# Woman taken to the wrong hospital and now owes a gazillion dollars. This shouldn't even be a thing. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 12, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486 "2014-11-12T23:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/121 "2014-11-22T17:05:30Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I suggest that definition be changed to add, “… without being bankrupted, or facing foreclosure or wage garnishments, or otherwise burdened for life with bills I cannot possibly pay.” That’s pretty dicey though, I think even most UHC countries like Canada don’t cover stuff outside of Canada. Our system is just a lot more fragmented in that some carriers don’t cover stuff outside of certain hospital networks. Due to the concept of catchment areas and natural monopolies I’ve actually long argued emergency medical services be regulated as public utilities. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/122 "2014-11-22T17:12:43Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > We’re talking about national health care though, not State health care. If someone had a genuine need for healthcare and fell in this very rare category of people who: had income below 100% of FPL, but also did not have a job that provided health insurance, and did not have a spouse whose job provided health insurance they could simply move to another State. There is nothing preventing them from getting access to subsidies. In the middle of a heart attack? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/123 "2014-11-22T18:41:00Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > How \*you \*doin > > I wonder if/when our system will ever change. My dad once drove himself to the hospital while having a heart attack to avoid thousands of dollars in ambulance fees and expenses. He made 6 figures and had good insurance at the time, and he still had to do that. I was watching a movie set in the UK yesterday and was shocked at how they just called an ambulance when people got sick or injured. No insurance, no ‘will I lose my house and retirement account if I get care’ conversations, none of that. All the attention was devoted to getting the sick person better, not money and red tape. This country is a disgraceful mess on health care. And its going to get worse, one of the ways insurance costs are getting cut is by having narrow networks with fewer in network providers. > > But what can we do? Voting won’t change it. How far was he from the hospital? He must have been many miles away to face thousands of dollars in ambulance fees. In my experience the remaining payable amount after insurance has been minimal or zero. In my family we certainly just call an ambulance when necessary. We’ve gone through hospitalizations for cardiac bypass, gall bladder attacks, injuries, just to name a few, and our house and retirement accounts are just fine. We are fortunate that we always had reasonable insurance. I do agree that it is horrible when people can’t get insurance because of pre-existing conditions or their employer doesn’t provide it, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/124 "2014-11-22T18:59:00Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > **How far was he from the hospital? He must have been many miles away to face thousands of dollars in ambulance fees.** In my experience the remaining payable amount after insurance has been minimal or zero. Just over 2 miles= $2,500. Several years ago, my wife fell outdoors and hit her head. When the paramedics arrived, she was confused, didn’t know the date or where she was. Medicare deemed that going by ambulance was not needed and refused to pay. They wanted her to go by private car. ( I was at my coaching job and had our car) Took some fighting to get Medicare to pay. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/125 "2014-11-22T19:03:48Z")
That’s outrageous. What state do you live in? Are the paramedics/ambulances public, private, or volunteer? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/126 "2014-11-22T19:21:57Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > That’s outrageous. What state do you live in? Are the paramedics/ambulances public, private, or volunteer? California. Fire dept. firefighters/paramedics, private ambulance. The problem is that Medicare is trying to reduce ambulance transport and requires a dire need before they pay. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/127 "2014-11-22T19:53:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > California. Fire dept. firefighters/paramedics, private ambulance. > > The problem is that Medicare is trying to reduce ambulance transport and requires a dire need before they pay. When I was transported from one Pittsburgh hospital to another a short drive away, post MI, for angioplasty/stent/etc my insurance would not have paid the ambulance bill for the vehicle sitting, parked, out front of the hospital. I made some calls and found they would pay for my local ambulance service to transport me. It was a 90 minute wait (they came from 45 miles away) but it was covered. ---
**Author:** ![EverwonderWhy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EverwonderWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverwonderWhy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486/128 "2014-11-22T21:31:54Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > We’re talking about national health care though, not State health care. The discussion of state health care was brought about by _your_ erroneous claim that everyone has access to subsidies on **state exchanges**. In the US you can not talk about national universal access to health insurance without acknowledging access is different in states that did not expand Medicaid. Just go back to admitting you were wrong, rather than attempting to justify yourself by asserting claims that were never made. > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > If someone had a genuine need for healthcare and fell in this very rare category of people who: had income below 100% of FPL, but also did not have a job that provided health insurance, and did not have a spouse whose job provided health insurance **they could simply move to another State. There is nothing preventing them from getting access to subsidies**. Emphasis mine. Good point! What a simple solution. Could it be possible these very, very poor people, too poor to even qualify for subsidies, perhaps can not afford to simply up and move? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-taken-to-the-wrong-hospital-and-now-owes-a-gazillion-dollars-this-shouldnt-even-be-a-thing/704486.md?page=6)