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Woman with leg trapped under subway train pleaded with witnesses not to call ambulance due to cost
- Thread starter ElectricBlanketFire
- Start date
My point exactly.
A lot of the times people do that because it would be too costly to go to the hospital and the people telling them to just go aren't American, so to them, it's just that simple where it isn't for the person asking.
I didn't get that from your original post at all, but fair enough.
To be clear, I'm not trying to blame her for not knowing this. In these cases the property owner knows that they're accountable, so they typically reach out to negotiate. I want to say that her health insurance would do the negotiating on her behalf but with how shitty US healthcare is I cant say for sure.
Actually I think it wouldnt be the property owner since IIRC trains are considered machinery and so it would be the company that owns the policy for train insurance, however that works. Regardless, liability insurance should cover the claim as long as there's no demonstrable negligence exhibited by the policy owner.
That's why I dont think she'd have any trouble having all medical and additional (stress, trauma, time spent out of work, etc) costs covered.
Example: my ex-roommate had a giant sign fall on her car while it was parked in a lot and totaled it. It was an older car, so her car insurance estimated the value at $3500, and if it were just up to her car insurance company, that's all she'd get. However, since the parking lot is at fault for this, she quoted them the amount it would take to repair the car, which was $5500, and they immediately agreed to pay her that amount in full. The rest of the details were worked out between her car insurance company and the parking lot insurance company.
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I've heard of people calling Uber and other such services rather than an ambulance just because it's so expensive. Although depending on how urgent it is, that may not be an option.
I've only ever had to use an ambulance once, when I was a teenager. They took my blood pressure during the journey and asked me like three questions once I got there. They said I could go almost immediately and that they'd get back to me for further tests (which they never did), but it's weird to think that if I lived in America, those few minutes could've bankrupted my family. Instead, the worst part of that whole experience was the 2 hour walk home.
I suspect the people giving the advice are motivated, in the main, by sheer disbelief that a country can continue to limp along, well into the twenty-first century, without a decent medical system. You chaps do, for the most part, have the right to vote. So what's stopping you imitating Canada, or some of the European countries?
Racism. There are plenty of white people in America who are fine with personally suffering as long as POC suffer even just a little bit more.
This is insane. I'm from a developing country and even we have free, public healthcare if you can't afford private insurance! The quality may not be as good as the private alternative, but you sure as hell won't end up dead.
I cannot imagine not calling an ambulance in that case.
I cannot imagine not calling an ambulance in that case.
I had epiglottitis (I didn't know it at the time) I just was literally gasping for air whenever I talked, I was thinking to myself maybe I can just sleep it off since the bill would be so expensive if it's nothing serious but I just went with "Hold on a minute that's stupid".
Yeah If I didn't go to the hospital I'd be probably dead. Sooo... yep!
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epiglottitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20372227
Yeah If I didn't go to the hospital I'd be probably dead. Sooo... yep!
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epiglottitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20372227
Had an episode last week that felt like it could have been a heart attack. I think it was probably just really bad acid reflux that caused esophageal spasms. But it wasn't a heart attack because I'm still alive. But as I lay in bed, gasping in pain from whatever it was, I resigned myself to dying if it was actually a heart attack. I have nearly US$10k in medical debt right now (and counting), so a hospital trip was not an option. Literally dying alone in my bed was a better option.
A couple of years ago after an ice storm, I was walking from work to a client to take a few pictures for an advertisement. An old man slipped and fell on the ice I assumed breaking his hip. I made my way to him on the ice and tried to get him to safety. Some others finally got to us and helped me pull him off the ice. We called the ambulance and when they arrive, he pleaded with us to not have to go to the hospital because he didn't have insurance.
American healthcare is broken.
American healthcare is broken.
