ambulance bills

[kat]

my sister and i are having a similar "problem"

i was very sick a while ago, and i called telehealth.
telehealth called an ambulance (i didnt really have a choice)

later on i got a bill for 70$ for the ambulance.
im not paying it, they sent some warning letters - but they havent called me or anything. so meh?

my sister was attacked by this homeless girl (im serious) in the summer
she got a bottle smashed over her head when she was standing outside of a club (near queen & bathurst). somebody on the scene called an ambulance and she was taken to st. mikes

later on she got a bill for $1,647.69


what the fuck?

i've tried looking up the rules on this - and i dont know how we can go about solving it.
or if we can just ignore it and pray it doesnt come back to haunt us?

uhhmm. so ya
post related rants or advice here

byebye
kait

 

[R4V4G3D_SKU11S]

I know that you have to pay for ambulance transportation (unless you have private insurance).

Although if they don't transport you, you shouldn't have to pay. When I sliced my finger up, an ambulance came, and they said that if they took me to the hospital, I'd have to pay. I got a ride from elsewhere, and never got a bill.

I'm not sure how you'd fight it. Where did the bill come from?

 

[Funzo]

Last year when I was in school and broke I had to call an ambulance. I told them I was really broke so if there was anything they could do to make the bill cheaper. In turn they didn't bill me at all. Just ask, the worst that's going to happen is you're going to have to pay the bill

 

[Ditto Much]

Got one after surfing n a car hood.



Don't entirelt remember how much or any f the specifics.

 

[kat]

i asked when i was at the hospital

i told the ambulance guy that i heard people got charged for ambulances
he said that was nonsense, and if i was a resident of ontario - i wouldnt pay anything

i got the bill from st. josephs..and my sister got hers from st. mikes

feh - but on the site that i looked at http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ems/overview/cost.htm
neither of us should have gotten more than 45$ charge

 

[Bumbaclat]

Originally posted by kat
i was very sick a while ago,

I remember that. I too was quite ill.

Bumbaclat

 

[SneakyPete]

+$1600? that's a little much.

 

[kat]

Originally posted by SneakyPete
+$1600? that's a little much.

thats what i was thinking - especially since they only drove her down the street

 

[SneakyPete]

Was all that just for the ambulance? I bet they charged her for some other stuff. You should call them.

 

[TheLiquidFairy]

Originally posted by SneakyPete
Was all that just for the ambulance? I bet they charged her for some other stuff. You should call them.

ask for a list with prices...

tongue depresser = $120
hugo boss hospital gown = $900



I saw something similar on Date Line or 20/20 a few years back about hospitals that ripped off patients with inflated prices of materials used [or not even used]during operations/emergency room visits etc.

XXX
Marian@Work

 

[Skipper]

Both of my bills that I got for ambulances were $45. Do the bills not indicate what they are for? What exactly does the $1600 one say?

It may depend what they did in the ambulance too. With me, they just loaded me in and made sure my neck didn't move - I didn't receive any medical attention until I got to the hospital.

 

[sampson]

sorry to hear about your luck

I work as a paramedic in ontario and as far as i know you should only receivea bill for $45. the only time you would pay more is if you're use of ambulance was deemed unecessary then you are billed the full uninsured amount which starts at around $300 and goes up depending on the distance travelled and the procedures performed enroute etc etc.

for this to happen I have to convince the Dr. that the use of the ambulance was unnecessary if he/she agrees they sign my paperwork and you are billed the full amount. i usually won't do this unless it is obvious that the person doesn't need an ambulance and even then i'll explain that they don't need an ambulance but if they still choose to use us I will have them billed the full amount that way they can make the choice

it is not the ambulance administration that bills you but the hospital we don't see any of that money

as for your bill mabey it was an adminstration error in that you got mistakenly billed for the full amount. I would take it up with the hospital definately

and for telehealth, that is a whole other issue I have a problem with we get so many nonsense callls because of that service I think their answer for everything go to the hospital oh and call an ambulance as well.
the worst one I encountered was earlier this fall when we went lights and sirens to a place for an unknown which turned out to be a 5 day old insect bite that had some localized swelling the girl called telehealth for some advice on topical ointments and the telehealth told her to call an ambulance and be seen immediately at the ER. I don't blame the girl for this because all she wanted was advise on what to use but we see this on a regular basis and it frutrates the hell out of us the as well as the ER nurses and docs

chris

 

[kat]

Originally posted by Skipper
Both of my bills that I got for ambulances were $45. Do the bills not indicate what they are for? What exactly does the $1600 one say?

