Comments on: Two points for honesty

By: Mom

Mom — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:47:31 +0000

Michigan charges out of the ass for an ambulance ride. It cost me $500 because my insurance doesn’t cover it.

By: sam

sam — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:25:45 +0000

I just got a bill for $500 from the ambulance place for taking my dead father to the hospital/mourge?

Thanks for that St Johns!

By: Fisherman's Friend

Fisherman's Friend — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:49:30 +0000

Pay for an ambulance ride??!

Glad I live in a european country!

Ambulance rides are free here.

By: Fallen Angel

Fallen Angel — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:42:28 +0000

That`s a good one The ultimate proof of self-confidence

By: Makem Lad

Makem Lad — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:01:27 +0000

Just reading the comments, I can not believe you guys over there have to pay for an ambulance! Even if the Insurance company covers x% of the cost – it’s an emergency service! You don’t want to be ran over, but if you are you pay to be pick-up off the street? That’s crazy. Next you will be paying for the fire service and police to turn up – one police man or two (depending upon your insurance cover)?

By: PickPocket

PickPocket — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:15:56 +0000

Rule what? The Empire is gone, or have you deluded yourself into not seeing that like you have deluded yourself into thinking health care is free?
Now if we could just do something about the apparently lacking dental plan.

By: woo

woo — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:52:51 +0000

Thank god for England and the NHS. It’s my human right here to get free health care operations and emergency services.

Rule Britannia.

By: harmonic pies

harmonic pies — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:04:46 +0000

Actually, physicians and their office staff are getting free lunches every day, courtesy of pharmaceutical and medical device reps. Amongst other free stuff.

By: Erica C

Erica C — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:20:10 +0000

CB, it’s a bit disingenuous on your part to suggest that a policyholder merely call their insurer or look at their booklet. First, many insurance companies explicitly state that they are not bound by what their phone reps tell policyholders on the phone. Second, have you tried to get a booklet sent to you lately? It often takes weeks or never arrives at all. I don’t see how that’s an effective means of keeping updated as to your coverage. I know you support universal care and are not shilling for insurance companies, but it’s not nearly as easy a process as one might think to ascertain your own coverage. Also, the whole “reasonable and customary” thing is an absolute crapshoot, especially here in NYC where rates are through the roof.

I’m with Whibbles et al. – healthcare in this country is an absolute crime. I already pay taxes in the highest tax bracket and would be happy to add to that to not deal with private insurers.

The only people getting a “free lunch” in this country are executives at insurance companies.

By: Rulial

Rulial — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:50:29 +0000

Yep, health care isn’t free, no matter where you go.

However, this note illustrates a significant drawback to our (American) system. For good reason, you can’t deny emergency health care due to inability to pay. However, if the hospital can’t collect, as in this case, they’ll end up taking a loss, which they spread around to everyone else, driving up health care (and therefore health insurance) costs. On the other hand, if we had a system in place to make sure everyone had coverage, these patients would be able to take care of their medical problems before they ended up at the emergency room, which is cheaper and healthier. Also, under a single-payer system, administrative costs are much lower, because there’s less paperwork to determine what is covered under a patient’s policy.

By: bob

bob — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:41:24 +0000

@gez

William Safire has written that “when enough of us are wrong, we’re right.”

http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/lang/107647.htm,
specifically this statement about one-third of the way down the page:

“(4.) Use of the singular they/their form. This construction is becoming increasingly acceptable. However, classroom teachers need to be aware that state and/or national assessments may not regard this construction as correct.”

–The Grammar Police – Serving and protecting since the inception of the internet.

By: Canthz_B

Canthz_B — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:01:27 +0000

That’s a shame. really bad timing. Thank goodness for that charitable organization.
Really sorry for your loss.

By: RunBarbara

RunBarbara — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:31:49 +0000

I was on my late father’s insurance. He passed away when I was 16 and he had an amazing benefits package from his job. It kept me covered under his insurance (Pacific Care, which was excellent) until I was 18. It didnt have a Cobra option since it was extended coverage for minor dependents under his work’s plan. They covered my Mom and I since he was a year away from retirement. Anyway, I was suppose to be getting on to student insurance through my college but hadn’t done it yet since I didn’t think I was going to collapse a lung.
It really was one of those “just slipped through the cracks” incidents and it was back in 1998. Im sure things have changed now.

By: se

se — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:16:03 +0000

before my father died, he was having trouble breathing, I called the local hospital and told them what I was seeing about him. The ambulance showed up within 5 minutes and even before that, local township police showed up and looked to see what they could do. Those EMTs did not know my father, but treated him like a VIP. A few weeks after he died, I got a bill from the ambulance service for $32.00. Medicare had covered the other 90%. I was happy to pay that money, if only to help insure that if I need the service, it will be there for me.
Why don’t people want to pay their bills?