original still there like preexisting conditions. Don't try to bullshit people that the GOP was hands-off on this topic.

Pricing transparancy and reform was one of the elements of the original plan, that's what this "screed" has to do with the topic of balance billing.

Including the massive deductibles and the still hidden prices?

My friends mom needed to be airlifted 50mi to a hospital in CA after a bad car wreck. The helicopter company tried to bill the auto insurance, but insurance was balking at the price and wasn't paying the full thing. At the 1 yr mark the heli company sent a letter to my friend asking for around $70k!!!

He freaked because the bill basically said that was the unpaid balance after insurances contribution. He called his insurance and they told him to ignore it and not worry because they were still working on it, and he luckily never heard from them again.

Can you imagine that? 70k?

Hircus says

My friends mom needed to be airlifted 50mi to a hospital in CA after a bad car wreck. The helicopter company tried to bill the auto insurance, but insurance was balking at the price and wasn't paying the full thing. At the 1 yr mark the heli company sent a letter to my friend asking for around $70k!!!

He freaked because the bill basically said that was the unpaid balance after insurances contribution. He called his insurance and they told him to ignore it and not worry because they were still working on it, and he luckily never heard from them again.

Can you imagine that? 70k?

These prices seem exorbitant and mostly are but rest assured, the insurances could pay all of those bills and still be a million times wealthier than those on the receiving end. The problem is on both sides.

I think I read something about those prices being that way due to weird regulation and laws that make it so the company loses money in some scenarios, so they try to make up for it in others.

Hircus says

I think I read something about those prices being that way due to weird regulation and laws that make it so the company loses money in some scenarios, so they try to make up for it in others.

Yeah one is that they are bound to treat illegals and hobos who can't pay anyways so they jack up the prices for the rest. A lot of fraud in the system.

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/woman-billed-700-after-sitting-in-er-waiting-room-for-7-hours-leaving-without-treatment

Woman billed $700 after sitting in ER waiting room for 7 hours, leaving without treatment

Booger says

Woman billed $700 after sitting in ER waiting room for 7 hours, leaving without treatment

This is exactly happen to my friend's wife who left after the stomachache gone after few hours waiting but received about $1200 in soCal.

It's organized crime.

Patrick says

It's organized crime.

It’s institutionalized crime. Basically fascism as it is sanctioned by the “authorities “

Old guy across the street from met needs an ambulance right now.

Now that I know that most ambulances are a kidnap-for-ransom scheme, I feel sorrier for him about the ambulance than about whatever his medical condition is.

Could you offer to drive him? But then again, if something happens his family will sue you

I didn't know there was a problem until the fire department showed up, then later the ambulance and also his son.

With his son there, I don't think I need to do anything.

Turns out he fell and broke his hip, but his girlfriend is there with him, and she's younger. No real tragedy.

Maybe he tripped over his booster shot.

Patrick says

Found them:

Only six states—California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and New York—have a comprehensive approach to protecting consumers.

IL doesn't bill if it's your municipal EMT/Ambulance because it's baked into our property taxes. Obviously that doesn't help if in an accident in another area. It's the private side that jacks it up to be honest. If two incidences happen at one time, our town only has one ambulance. So they'd dispatch to private and that's where you get jacked bigly. Rare and almost impossible in my town (leave cities.....)

Also, private is usually used for transport to another hospital, and that's when you get whacked.

It sucks either way. Depending on the injury, that crew are the people that can save your life if they're good. If it costs $70k at least you're not dead and you don't have to pay it legally. They just ding your credit score. We looked the other way on tenant verification for credit score if defaults were ONLY medical. Cell phone, cars, student loans, etc were no go's. Time dependent as well. If you had collections on a cell phone 5 years ago and nothing else, whatever.

You don't have the ability to sign a contract in an emergency situation. I know I didn't. They assume you're suckers and will set up a payment plan. Most people don't like owing money. It's business. Our government can't pay its bills practically.

Ambulance prices need to be fixed to low reasonable prices by law, because there can obviously be no market or shopping around in emergencies.