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IF you have a living will/DNR and you are unconsous for some reason and the ER treats you are you responsible for the bill? Can you legally create a living will that if the amount exceeds some formula you come up with (such as some certian amount adjusted for inflation etc) that they are not to treat?
IF you have a living will/DNR and you are unconsous for some reason and the ER treats you are you responsible for the bill? Can you legally create a living will that if the amount exceeds some formula you come up with (such as some certian amount adjusted for inflation etc) that they are not to treat?
If you come to an emergency room unconscious you can be treated and you can be billed. I would make this comment though: What's lacking in that situation is an agreement between the two parties. Therefore, I think one could make a good argument that the fee that emergency room is entitled to charge is limited to what I will call "the reasonable value of the services that are provided". This is generally going to be less than some of the inflated charges that I see coming from emergency rooms for my clients. The difficulty is that the public wants emergency medical services to be available. If providers cannot collect for what they do, these services are likely to gradually disappear. Under EMTALA, the emergency room has to see all patients. Bills from many patients simply cannot be collected. Therefore, bills from paying patients are, by necessity, larger than they should be.
Example: Emergency Room bills $15,000.00 for x-rays, a CT scan of your head, and an examination by the doctor. You regain consciousness shortly after being treated or during treatment. You could argue that no agreement existed between the hospital and yourself for this treatment. You could than say that these services can be purchased in a medical clinic for far less than $15,000. Perhaps, they could be purchased for $3,000.00. If the matter ever came before a judge, I suspect he would limit any award to the hospital for these services to $3,000.00 in that specific instance.
The answer to your question about the Living Will is "no". You can make out a Living Will or Advanced Care Directive that tells medical providers not to treat you. You can't qualify it by subjecting it to some monetary amount. Either they can treat you, or they can't. Those are the choices.
If you come to an emergency room unconscious you can be treated and you can be billed. I would make this comment though: What's lacking in that situation is an agreement between the two parties. Therefore, I think one could make a good argument that the fee that emergency room is entitled to charge is limited to what I will call "the reasonable value of the services that are provided". This is generally going to be less than some of the inflated charges that I see coming from emergency rooms for my clients. The difficulty is that the public wants emergency medical services to be available. If providers cannot collect for what they do, these services are likely to gradually disappear. Under EMTALA, the emergency room has to see all patients. Bills from many patients simply cannot be collected. Therefore, bills from paying patients are, by necessity, larger than they should be.
Example: Emergency Room bills $15,000.00 for x-rays, a CT scan of your head, and an examination by the doctor. You regain consciousness shortly after being treated or during treatment. You could argue that no agreement existed between the hospital and yourself for this treatment. You could than say that these services can be purchased in a medical clinic for far less than $15,000. Perhaps, they could be purchased for $3,000.00. If the matter ever came before a judge, I suspect he would limit any award to the hospital for these services to $3,000.00 in that specific instance.
The answer to your question about the Living Will is "no". You can make out a Living Will or Advanced Care Directive that tells medical providers not to treat you. You can't qualify it by subjecting it to some monetary amount. Either they can treat you, or they can't. Those are the choices.
Ok so even without a living will it sounds like people have legal recourse to fight the inflated prices in court and not be destitute the rest of their lives paying off some monster doctor bills.
Ok so even without a living will it sounds like people have legal recourse to fight the inflated prices in court and not be destitute the rest of their lives paying off some monster doctor bills.
If you come to emergency room unconscious. That's a critical element.
However, the reasonable value of the services provided may be more than many people think. These services are not cheap. The hospital ER must be staffed 24 hours a day and have certain equipment ready.
If you come to emergency room unconscious. That's a critical element.
However, the reasonable value of the services provided may be more than many people think. These services are not cheap. The hospital ER must be staffed 24 hours a day and have certain equipment ready.
Yea but its not going to be 100 grand to stabilize me and cut me loose or 750 grand or even 50 grand. You just hear more and more about medical bill bankruptcys and loss of home life long dream assets (like planes and boats) etc over one incident which I feel if I am going to have retirement and everything I own to live in a dirty apartment and have to grovel for work as an old man I might as well just have a living will that way I have legal recourse against graft.
They must use any reasonable effort to contact next of kin or medical proxy before engaging in testing that can wait til authorization is attained. Short of loss of life eminently, they do not randomly rack up the medical testing. It cost them too...
Riddle me this.. how broadcasted is your medical directives? Mine are at one hospital ....heaven help if I am unconscious and sent to the nearest hospital of service... They would have zero culpability for medicinal reactions and specific no amputation or slapping a trach or life support on me.
God bless hippa law... no sharing of information with other hospitals... it's a catch 22...
They must use any reasonable effort to contact next of kin or medical proxy before engaging in testing that can wait til authorization is attained. Short of loss of life eminently, they do not randomly rack up the medical testing. It cost them too...
Riddle me this.. how broadcasted is your medical directives? Mine are at one hospital ....heaven help if I am unconscious and sent to the nearest hospital of service... They would have zero culpability for medicinal reactions and specific no amputation or slapping a trach or life support on me.
God bless hippa law... no sharing of information with other hospitals... it's a catch 22...
Oh yea that's true, what can you do about that? Wear a bracelet?
They must use any reasonable effort to contact next of kin or medical proxy before engaging in testing that can wait til authorization is attained. Short of loss of life eminently, they do not randomly rack up the medical testing. It cost them too...
Riddle me this.. how broadcasted is your medical directives? Mine are at one hospital ....heaven help if I am unconscious and sent to the nearest hospital of service... They would have zero culpability for medicinal reactions and specific no amputation or slapping a trach or life support on me.
God bless hippa law... no sharing of information with other hospitals... it's a catch 22...
Here, you can OPT OUT of sharing, but first you'd have to know that your information is being shared among hospitals and providers. The notice of disclosure/sharing is contained in the HIPAA notice, but I don't think any patient bothers reading that anymore (assuming they ever did, ha ha).
You could, but don't think anyone will bother to read it In my experience, they don't bother to read their own da**ed forms, let alone someone else's.
Unfortunately, true.
I gave the hospital a copy of my husband's DNR when he was admitted.
The day after , they were standing around with the paddles asking if he had a DNR.
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In my experience, they don't bother to read their own da**ed forms, let alone someone else's.
