Costs of Being Treated (My Ambulance Ride Cost Over $2,800)

Last month, I was in a car wreck, which caused me to create this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?353440-Scary-Moments

A week ago, I got a call from pseudo-collections trying to get me to pay for the ambulance ride after my accident. I'm covered, but I had to go to some lengths to get them to stop harassing me (threaten to hang up if they didn't let me speak; tell them if they tried to make me, personally, pay again, we're done with this conversation; provide all the details with my coverage even though this had been previously covered; etc.).

Even though there's been no problem since, the thing that struck me was the cost. They wanted me to pay just over $2,800 for the ambulance fee. A couple things strike me about this:
(1) I actually had to split the ambulance with the woman who rammed me, totaling both of our cars. They didn't call a second ambulance because they were too busy.
(2) We only drove to a city that was fifteen minutes away. Even then, we only went to that specific hospital because the woman that hit me requested it.
(3) My injuries weren't severe, and I told people on the scene twice that I didn't think I'd need care (the police and the fire department) before the third person convinced me to go (a paramedic). My injuries included a bruised and cut knee, a bad almost-rug-burn from my seatbelt, and a few cuts on my forearm or knuckle (probably from glass). I have no idea if severity of injuries play into the cost of the ambulance one way or the other, though.
(4) How in the world could it possibly cost $2,800 for one person, much less two? (To be fair, I know she had no license and no car insurance, and the car wasn't in her name or that of a family member, so it's possible she doesn't have insurance and they're putting it all on me.)

Considering the limited severity of my injuries, why didn't the police, fire department, or paramedics just tell me to take a taxi? I literally walked into the back doors with the paramedics when we arrived, and the doctors didn't even realize I was a patient for about two full minutes.

I remember reading that (extremely long but fascinating) Times article on health care costs in the US, but nearly $3,000 for an ambulance ride just amazes me. Anyone have any insight into the cost? Or anything similar? This kind of thing really interests me.

Heh... this reminds me of a story a nurse told me a few years ago. At that time I was applying to work as a dispatcher with the county fire department. They made all applicants get a physical, do a drug test, and some other stuff. Anyways, I go to the hospital the county contracted to perform these tests. There were a few other people doing tests for other positions.

I was waiting for the restrooms to clear a space so I could go fill up a urine sample for the drug test and the nurse asked me what position I was applying for. We started talking and she told me that about a year before, while she was working, she got light headed and ended up falling. The doctor's on staff checked her out quickly and told her she needed to get to the emergency room. The emergency room was in the building next to the one she was at.

Basically, all she had to do was cross a two lane street. She said she was going to just walk over there, but hospital policy (insurance reasons) required that they call fire rescue to check her out and transport her. One of the male nurses said he would volunteer to take her across on a wheelchair. The administrators said so and called fire rescue. They showed up, put her on a gurney, and put her on the rescue unit. The basically did a U-turn that was maybe 20 feet in total rave distance. They took her out, rolled her into the ER, and a few months later she got a bill. Fortunately most of it was covered, except for $500.00.

Homicidal_Squirrel said:

The basically did a U-turn that was maybe 20 feet in total rave distance. They took her out, rolled her into the ER, and a few months later she got a bill. Fortunately most of it was covered, except for $500.00.

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That's just crazy, man. I can't believe stuff like this is somehow accepted and/or flying under the radar.

Its basicly taking advantage of medical insurance. The prices are that high because 'its covered'. I am just glad I am covered by the Veteren's health care system. Some time I need to get a cost summery of my hospital stay. Out of curiosity.

I am going to try and get as much volunteer time in as a thank you to those who saved my life. Funny thing is, as severe of a situation I was in, I walked in the emergency room. A neighbor took me there by car.

days in for initial problem: 53
days in phys rehab clinic: 21

74 days total stay. not including follow ups, e-room visits for post op infections (about 4 before final ab wall reconstruct)
plus followups for that, plus home nurse visits

Then the abdominal wall rebuild and colostomy takedown

and subsequent e room visits , followups, physical therapy, home nurse care.

