Bill for ambulance service I didn't request?
Please keep an open mind and refrain from judging while reading my story. Recently, I had a bad experience with LSD. I had a bad trip and experienced psychosis. I was causing a disturbance in my residence hall at college by saying nonsensical things to my residence hall advisors during the middle of the night. They decided to call the campus police who restrained me, and I was exclaiming that I really needed some water (they only give me like two sips from a cup), and when I continued to state my desperate need for water, I guess they decided then to call the ambulance. This could have been avoided had they just given me some water (it should also be noted we were right next to a water fountain.) When the ambulance personnel arrived I had no idea what was happening, and they sedated me before I was taken to the ambulance. I have no recollection of the ride itself, I woke up in the hospital. They did give me some water there but other than that no other service was given. Now I have a $1000 ambulance bill and a $500 physician fee all because I wanted some water. I did not need an ambulance service whatsoever, it was forced upon me by sedating me into unconsciousness. Is there any way I can get the bill dropped or reduced?
How much does it cost if I call an ambulance to my house?
In the U.S., it generally costs you nothing to call an ambulance and have them respond to your house. Most ambulance services only bill if they actually take you somewhere.So let's say, for example, you call 9–1–1 because you have asthma and you're having difficulty breathing. While you're waiting for the ambulance you find your long lost inhaler and use it and begin to feel better. When the ambulance crew arrives, they will check you out and offer to take you to the hospital. If you decide that it's not necessary to go because the inhaler seems to have fixed things, the crew will have you sign a refusal, leave and you will not be billed.
How much does it cost to ride in an ambulance?
Question: How much does it cost to ride in an ambulance?Like the other people have written, there’s no hard and fast answer.In my area? Depending on if you’re a resident or non-resident and if I do ALS or BLS will determine your bill.For clarification, ALS for my area includes:administration of nitroglycerin fromnitroglycerin from my ambulance’s stocknitrous oxide administrationAn IV attempt (doesn’t need to be successful)An IO attempt (also doesn’t need to be successful)Everything else? BLS.As for cost? Generally it’s going to be around $850 or $1120 for a resident. For a non-resident that increases to above $1000 regardless of ALS or BLS (ALS costs more.)Mileage-wise? Its around $20 a mile, so theoretically your bill could be around $1000 from the closest point in our district to the closest hospital for someone that lives in our district, all the way to over $2000 for someone at the farthest reaches of our district that wants to go to the higher-level hospitals in our district and gets an ALS skill.
When you call 911 in the US they send the firefighters, ambulance, police and paramedics - isn't that a waste of taxpayers’ money?
Not if that is what the taxpayers want.When you call 911 in the US they send the firefighters, ambulance, police and paramedics - isn't that a waste of taxpayers’ money?First off, within the US, the 911 service (and the public safety offices/departments that can respond to a call placed to that service) are local. Meaning that when someone is within a city, a town, or a county, when they dial 911, they get the public safety (and typically the 911 service) for the specific location where they currently are. There is not (typically) any federal or state level 911 service. The largest entities (scope and territory-wise) are counties, some of which can be huge, some can be small. Keep in mind that independent of size, county (city, and town) populations and their tax base can vary by incredible amounts.If the number is dialed within a particular city (New York City, Los Angeles, Montgomery, Asheville, Grand Rapids, etc.) the call to 911 will ring in that city’s emergency communications center. Call takers will do their best to establish and understand the nature of the emergency being called in and will notify the appropriate agencies for them to give an appropriate response. All within the means and abilities of that city. If the call is for a fire, not only will there be a response of multiple fire units (engines, ladder trucks, etc.) but police and EMS will also respond as their services will almost certainly be needed and it is better to have them en-route and on-scene first thing, than to have to wait for them if/when they are needed immediately.Locations with lower population density or a smaller tax-base will not have the ability to fund police, fire, EMS and other agencies as well as a densely populated, high-income/high tax, or business-dense city can. But the calls to their 911 centers will get the best and most appropriate response from the resources/departments available based on how well the caller describes the nature of the emergency.Every locale gets the level of service they are willing/able to pay for. If the citizens of a particular municipality (Boca Raton, Beverly Hills, etc.) want a multi-department, many-unit response for any/all calls? Then they spend the money (and levy the appropriate taxes) to give their residents what their residents expect/demand from their public safety agencies. It’s only “a waste” if the taxpayers decide that it is.