I also got a bill for a transport, around 30 minutes in an ambulance from one hospital to another, $4000 out of pocket they wanted me to pay, and get this, it wasn't even my fault or something I even wanted! My appendix was about to rupture and they had to get me to a hospital that was equipped for surgery, I just went to the closest hospital because I didn't want to die, I told them my wife could drive me and they wouldn't let her do that, I had zero choice but they still tried to stick me with a bill, I'm not paying that shit. They said I could have 20 percent off if I paid it in 30 days lol
It's like they kidnapped me and then billed me for it.
You may as well say pretty much the majority of the American population depending on what it is. Even making a decent money, it can ruin you.
It should be that simple. Heck even in a 3rd world country like mine whose economy is not at all comparable with the US, it is that simple.
How anyone can live with that kind of Yakuza-style health system in the US is beyond me. How no one, not even the "good guys" Democrats, even seem want to fix that issue is also beyond me.
If more goes wrong we see her the next time in the news because she jumped in front of the train instead of just getting stuck under it as she couldn't pay the hospital bill. =/
Man, you Americans must be so lucky living in a "nice nation" that handles its medical emergency and finances this way. It's a good thing you don't live in Canada, which is apparently not nice, or you'd be taken advantage of the by evil Canadian medicare system, which is just one of the things that Canada represents that America can't stand in the 21st century. Fortunately, America's niceness is protecting you from our evil ways.
Yep, once my wife broke her foot and I asked the leasing office at our apartment if they could lend us an office chair so I could get her to our car. They said they couldn't because they'd be responsible if she fell off the chair and to just call an ambulance. I said I don't have money for an ambulance, I can just use a chair, but they refused and repeated, "Just call an ambulance."
Eventually, I managed to get her to the car myself. It took some time, but that was such lousy advice on their part.
Eventually, I managed to get her to the car myself. It took some time, but that was such lousy advice on their part.
So about a year ago my friend decided to try this new service that lets you see a doctor immediately without going to the emergency room for a reason that I cant remember.
Point is, that during the doctor's interview/questionnaire, she asks my friend whether he's thought about hurting himself or suicide. In his naivety, he says "well, yes, I've thought about it" to mean that he has reflected on it, but never seriously considered it. The doctor immediately says that he needs to go to the hospital and they will call an ambulance for him. He requests the opportunity to call his wife (who works at a hospital) and she requests to talk to someone and explains that an ambulance isnt necessary and she is leaving work immediately to come pick him up. They dont listen to her, and they coerce my friend into getting on the ambulance and transport him to a hospital, where nothing really happens for obvious reasons.
When they spoke to the doctor and asked her "wtf?" she said that she didnt know what to do in that situation and that she had to request an ambulance because he was potentially a danger to himself and those around him.
End result? $600 bill for an ambulance ride that my friends had to pay for.
Perhaps the most fucked up thing about all of this is how unprofessionally they handled the procedure regarding mental health. Awful shit like this is a huge part of the reason why people are afraid to ask for help.
Point is, that during the doctor's interview/questionnaire, she asks my friend whether he's thought about hurting himself or suicide. In his naivety, he says "well, yes, I've thought about it" to mean that he has reflected on it, but never seriously considered it. The doctor immediately says that he needs to go to the hospital and they will call an ambulance for him. He requests the opportunity to call his wife (who works at a hospital) and she requests to talk to someone and explains that an ambulance isnt necessary and she is leaving work immediately to come pick him up. They dont listen to her, and they coerce my friend into getting on the ambulance and transport him to a hospital, where nothing really happens for obvious reasons.
When they spoke to the doctor and asked her "wtf?" she said that she didnt know what to do in that situation and that she had to request an ambulance because he was potentially a danger to himself and those around him.
End result? $600 bill for an ambulance ride that my friends had to pay for.
Perhaps the most fucked up thing about all of this is how unprofessionally they handled the procedure regarding mental health. Awful shit like this is a huge part of the reason why people are afraid to ask for help.
Such a caring, Christian nation. We all deserve better, our country needs to fail and be rebooted.
What's truly depressing is that up until just a few years ago, most Americans saw no problem with someone not being able to get insurance because they're sick
So they die because insurance companies dont see them as profitable. Like this is the fucking middle ages or something.
