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Don't pay the bill. What is the worst they can do...have a debt collection agency call you over and over? I am sure there are tons of people that don't pay.
And tank your credit score. But I guess if you plan on never taking out a loan or mortgage or getting a credit card that wouldn't matter.
And tank your credit score. But I guess if you plan on never taking out a loan or mortgage or getting a credit card that wouldn't matter.
Medical bills do not tank your credit score nearly as much as regular debt. Your credit score will go down but it won't be a huge amount. Either way I would just make small payments to them if you can't afford the whole bill and be happy that nothing serious happened with your son.
It's my opinion that unless your life hangs in the balance, like after a terrible auto accident, an ambulance ride is unnecessary. I equate them to the tow trucks that prowl downtown looking for someone's car, that they can haul away and then charge them an astronomical fee. I had a friend fall off a bicycle once, "single vehicle accident" if you will, on a college campus. His hip popped out of socket. He got hauled to the emergency room in an ambulance to the tune of over $500, all without his consent.
If I'm riding in an ambulance, it better be SERIOUS!
As for the bill, call them and tell them you will pay it off in small payments. They HAVE to work with you.
As for the bill, call them and tell them you will pay it off in small payments. They HAVE to work with you.
Technically they don't have to do squat. But I think a medical-based organization that won't work with you is very rare. I'm sure it's very common for them to set up something like $50/month payments until it's paid off.
It's my opinion that unless your life hangs in the balance, like after a terrible auto accident, an ambulance ride is unnecessary. I equate them to the tow trucks that prowl downtown looking for someone's car, that they can haul away and then charge them an astronomical fee. I had a friend fall off a bicycle once, "single vehicle accident" if you will, on a college campus. His hip popped out of socket. He got hauled to the emergency room in an ambulance to the tune of over $500, all without his consent.
If I'm riding in an ambulance, it better be SERIOUS!
As for the bill, call them and tell them you will pay it off in small payments. They HAVE to work with you.
It's against the law to transport a patient without their consent if they are coherent and can answer simple questions such as the date, current president, or city.
Don't pay the bill. What is the worst they can do...have a debt collection agency call you over and over? I am sure there are tons of people that don't pay.
And we wonder why America is going down the drain.
The reason they called is probably the same reason lots of stuff happens in healthcare: defensive medicine. If his sats were relatively low and they didn't call the ambulance, and the parent for some reason chose not to go right to the ER they could be help liable. You can thank the lawyers and your fellow lawsuit-happy citizens for that one. And believe it or not, there are probably a lot of parents out there who would do something that ridiculous.
I think everyone should to be really really sick once in their life. It's an experience you never forget and it changes your whole outlook on life without your health.
Without your health, or your kids health, or whoever you don't have anything. And if all it costs is a $350 ambulance ride I would have been more than happy to have paid it in 1990 when I was curled up in a ball for 6 months with a ruptured lumbar 4/5 disc hammering on a bed of nerve roots.
I was lucky. But I never forget the pain and not being able to walk and be human again, while wishing someone would have put a bullet thru my brain while I waited to have surgery.
Take a good walk thru Duke Children's Hospital some day and talk to sick kids with no hair.
I don't think a $350 ambulance ride is worth the fuss. No offense, just pay the bill and be done with it and be thankful your kids don't ever need anymore than that. JMHO.
Last edited by superhero; 10-18-2012 at 07:20 PM..
I agree with Kids_Dentist (re defensive medicine) and superhero.
It's better in this case just to do what the doctor says, whatever the reason is.
I regret not calling an ambulance when my son's appendix was ready to burst. I wasn't being cheap, I just had no clue what was going on. It started as a stomach ache. I thought perhaps it was a kidney stone. I brought him to the doctor, and the doctor was out of the office, and after an hour of waiting still hadn't returned.
I ended up taking him to the hospital myself, from way out on Six Forks to Rex Hospital. I should have called an ambulance right off the bat. By the time I made the decision, it was rush hour, and it was the most terrifying stop-and-go trip. We were fortunate his appendix didn't burst. Hours after arriving at the hospital he had an emergency appendectomy.
If I'm ever in a similar situation, I'll immediately call an ambulance, no problemo. I also changed from an individual doctor (whom I adored) to a practice with several doctors -- just in case I ever needed a backup doctor.
The ambulance company will most likely happily take a $50/month payment in this economy.
Last edited by lovebrentwood; 10-18-2012 at 09:22 PM..
$350? That's it? Consider yourself lucky. When my dad had a stroke, the hospital they took him to couldn't treat his stroke so they wanted to send him to another hospital by helicopter airlift. They made it seem as if it was a much faster option than the ambulance transport. Of course I authorized it since I wanted my dad to be taken care of asap.
We ended up waiting an hour for the helicopter to arrive. We could have made it there by ambulance faster.
The slap in the face was the $8000 bill we got later for the helicopter airlift that was not covered by insurance.
It's against the law to transport a patient without their consent if they are coherent and can answer simple questions such as the date, current president, or city.
I'd be screwed if they asked me the date. Some days I couldn't even tell you the day of the week correctly!
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