breakfuss
Member
I believe they're saying it should be.
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Man Dies in Police Custody After Being Jailed for an Unpaid Medical Bill
- Thread starter mellz
- Start date
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I believe they're saying it should be.
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
Third world country in disguise.
Nicktendo86
Member
What act?
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Government is actually picking up a huge portion of the tab already, both in actual spending and lost tax revenue from tax subsidies. Our high ambulance bills are really a good example of how profits can inflate end-user costs.
EMTs make shit. Dispatchers make shit. Ambulances are surprisingly cheap. It's amazing.
Crimson-Death
Member
Hmmm, where are you guys located? Southern California here, I always heard an ambulance ride here costs 2500 to 3000 dollars. Maybe more now, not sure. Anyway, it all speaks of the bullshit profit system in place now, where they charge you 20 fucking dollars for a bandaid.
They bill, insurance pays, as long as the patient pays the premiums and copayments and deductible.
Laws need to change the ridiculous theft of overcharging these things, but hey, profits need to be made! Medical school is expensive!
And I'm saying I disagree with that idea.
astroturfing
Member
that ambulance bill is a crime against humanity. i wouldn't have been able to pay that either, and i have a full time job..
last time i needed an ambulance, they warned me it was going to cost me.. i hesitated because i immediately thought of American prices, but it ended up costing me only 16 euros. then i spent the next 2 weeks in intensive care on a ventilator (after numerous operations, CTs, MRIs etc), and 1 week recovering in a regular ward after that (doing physical therapy, getting more drugs pumped into me etc). whole thing ended up costing me 150 euros. i would probably have died of stress if i had to also worry about being bankrupt and homeless after recovering..
last time i needed an ambulance, they warned me it was going to cost me.. i hesitated because i immediately thought of American prices, but it ended up costing me only 16 euros. then i spent the next 2 weeks in intensive care on a ventilator (after numerous operations, CTs, MRIs etc), and 1 week recovering in a regular ward after that (doing physical therapy, getting more drugs pumped into me etc). whole thing ended up costing me 150 euros. i would probably have died of stress if i had to also worry about being bankrupt and homeless after recovering..
I'm in Arizona
I was however involved in a car wreck in LA (the news guy kept referring to the car I was in as "the little red car" lol) and was in the hospital for 3 days. had a broken collarbone, broken jaw (got surgery for a metal plate), and brain bleeding.
$184,000
thankfully I had incredible insurance at the time so I had to pay nothing. but still. $184k for 3 days. damn.
thehypocrite
Member
Human Rights disagree with your "opinion".
The usual argument involves "we're already the best", "30 hour emergency room wait times in Canada", and "I'm not paying for lazy minorities"
Snkfanatic
Banned
Well that's a disgusting opinion but hey it's yours to have.
Angelus Errare
Banned
Ploid 3.0
Member
Seriously, wow, if I need emergency transport can I just have my family drive me instead? I have a SUV, the EMT guys can get in the back. Dang.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Speaking of that... a guy I worked with at the same job as the other guy a few posts up waited 7 hours before anyone even looked at him here in Murica and he came in with a really bad perforated ulcer. He could easily have died waiting in the hallway.
Why?
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
To me as a European that sounds fucking idiotic, to be honest. Not you, or your post, but the fact that calling an ambulance is a very expensive proposition.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Boot straps are now antibacterial bootstraps. With aloe vera.
That is a super obscene price for the ambulance ride. And how the fuck does arresting the guy help getting the bills paid? What the fuck? I can just see the authorities being visibly puzzled, panicking because they don't really have an answer and then sends the order to jail the guy, like yeah, that'll show him.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
People make threads about how to wipe their asses
They want to make not paying a debt a criminal offence.
Angelus Errare
Banned
You seem to forget that many GAF members live in first world countries where healthcare is a right. They don't have to worry about an ambulance bill being $2,000.
Not surprising, as a firefighter, our rescue costs are $550 just to drive you to the hospital. That's not including anything we use on the way.
fluffydelusions
Member
Wouldn't that make a huge percentage of the country criminals lol.
I totally understand as you do not live in the US but for folks that do, how can you not be aware of the costs associated with calling an ambulance, going to the ER or having major surgery?
Those folks get a pass. My comment was directed to fellow Americans.
thehypocrite
Member
Well, yes, which is why I previously said the act will never pass. It is absolutely insane that they think it will pass.
Crimson_Fate
Member
"Iverson didn't pay the bill, and missed court appearances in the civil case, so a bench warrant was issued on Dec. 29, 2015, and he was arrested on Jan. 23."
So Lets be clear here, an ambulance company is a private company. When the man did not pay his bill he was sued in civil court by the company and when he did not show up a bench warrant was issued. If he had showed up to court nothing would have happened.
I was arrested for ignoring a parking ticket (where it has a court date on the back of the ticket) court dates are not something to be ignored.
So Lets be clear here, an ambulance company is a private company. When the man did not pay his bill he was sued in civil court by the company and when he did not show up a bench warrant was issued. If he had showed up to court nothing would have happened.
I was arrested for ignoring a parking ticket (where it has a court date on the back of the ticket) court dates are not something to be ignored.
fluffydelusions
Member
A few years ago I screwed up my back and couldn't walk and had to call an ambulance and for the 5 minute ride + the 3 hours spent at the hospital was almost $3000 and all they did was give me a couple pain killers and did a couple xrays. This was in NYC BTW.
