Thing is, charging for something not used is called fraud in any and every other circumstance.

lilyofcourse wrote:

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Thing is, charging for something not used is called fraud in any and every other circumstance.

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 It is used.  You go to the ER.  Those people are on standy by.  There is a cost for that.

Being on call and being charged for not using it is two different things.

You walk into an ER , you are going to get an ER charge. Duh.

So if only one person needs the on call person during the whole weekend that one person should foot the entire bill of them being on call? I can see insurance companies having a hey day with that. And if they are on call all weekend and no one ends up needing them they should go unpaid?

Going into a restaurant you pay for what you get. The cost of the running of the place is already figured into the cost.

You don't get charged for extra meals you don't order.

Should a guy with a tree limb in his arm be charged with an obstetrician that is on call?

I was in the ER here while back. Had a CT. What else should I be charged with?

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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So if only one person needs the on call person during the whole weekend that one person should foot the entire bill of them being on call? I can see insurance companies having a hey day with that. And if they are on call all weekend and no one ends up needing them they should go unpaid?

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 Yes.  Because they are AVAILABLE and ready for YOU.  If u dont want to pay then give birth at home.

So is anyone surprised by this? the fees reimbursed are being squeezed downward. Cost of items that were rolled into the cost of a particular service now have to be charged separately. It isn't "sneaky" but should be disclosed up front.

I do agree. Fees should be clear and known. Maybe not emergencies but u should know that having your gallbladder out will cost u X?

Right but there could some idea given.

lilyofcourse wrote:

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Going into a restaurant you pay for what you get. The cost of the running of the place is already figured into the cost.

You don't get charged for extra meals you don't order.

Should a guy with a tree limb in his arm be charged with an obstetrician that is on call?

I was in the ER here while back. Had a CT. What else should I be charged with?

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 No.  You don't "pay for what you get" necessarily.  If someone calls for take out they are not using a booth, electricity, and many other things the restaurant offers.  There are take places here that are take out only.  They have no dining area.  I bet the overhead is much less.  So if you buy take out should you get a discount because you didn't take up booth space?  You say no because it's all factored into the cost.  The same exact thing is factored into ER cost. 

The adivice in the OP says to ask someone in charge of billing what a procedure will cost. That just isnt possible. DD was in the emergency room at midnight with abdominal pain they couldn't disgnose. They were debating giving her a CT scan and wanted to leave the decision up to me. I asked what it would cost, no one knew, there was no one to call to find out, and no one had any ideas on what it could be. We made the decision to have the CT scan because of other factors (she was due to board a flight in 2 days and if it was appendicitis, we needed to know ASAP ) So saying "just ask what it will cost" is nice and all, but it isn't practical. And if she did need emergency appendectomy surgery you can be damn sure I would not wait until I could get an estimate before she had the surgery. My family's health is not like a brake job on a car. I can't always get a written estimate before hand.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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Not every procedure or test is an emergency. So I think that general cost estimates could be given if patients , inaurances and society began to demand it. They have never had too so they don't. And rhose taking care of u do not know the costs either.

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 They sure don't know. I asked the doctor to estimate the cost of the CT scan - $500 or $5000. Which was it closer to? He had no idea. It ended up being almost $3000 just for the CT scan. 

Mellow Momma wrote:

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The adivice in the OP says to ask someone in charge of billing what a procedure will cost. That just isnt possible. DD was in the emergency room at midnight with abdominal pain they couldn't disgnose. They were debating giving her a CT scan and wanted to leave the decision up to me. I asked what it would cost, no one knew, there was no one to call to find out, and no one had any ideas on what it could be. We made the decision to have the CT scan because of other factors (she was due to board a flight in 2 days and if it was appendicitis, we needed to know ASAP ) So saying "just ask what it will cost" is nice and all, but it isn't practical. And if she did need emergency appendectomy surgery you can be damn sure I would not wait until I could get an estimate before she had the surgery. My family's health is not like a brake job on a car. I can't always get a written estimate before hand.

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 You mean you didn't call all the hospitals in the area to see which one gave you a better deal?

Seriously, sometimes who you go to is determined by who your insurance provider is.

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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Mellow Momma wrote:

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The adivice in the OP says to ask someone in charge of billing what a procedure will cost. That just isnt possible. DD was in the emergency room at midnight with abdominal pain they couldn't disgnose. They were debating giving her a CT scan and wanted to leave the decision up to me. I asked what it would cost, no one knew, there was no one to call to find out, and no one had any ideas on what it could be. We made the decision to have the CT scan because of other factors (she was due to board a flight in 2 days and if it was appendicitis, we needed to know ASAP ) So saying "just ask what it will cost" is nice and all, but it isn't practical. And if she did need emergency appendectomy surgery you can be damn sure I would not wait until I could get an estimate before she had the surgery. My family's health is not like a brake job on a car. I can't always get a written estimate before hand.

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 You mean you didn't call all the hospitals in the area to see which one gave you a better deal?

Seriously, sometimes who you go to is determined by who your insurance provider is.

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 Exactly! And around here, the costs are sky high because of the Mayo Clinic. Our insurance rates are among the highest in the country because of the Clinic and the medical charges are also among the highest in the country because of the clinic. So even though I have never set foot in a Mayo office or even in a Mayo related/affiliated office, I am paying for it anyway. Everyone else raised their prices to match Mayo. The county Mayo is in...the can't get a single insurance provider to provide insurance there under the ACA because of the prices. And each county nearby has sky high premiums because of it too. 