If you call 911 for ambulance services, but don't get transported to a hospital, are you still charged for the ambulance arrival/patient care?
It depends upon your/the state’s law(s). And sometimes you are only charged for the millage. Or if they've treated you, so for like the equipment, etc.. So say this is the scenario (might not have happened for you, but I’ve come up with this one:)You’re having trouble breathing and/or you or someone you’re with calls 911 for AmbulanceAmbulance and EMS arriveThey initiate oxygen support and fluids and do vital signsYou start feeling better and breathing fine soon after #3 is doneThey ask to transport you to hospital, but you are refusingThe EMS personnel will try to get you to change your mind and explain the risks of you not being transported and treated at hospital(If you’re mentally competent, not under influence of drugs/ alcohol, of legal age, and is fully alert and oriented.) If you meet all of those (again, dependent upon state laws, you may refuse. But an Officer may be called to your location to witness the refusal and you signing off on the documents the EMT’s will give you.)They will probably ask one last time, and if “No” is still the present answer, then they will leave and you may not blame them if you start having issues again. Because you signed the refusal, an officer and EMT’s and a possible 3rd party will have witnessed it and dispatched it probably. Because huge liability for everyone is present, and your condition could worsen and have greater issues if this happens again.I know of course almost everyone is going to worry about costs and such, and that’s normal and means you’re concerned about financial. Maybe something else. But they are very costly.Anyways, it’s better to go when they offer to be on the safe side. Otherwise, have someone else drive you. The EMT’s or whoever else from 911 is on scene could help you call someone to come and drive you to hospital. But again, it’s better just to get checked out. Even if it means going to Urgent Care instead of ER and Ambulance.
How much does it cost to be driven by ambulance in the UK?
All health care is free at the point of delivery including the ambulance journey. However; when one earns money 11% is deducted at each pay cycle in “national insurance” which pays for the NHS and social welfare. One may in their working lifetime use one or both or they may be lucky and will not…if they reach pensionable age and have sufficient contributions (around 40 years worth) they'll be entitled to a full state pension. If they reach pensionable age and don't have enough contributions they can combine any they may have contributed within the EU if applicable. In all instances if they don't have enough contributions but are resident in the UK people are still able to freely use the NHS and claim alternative minimum income guarantee benefits/pensions…nobody is exempt from state care if itd required.11% of ones wage is no big sacrifice for such safety nets.
Do you get billed if you to call/use emergency services such as 911 (i.e., costs for police car response, use of an ambulance, and a firetruck response)?
Where I am in the USA, police service and fire service are covered by taxes and fire fees. There is a charge for EMS response as most municipalities either do not subsidize EMS or do so at a very minimal level. EMS bills for transport based on guidelines set up by the federal governments Medicare/Medicaid programs. Generally flat fee for ALS or BLS, then supplies and mileage.Now some places have started to bill for “false alarms” for fire and police response. So if your alarm system goes off but it is accidental or a malfunction, there is a sliding scale where the first such call in a year is free, the second on up has increasing fees. Sometimes a “class” can be taken to wave the fee on the second false alarm, but no subsequent.As pointed out, some fire departments are experimenting with fee assessment for motor vehicle collisions as a lot involve nonresidents that have been taxed for the fire service. Those are, in some places controversial.There is also a trend, in some areas served by volunteers, for home owners to pay a membership fee for fire response. As tax revenues to the fire department tend to be greatly reduced in these areas, a fee guarantees better equipment and training for personnel. The controversy arises when a resident lets the fee lapse, or does not pay to save money, then there is a fire but no response when a call to 9–1–1 is made. This seems to happen in rural areas that rely on near by municipal agencies to respond.Firefighters let home burn over $75 fee -- again