As fucked up as it sounds, this is true. Whenever I transport someone, the hospital is almost always full with a limited amount of staffing. The vast majority of people we do take go for non emergency that take up space for those that desperately need it. It's a fucked up system but at the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
It's sad how not shocking that something like this happened. This fucking country.
Doesn't sound unusual to me, honestly. American ambulances are expensive as fuck.
Whenever I go to the ER I either drive myself or have family/friends drive me because fuck the ambulance.
thehypocrite
Member
Wow. This is just sad as fuck
America take better care of your vulnerable people.My parents went into bankruptcy over medical bills and my dad losing his job. They're finally out this year, but it was a huge, depressing struggle for them. Luckily they had some leftover stocks from my grandma they could cash in....but they needed permission to use it for things they needed. Things like my mom's partial hip replacement because she couldn't walk from rheumatoid arthritis. They basically lived in destitution until their bankruptcy was done. It was heartbreaking. And all this over medical bills.
My deductible is $6,850. I've finally decided to try and get therapy this year for anxiety and depression, but I can't really afford it. I work only three days a week because I go to school, and therapists cost about $95+ a session here. Because I have insurance, I don't qualify for sliding scale options at clinics. I go to community college, and they can only get me up to three free sessions at a specific place. I finally settled on a clinic that allows payment plans. And if anyone thinks that therapy isn't a necessity, it is for me.
I also haven't had an annual exam in ages because of costs. I think I may have a medical condition that I think I can ignore, but I don't feel like spending the money to find out. And my glasses just broke so I had to get an eye exam and new frames, which was about a $400 bill.
I'm not trying to sob story here. Just pointing out that in the US' current system, many people who want help can't afford it. And if they have to get help, it can financially destroy them for years. It also pisses me off when republicans go on about mental health when mass shootings happen, but how can people afford it?
I'm more than ready for a single payer health system. What happened in this article is tragic. What is even the point of sending this man to jail? He would have cost taxpayers more money from being in jail. Nobody would have benefited from this except maybe the judge's ego. I don't even think it would have sent a message that you shouldn't avoid a summons. The guy was broke. I doubt he wanted to add court costs to his debt.
The fact that he went to jail is bad enough. The fact that he died there is unacceptable. And over less than $2,000.
My deductible is $6,850. I've finally decided to try and get therapy this year for anxiety and depression, but I can't really afford it. I work only three days a week because I go to school, and therapists cost about $95+ a session here. Because I have insurance, I don't qualify for sliding scale options at clinics. I go to community college, and they can only get me up to three free sessions at a specific place. I finally settled on a clinic that allows payment plans. And if anyone thinks that therapy isn't a necessity, it is for me.
I also haven't had an annual exam in ages because of costs. I think I may have a medical condition that I think I can ignore, but I don't feel like spending the money to find out. And my glasses just broke so I had to get an eye exam and new frames, which was about a $400 bill.
I'm not trying to sob story here. Just pointing out that in the US' current system, many people who want help can't afford it. And if they have to get help, it can financially destroy them for years. It also pisses me off when republicans go on about mental health when mass shootings happen, but how can people afford it?
I'm more than ready for a single payer health system. What happened in this article is tragic. What is even the point of sending this man to jail? He would have cost taxpayers more money from being in jail. Nobody would have benefited from this except maybe the judge's ego. I don't even think it would have sent a message that you shouldn't avoid a summons. The guy was broke. I doubt he wanted to add court costs to his debt.
The fact that he went to jail is bad enough. The fact that he died there is unacceptable. And over less than $2,000.
Agent Gibbs
Member
I really wish American's would adopt a universal healthcare system paid for and run by the government, even if it was heavily sponsored to make it more viable to the current profit driven system - coke bed sheets, enema's by taco bell, physiological exams by Donda anything to stop this absolutely abhorrent situation where being poor is a death sentence brought about by the state and its arbitrary fines
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
That's bloody mental. Hope this stuff gets sorted in the "near" (politically speaking) future.
Audioboxer
Member
I mean, my brain just implodes trying to do the gymnastics needed to somehow say yes, this is a genuine cost for what this person has had done.
It's simply ridiculous profiteering.
Always been a bit worried about the UK's NHS, especially under the Torries, but thankfully it's doing okay in Scotland.
MrCunningham
Member
Lmfao. I would sadly be fine with this if it meant people could get help when they need it. And that means when they first need it, not when their condition is so bad it can no longer be ignored and becomes a huge problem.
I'd only be against ads for stuff like prescription pills and the like.
breakfuss
Member
Why would you say this and not elaborate?
Mr. Giggles
Member
I didn't think this was allowed in the US of all places actually.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
It's indefensible in my view. You don't get to call yourself some great nation, and yet have one of the most backwards, fucked up anti-poor health care systems for a first-world country. Hell, forget first world, Cuba has better, smarter(and more humane) healthcare, and plenty of good doctors. There's no good excuse here, other than villainy and greed.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
It's not legal, but if it becomes a court matter and you fail to show, they get you.
Feel like explaining or nah
Shuggananas
Banned
Because he's fucking ashamed as he should be, don't see any other rason
The US can't qualify as a first world country just based on the lack of healthcare
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