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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Mellow Momma wrote:

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The adivice in the OP says to ask someone in charge of billing what a procedure will cost. That just isnt possible. DD was in the emergency room at midnight with abdominal pain they couldn't disgnose. They were debating giving her a CT scan and wanted to leave the decision up to me. I asked what it would cost, no one knew, there was no one to call to find out, and no one had any ideas on what it could be. We made the decision to have the CT scan because of other factors (she was due to board a flight in 2 days and if it was appendicitis, we needed to know ASAP ) So saying "just ask what it will cost" is nice and all, but it isn't practical. And if she did need emergency appendectomy surgery you can be damn sure I would not wait until I could get an estimate before she had the surgery. My family's health is not like a brake job on a car. I can't always get a written estimate before hand.

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 You mean you didn't call all the hospitals in the area to see which one gave you a better deal?

Seriously, sometimes who you go to is determined by who your insurance provider is.

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And, should you call 911 for an ambulance, they will take you to whatever hospital they are affiliated with.

They don't give a crap, where you want to go. Or what you insurance will pay for.

When I broke my leg, I ordered my peeps, not to call 911.

I hopped to my Jeep, and Wayne drove me to the hospital, of my choice.

I didn't want to be at the mercy of an ambulance crew. Or the hospital they would take me to. Ever. 

If an ambulance takes you to the hospital it is deemed an emergency and I don't know of an insurance company that won't accept that. HOWEVER, around here, and I'm pretty sure in your area too FWM as I've worked with many of those ambulance drivers, unless you can't speak or communicate they always ask you if you have a preference on where you want to go.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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Good thinking!

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I got the same surgeon who rebuilt my back. To rebuild my broken leg.

I went to the same hospital. With some help from Wayne and Conor.

Had Wayne freaked out, and called 911, God only knows where I would have ended up.

Or, how much it would have cost, to transfer me, to a hospital that I trusted. 

I've been on the bad end, of bad medicine, more than once.

I wasn't taking any chances.

My rule of thumb: I don't go to the ER unless I am vomiting blood. Anything else, I can tough out till morning and my doctors office opens at 0900.

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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Fort Worth Mom wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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If an ambulance takes you to the hospital it is deemed an emergency and I don't know of an insurance company that won't accept that. HOWEVER, around here, and I'm pretty sure in your area too FWM as I've worked with many of those ambulance drivers, unless you can't speak or communicate they always ask you if you have a preference on where you want to go.

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I don't think it's like that in DFW anymore, NJN. The ambulance will take you to the hospital they are affiliated with. Like it, or not.

I wouldn't trust them to make the call. I've heard too many horror stories. 

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 Medstar is the ambulance company in DFW.  I still have friends that work there.  I will have to call them and ask them their policy.  Last I heard they asked you what hospital unless you couldn't answer.  Then it was usually to the nearest hospital.  I know for sure here they ask you.

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They are the biggest company in town, NJN. They aren't the only ones.

And, my understanding is, you can be talking, and tell them where you want to go. And, it won't happen.

I don't trust them. Any of them. 

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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My rule of thumb: I don't go to the ER unless I am vomiting blood. Anything else, I can tough out till morning and my doctors office opens at 0900.

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Did you read the article about heart attack symptoms? 

Do you know the signs of a stroke?

 

Both are worse and much more urgent than vomiting blood.

Fort Worth Mom wrote:

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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Well, I don't trust them either. But for totally unrelated reasons to healthcare.

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Okay, that caught my interest.

Why don't you trust them?

(I know why I don't....but, I'm curious...why don't you?) 

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 You really want an answer to this?

Welllllllllllll, at one point I was single and young. And I worked in the hospital. And it happened I came upon many a fireman and paramedics bringing in patients. Where do you meet people usually? If you work a lot you meet them at work. But I never liked dating anyone I worked directly with. And let's face it, there's not that many male nurses. So firemen and paramedics were a good way to meet people. I have dated my fair share of them. Many. One of the pluses of dating one when you are a nurse is they understand what you go through in a day so they get you. If that makes sense. However, these guys, and gals, can't keep it in their pants. No lie. I never met one that didn't cheat. They don't care. And there are more bodily fluids in the back of those ambulances than just blood. I thought that this might only be where I lived but when I moved here DH used to be a paramedic here and we hung out with some of them. Nope. They are all the same here too. Messing around in the ambulance... Sleeping with multiple people. And DH worked in Haltom City for awhile and said it's the same there too. I've had friends from all over that were firefighters and ambulance drivers. They cheat. And they protect each other when they do. They cover each others backs. I'm sure there's one or two that's not like that but every one I know has cheated.

I still have friends on Medstar. They are um man whores. No other way to say it. And I know a bunch of the ones in my county here, where I currently live. One of DH's ex coworkers and her partner were going at it in the back of the ambulance like little rabbits. They were both married, to other people. Both their spouses worked at the same ambulance company. And yes, it did get around and quickly. DH has worked for the ambulance service in Haltom city and here. He says it's the same everywhere. I know your town is the same. Cheaters. All of them. And yes, I did say all of them.