It may depend what they did in the ambulance too. With me, they just loaded me in and made sure my neck didn't move - I didn't receive any medical attention until I got to the hospital.

the $1600 one could be because they started picking the glass out of my sister's head while they were in the ambulance?
she had lost a lot of blood..and had maybe started to do the stitches as well? would this cost extra?

i really dont know what else they could be charging for..

they havent followed up at all - no phone calls. just a couple of letters (one saying they had taken it to some attorney who was going to yell at me/take some sort of action - but never did)
i gave the hospital all my phone numbers: my home, my parents, my work..soo uh ya..


i still dont like this paying for an ambulance idea.

i can understand if its unnecessary..
but would i have to pay for a police cruiser to show up if i was being attacked? or pay for a fire truck if my house burned down?
why is this alright?

 

[starr]

The hospital will eventually send it to a collections agency - at least Toronto Western (? - the one at Dundas and Bathurst) did.

Then they will start calling you all the time.

And I think collections agencies can screw around with your credit.

I've taken an ambulance once and it only came to $45....I would call and definitely check on the prices because they seem outrages.

But you should probably pay them once you sort that out - or else you may have credit problems later.

edit: I got several letters at first too, and then eventually they passed it on to creditors.

I think this change (paying for ambulances) came in with the Mike Harris government. You also have to pay for 911 calls even if you are calling to save someone's life - though I think it's under a dollar.

 

[sampson]

"i still dont like this paying for an ambulance idea.

i can understand if its unnecessary..
but would i have to pay for a police cruiser to show up if i was being attacked? or pay for a fire truck if my house burned down?
why is this alright?"



I hear ya, it isn't right that you/ we have to pay for medical services and yeah we have mike harris to thank for the user fees

I hope it works out for you

chris

 

[sampson]

oh yeah just to add

we don't do stitches in the amblance at least not in the area I work

chris

 

[Hawk Eye]

Originally posted by sampson
oh yeah just to add

we don't do stitches in the amblance at least not in the area I work

chris

Where do you work? My friends a paramedic for Durham Region.
I heard that if you can transport youself to the hospital you'll get charged but if you can't, such as you get in a car accident then you dont have to..

 

[sampson]

I work for Hastings County (Belleville)

if we don't transport there is no charge for us showing up, for you to receive a bill you have to be transported to a hospital.

how do you mean charged? this is unclear, do you mean you'll be charged the full uninsured amount if you could drive yourself to the hospital and choose to go with the ambulance regardless (this is what i think you mean) this is usually the discresion of the paramedic and the doctor well ultimately the doctor as they are the one who signd the form authorizing the billing

chris

 

[new to t.o.]

I know that 10 years ago my friend was billed $1,600 for an ambulance bill and he was forced to pay. I still don't understand why ambulance bills differ so greatly.

 

[DeepSix]

I'm really not sure what exactly could happen in an ambulance that could cost $1600 that wouldn't be covered by OHIP.

The bill from St. Mikes may be for more than just the ambulance...you need to get clarification for the bill. If your sister didn't have her Ontario Health Card with her at the time, this may be the reason for a larger bill - which may be easily cleared up by bringing in your health card.

(the above is all speculation though...but worth checking out)

The user fees do suck, especially when you're already at a loss due to whatever accident or illness required that you use an ambulance.

I remember mine being around $70 too...It may have something to do with where exactly you were at time of accident...I was outside of the city on Highway 6 between Burlington and Hamilton and brought into Hamilton so there may have been an "outside zone" fee - kinda like taxis.

 

[kat]

i was at home. about a 5 min ride to the hospital i went to. i dont know how i could have been out of zone?

she didnt have her health card on her at the time.
but does everyone have their ohip card with them at all times?
shes younger (read: under 18) - my parents hold on to it

do they actually expect all people involved in big bloody accidents to all carry sufficient i.d?

she was attacked, i just dont get how they can penalize someone THAT MUCH because of shitty circumstances..

BAH..but from what im hearing from sampson, it seems that the dr's opinion of the situation it what really detemines the charge.

byebye
kait

ps - hawk eye - ahah holy fuck, do you ever read the threads you post in?

 

[Skipper]

If it goes to a collection agency, don't fuck around. They will destroy your credit if you let them.

 

[kat]

it went to a collection agency

they havent called me or anything.

and i dont have a credit card, and dont plan on applying for one any time soon

soo..is that the worst that can happen?
if one day i do decide to get a credit card, will i definitely be screwed if its still outstanding?

 

[MalGlo]

i got hit with this before... they will automatically try and bill you the whole cost of the ambulance .. which for me was around 700$.. but if u call and complain they will say oops that was an error.. and you only have to pay like 70$ or something like that...

 

[KillaLadY]

Hmm, I had to pay $50.00 for an ambulance fee and then I moved and they couldn't get in touch with me, so they stopped harrasing me.