In the USA, it’s 100x cheaper to take an Uber to the hospital instead of an ambulance.
I don’t know if this is true or..
Like, having to pay for an ambulance that is taking you to the hospital? That doesn’t make any sense. What kind of distopian world is that?It costs thousands of dollars to ride in an ambulance
In America some people with chronic health conditions like epilepsy literally have to wear medical IDs that say “don’t call an ambulance/911”. Some well-meaning person calling an ambulance for you will turn into a thousand (or couple thousand) dollars that YOU are on the hook for, even though you didn’t make the call. So, PSA: if you see someone having a seizure, look for a medical ID! You should only call an ambulance if: the person is elderly, pregnant, or the seizure lasts more than 4 minutes. Otherwise, wait for the seizure to pass, then ask the person if they want an ambulance when they regain consciousness.
wtf
Oh my god what.
Here in Quebec, if you call an ambulance for something they deem non-emergency, you get a bill later for like $180. But if it’s anything like a loss of consciousness, chest pains, labour, whatever, or if you’re in a public place and a a well-meaning samaritan calls 911, it’s paid for by the government.
Seriously, everything about healthcare in the US makes me want to cry.
I was once charged $600 for walking into a hospital for a blood test. The blood test was one fee and then there was a $600 fee for my being “admitted” for about 10 minutes.
We argued and did not have to pay it in the end. But still.
*sings* I feel like I literally moved to the Hunger Games somtimes.
My buddy passed out from stomach cramps a couple months back (apparently there’s some nerve that deals with both blood pressure and stomach cramps or something). His girlfriend and her mother took him to the ER because that’s what you do when someone, yknow, passes the hell out for no apparent reason. The bill is definitely over a grand.
Don’t get sick, even for five minutes, dangit.
when my grandma had a stroke, the ambulance ride alone was $14,000
14 fucking grands? WHat the everloving fuck, murrica?
Here in Germany you gotta pay 311,50 Euro for the ambulance with full equipment in case of an emergency, or 100 Euro for the smaller version of it; i.e the transport to a hospital (in non-life threatening cases where you are unable to get to a hospital yourself.)
Both are costs that are covered by the state health insurance/care however, if calling an ambulance and/or transport was deemed necessary.
Tag: healthcare
This needs to be aired everywhere, day and night. I hope people turn it into advertisements. Damn, I hope it changes a few minds, because this is the reality that so many people are facing every day- and to go back to a system that lets people die for not having enough money is simply inhuman. Our system even still needs massive improvements, it it is BETTER than it was, let’s keep it that way.
this is why its depressing to work in a pharmacy.
I was definitely a profit killer when I worked in a pharmacy (which honestly was my favorite job in the entire world, but it was short-lived and nowadays you can’t work at a pharmacy like that, it’s all tied in with corporate retail and no one should ever trust me with a cash register ever). It was not, however, actually a profit killer for the pharmacy, just for the drug companies, so no one cared. These days I do medical billing, which means I actually bill OUT from hospitals so I’m mostly spending my professional time taking money away from insurance companies.
I will now impart all of my profit killing resources onto you, in case you don’t know them. I think most of you know them, now. But just in case you don’t.
THIS IS US-CENTRIC. I’M SORRY.
1. GoodRx – this thing has an app now, so you can look up the best places to get your expensive medicines at the lowest possible prices without insurance on the go, and you no longer have to print coupons because you can just hand over your phone or tablet. Times have changed for the better with GoodRx. Definitely use it before trying to fill your scrip, because it will tell you the best place to go. (You can do that on the website, too.)
2. NeedyMeds – Needymeds is basically the clearinghouse of drug payment assistance. They have their own discount cards, but also connections to many patient assistance programs run by drug companies themselves. They are good assistance programs, too.
3. Ask your county – This is not a link. This is a pro tip. Most county social services will have pharmacy discount programs for people with no and/or shitty pharmaceutical coverage. You can often just find them hanging around at social services offices; you can just pick one up and walk off with it.
4. Ordering online – There are a few safe online pharmacies. I keep a little database in a text file on my computer. Most of them are courtesy of CFS forums, my mother or voidbat, so a lot of that is a hat tip to other people, but if you’re in need of a place to get a drug without a prescription … first I’ll make sure you 100% know what you’re doing for safety reasons and then I’m happy to turn over a link.
5. Healthfinder – A government resource that helps find patient assistance programs in your area. This might also point out the convenient county card thing. RxHope is something a lot of people get pointed to via Healthfinder that’s a good program.
6. Mental Health America – Keeps a list of their best PAPs for psychiatric medications, which can be some of the most expensive and a lot of pharmacy plans don’t cover them at all.
This is so important ppl.
Signal boost the shit out of it!
Booooooooooooooooooost
Good Rx Saved my family a hundred dollars a month while I was getting signed up for CHIP
seriously it’s a life savor especially for ridiculously expensive drugs like abilifyUseful info, friends! 😉
Waiting for Winter 