Like you’re presumably unconscious and at no point ever consent to be liable for the cost, and yet people get billed. It’s like if someone just came and did a bunch of work on your house when you were asleep and then sent you a bill.

Like, just wack. It’s like if you passed out in Walmart and an employee put a cell phone in your pocket, took your money, then gave you a receipt, and people were like “hmm yes that’s legit”

America must be destroyed

  • AntiOutsideAktion [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Here’s another fun one: if you’re staying in a hospital, a random doctor walking around can just pop into your room, check whatever things there are attached to you, ask a couple questions, then bill you for it.

    • Justice
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      3 months ago

      Soulless health insurance person: "How do we know when it’s critical? Easy. They get a helivac. Which we also deny. Too expensive. Should’ve called us ahead for authorization. Which we would deny, of course. Get an uber. Don’t tip the driver though. We don’t reimburse.

      You know, really, all things considered, it would probably be best if you just… sorta, you know, died. Really makes things easier for everyone involved."

  • LeylaLove [she/her, love/loves]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    When I first went to a mental health urgent care, they called me an ambulance because I had a seizure the previous day. I begged them to just let me drive, but they wouldn’t let me because I was in their care at the time. Now I get daily phone calls telling me to pay up

    • peeonyou [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      i had over $6000 in medical bills from a car crash and i never paid a dime of it I don’t really remember them coming after me much and within a year they stopped calling at all

      as far as i know it was just wiped out but who knows

  • TawnyFroggy [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    When I was young and naive I called an ambulance for my mom who was having chest pains and I think she’s still paying for it. Absolutely batshit that onlookers need to make split second judgement calls about a potentially dying persons financials.

    • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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      3 months ago

      In Poland, even after 35 years of predatory capitalism we still have at least some public healthcare and calling up ambulance is free (and even is somebody calls it without any reason the fine is 1500 PLN - around 385 dollars, same with police and firefighters). USA is truly a barbarous state.

    • AmericaDelendaEst [comrade/them]@hexbear.netOP
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      3 months ago

      I think she’s still paying for it

      that’s fucked, jesus

      do you know how much she might owe on it? I’m financially fucked on the regular, but maybe we could start a gofundme or something to free your mother of this burden? idk

      • TawnyFroggy [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        I think its like 5 thousand that she’s constantly paying off but somehow never gets lower. Hopefully one day I’ll make enough to just pay it off but that probably won’t be anytime soon.

  • TheDoctor [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Here’s another one. An involuntary 72 hour psychiatric hold costs, on average, over $2,000 without insurance. And it can go a lot higher than that depending on where you go.

  • RedDawn [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I was brought to the hospital by the police en route to jail and the hospital sent me a bill for $3,000. There no was no treatment of any kind as far as I can remember lol I told them to get fucked they’ll never get that money from me

  • peeonyou [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    i crashed my car when i was young and dumb, and my friends being good people called the ambulance.

    that little ambulance ride ended up costing something like $800 to go like 2 miles… the charge was so high because my friends didn’t know where we were and the ambulance drove around for almost 2 hours looking for us apparently

  • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I read a story where an elderly dementia patient died during a helicopter ambulance ride that cost more than value of the family home. The craziest part is that insurance would have paid a fraction of the price, but the ambulance service had no reason to negotiate with an estate that had an asset to take.

    Normally I wouldn’t feel too bad about someone not getting their inheritance, but the daughter had moved in to keep her mom from going to a nursing home.