I grew up in a poor household with only my mother supporting us, and never had any medical insurance until I enrolled into college
and at least got some bare bones coverage at that point.
I'm really goddamn lucky that I never had anything more serious than a hairline fracture on a finger happen to me.
and at least got some bare bones coverage at that point.
I'm really goddamn lucky that I never had anything more serious than a hairline fracture on a finger happen to me.
And you have many people in other threads saying the first thing you should do is call for an ambulance, screw that noise, I am not putting someone in financial debt for the rest of their lives if I can actively help them.
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Man, this is crazy. Aren't there any government subsidized programs for covering some portion of the ambulance and medical cost during emergency depending upon the income of a person in US?
Also, are there any other western nation that features a medical system like that of US for its citizens?
Also, are there any other western nation that features a medical system like that of US for its citizens?
My insurance approved my ambulance because I drove myself to the hospital then the doc signed off for an ambulance ride to a better hospital.
Yeah, the system we have in this country needs some work.
Yeah, the system we have in this country needs some work.
LOL I just went through a similar situation a few days ago. And I have decent insurance. But I still hesitated because of ambulance costs.
I truly had no idea how bad America is. I guess all the American TV shows and movies make it seem like a nice place and gives me the wrong impression. I'm just happy that I live in a nice part of the world, yes we do have lots of our own set of problems but nowhere near as bas as America.
Reminds me of the time I got hit by a car in the uk and walked it off, because I was still afraid of a hospital bill despite fully knowing there probably wouldn't be one.
Paramedics who checked me out even said they'd take me just to be sure, but I skeptical for some reason.
It was also compounded by the fact it was my last day in the UK with my best friend. I didn't really want to be in the hospital all day either. But there was still that lingering uncertainty in me.
Paramedics who checked me out even said they'd take me just to be sure, but I skeptical for some reason.
It was also compounded by the fact it was my last day in the UK with my best friend. I didn't really want to be in the hospital all day either. But there was still that lingering uncertainty in me.
Yeah I had a weird reaction when having an MRI (which was already $1500+) and they walked me over to the ER because there were zero doctors where the test was done. They pretty much just asked me questions, put drops in my eyes to look in them, and took my blood pressure. I just got a $1000 bill.
It wound up being a reaction to the sedative I took before going in the tube, but at the time could have been a stroke symptom wise. But still, $1000 to basically do nothing. The bill had a few normally priced things, then Emergemcy Fee - $900.
The insurance part is even more infuriating. I have a $350 ER deductible, so that is all I expected to pay since they didn't do anything. Nope, it just means $350 was basically just a down payment. The rest of my family has great insurance but the wife's company forced me off.
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I'm about to be uninsured for about 3 years and it will probably kill me. Land of the free baby!
COBRA is a benefit for those who are unemployed, but still want to have a means to continue their benefits afterwards.
The main difference isn't the actual coverage though, but as it retains to the premiums you pay for that coverage.
The plan itself doesn't actually change, so if you already had good coverage before, you won't see any worse coverage just because it's become COBRA, but you will most likely be paying nearly double your premium just to stay on that coverage.
I was on COBRA for awhile, and this was well before a marketplace was established, and just right before pre-existing conditions was eliminated, so I'm fairly familiar with the issues involved in COBRA.
My premiums were literally doubled, but because I had a pre-existing condition, it was the only option I had to still be insured due to how good the coverage was under it, and that I couldn't get coverage anywhere else.
I mean, the underlying idea of your sentiments were spot on though since it costs an arm and a leg, but COBRA's coverage itself isn't better or worse just because it's COBRA, but dependent on what you had before. People who are on COBRA now would only be on it because that coverage is better than what they can get off the ACA marketplace that they may or may not qualify for. But again, ACA will meet most needs for people nowadays anyways, so anyone who is actually on COBRA would really need that insurance for other reasons, such as seeing particular specialists that aren't on regular, cheaper plans (which is what I needed my COBRA for), or they're just stupid. :D