Sheesh. What a list that will be. I made a joke of the million dollars to save me, but that may have been exceeded.

Scott DeWar said:

Its basicly taking advantage of medical insurance. The prices are that high because 'its covered'.

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Well, that's part of it. The other part is that it is also expensive to pay for rescue personnel and equipment.

So it's 2,800$ just for the transport? Would the company have been paid if they came to the location of the accident but were'nt needed? Does such a company in the US have a contract with the town/county/state/whatever which enforces things like reliability of the service, reaction times and stuff like this or is it just a private company in the business for money?

The cost to uphold such a service (trained personnel, cars, fast reaction, multiple cars/teams) is high.

Concerning the urge to send you to hospital, couldn't it be that the police just wanted to make sure that they did nothing wrong? As media tell me you (as in US citizens) are always eager to file a claim for damages. I would understand the position to always send the apparently injured people to hospital.

On the other hand, the whole affair could be a money making scheme, much like the companies over here which offer to break the lock of your house when you've lost the key and are standing in front of it in the middle of the night. Two minutes of actual work can easily cause a bill of 800$.

You want expensive? Pray you never need evacuation by air. Someone close to us recently suffered a tragic loss, and their relative incurred a @$15k air-evac bill. That service is not fully covered (or at all!) by most health insurance unless you have a specific rider in your policy.

The riders aren't too expensive, though- something like $100 or less annually,

You can also get coverage directly from the companies that provide the service for even less. However, if you live in a big city, there may be more than one company providing air-evac services, and a policy with one does not cover the others (of course).

Jan van Leyden said:

So it's 2,800$ just for the transport?

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That's what they told me, yep. The hospital had already been covered for the very brief check-up by a doctor / the single X-ray of my chest. They wanted over $2,800 more just for the ambulance ride.

Jan van Leyden said:

Would the company have been paid if they came to the location of the accident but were'nt needed? Does such a company in the US have a contract with the town/county/state/whatever which enforces things like reliability of the service, reaction times and stuff like this or is it just a private company in the business for money?

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As far as I know, the transportation is through the local hospitals, so some degree, but I'm really not knowledgeable on the subject. Good questions. Hopefully someone can answer them.

Jan van Leyden said:

Concerning the urge to send you to hospital, couldn't it be that the police just wanted to make sure that they did nothing wrong? As media tell me you (as in US citizens) are always eager to file a claim for damages. I would understand the position to always send the apparently injured people to hospital.

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Why not tell me to take a taxi, then? Cost me $30 and be done with it. I was walking, talking, and had no head injuries or the like.

Jan van Leyden said:

On the other hand, the whole affair could be a money making scheme, much like the companies over here which offer to break the lock of your house when you've lost the key and are standing in front of it in the middle of the night. Two minutes of actual work can easily cause a bill of 800$.

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Whoa, now that does sound like a ripoff. After the Times article I read, I just always assume the hospital is trying to rip me off.

JamesonCourage said:

As far as I know, the transportation is through the local hospitals, so some degree, but I'm really not knowledgeable on the subject. Good questions. Hopefully someone can answer them.

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The hospitals are the ones running the ambulance service? That's interesting. Mind if I ask where you live?

Why not tell me to take a taxi, then? Cost me $30 and be done with it. I was walking, talking, and had no head injuries or the like.

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Liability, maybe? They may be afraid that if they don't tell you something, and you are hurt worse than previously thought, you, or your family, might start tossing lawsuits around.

A quick search on the Internet indicates that the costs of an ambulance in the Netherlands, where I live, are around EUR 500-800 (USD 700-1100) for around 20 minutes' drive. Luckily ambulance costs are covered by basic insurance which everyone has (not that everyone actually pays for it, but that's a can of worms that I won't open here).