Do people get Charged for Emergency services if have Tonic clonic Seizure?

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niceguyVZ

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The ambulance Emergency comes and gets you and takes you to the hospital. I've been to the emergency(not for seizures and not taken in the ambulance) but for other thing and racked up huge bill just for the little time they saw me there.

I can't imagine how much it would be for a seizure where they have to pick you up in an ambulance.

Or is it all free? And i'm talking for people without insurances. like poor working people or people who dont get insurance at work or whatever.
 
As a poor worker who has no insurance, holding a $4900 bill in my hand after DRIVING MYSELF to the ER while I was Post-Ictal.... I can say... YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS THEY CAN! The tonic clonic caused me a broken shoulder, so I got an MRI, X-Rays, a Sling, some morphine, a script for vicodin and thrown out the door...

This happened 12 days ago. I'm still in the sling.
 
I have insurance, but they do share the bills (both in co-pay and in showing what it "really" cost so you can see how valuable your coverage is. Oh yeah, they charge. I will say though that the cost of running an ambulance (2 trained EMTs) and all the equipment (oxygen, IV etc) which they then have to restock, it does cost the company a bit. But anyway you look at it, yes, there's a cost involved.
 
The first time I had a seizure, was when I was at home and my father heard it and he came rushing in & door was locked so he pushed in around the lock to get to me. He freaked out, and didn't know what to do so he called my brother, mother, and then called the paramedics saying something had happened to me.

I finally became self aware, and then I saw them around me with paramedics questioning me, and kept trying to get me to go with them. I refused, and finally somebody said have my parents take me to the hospital, and they gave me a paper to sign saying it wasn't a bill or anything saying it was to say they were not responsible.

I never received a bill for the ambulance (guess they only charge you if you take it). I went to the hospital, and they did CT scan, blood work, urine (I didn't know what for... Later, I got a bill that had a drug test for illegal drugs listed without telling me and then charged me), EKG, and couple of other tests. They charged me about 7 thousand dollars. I had insurance, so they paid all except like 1000 and I had them write off so much since I had no money and my father paid the rest.
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This is probably illegal, and I wouldn't recommend it. If something were to happen like this again, and yet I ended up in a hospital with no damage except having a seizure which they can do nothing about. If just some stranger called; I would give fake information or walk out without them knowing so they couldn't charge me. I know, it's wrong, but my relatives and I just does not have the money to pay for this. I just cannot afford another $1000 or something. Hopefully I won't have another seizure.

An ambulance will not charge you if you refuse to take it (at least with me), although they try their best to get you to go with them! Hospitals gets a lot of people who cannot afford to pay, and so they usually just charge it to the government, get charity, or increase the costs and charge those who do have health insurance. Most of the time, they never threaten to take you to court, hand it over to a credit agency, or threaten to imprison you (guess it depends on hospital & state) So, if you cannot afford it what can you do? Not much, they may be willing to negotiate with you depending on how much you earn, and knock off a lot of it and help you come up with a plan to pay for it. So, really it's not free, but they don't deny you service just because you cannot pay. Of course, it may ruin your credit but that isn't as bad. Try contacting the hospital's billing department & see social worker or somebody for advice. I'm not an accountant & could be wrong.
 
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You get charged alright.For the test and doc that saw you and every little thing they did for you including give you tylenol.I always get a copy of break down of services from my insurance.
 
Of course you get charged. They provided a service using highly educated providers. If you don't have insurance, they'll give you a cash discount and you can talk to a financial counselor about making payments. Hospitals are required to stabilize you, but they're not required to treat you if you're stable. Most people who have had a seizure are considered stable, as there's nothing they can really do. Treating broken bones is not required as it's not life or death, so they could choose to send you home without any treatment. You'll still get billed for the evaluation. Many hospitals will send you to collections if you don't pay. And yes, it's illegal to give false information.
 
i always get charged but if I can help it I clock it up to medicare so the ambiance trip, boring conversation, drip, crap breakfast and hospital is freebie. Otherwise private health insurance gets the bill.
 
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When my husband retired from work, we had great insurance. He decided to keep the insurance and pay for it out of his retirement check.

Everything gets paid for us. We pay a lot for the insurance, but with my health problems it is worth it.

I am sorry for everyone who has to pay. It is not fair.

I thought everyone had Obamacare? Isn't it required by law or am I mistaken?

In CA, BlueCat don't you have CA covered?
 
My employer said we had the choice - keep what we have or choose Obamacare. The day I choose that there will be a zombie apocalypse. My coverage is excellent and affordable. My biggest concern is if I can no longer work and have to pay for it out of pocket.
 
Under CA Covered, you had that choice. You chose the better one. My son chose CA Covered. A lot of people have lost their insurance trying to get ObamaCare.

CA has the best coverage.

I am glad that your's is affordable and great. So many people have very little or no insurance at all. They can't afford it.

We can't afford ours but we have too because of my health problems.
 
I do count myself lucky. Besides the fear of just generally not being able to work (hopefully that's not going to be a reality) we're also discussing moving out of state in retirement, and in this environment that is scary. I guess the only upside to OC is that they can't turn down anyone with a pre-existing condition.
 
I do count myself lucky. Besides the fear of just generally not being able to work (hopefully that's not going to be a reality) we're also discussing moving out of state in retirement, and in this environment that is scary. I guess the only upside to OC is that they can't turn down anyone with a pre-existing condition.

Well, you may have to face the music, like some of us. Some of us are NOT able to work, due to our seizures + other problems that were brought on because of numerous injuries and problems from meds because of seizures. So there IS an up side for some to Obama care. You who have your seizures under control just don't know it yet.
 
Why wouldn't someone be approved if they are truly unable to work? I know that it is a complicated process and can take awhile, but it seems that eventually one would prevail.

As far as not being able to afford insurance, it often is a matter of priorities. I have a pre-existing condition relating to my heart and was always unable to get coverage outside of a group plan. I had to set my priority at always working for a company that had 50+ employees so I couldn't be turned down. I've known people who said they couldn't afford it, but had nice cars and houses. Not everyone can afford insurance, but with the new Obamacare subsidies, most people should be able to. Those who don't qualify for a subsidy and still say they can't afford insurance need to rethink their priorities.
 
Of course you get charged. They provided a service using highly educated providers.
Boy do you get charged! They may be highly educated, but they are also behave like ***holes, the last two times I was in the ER, they treated me like I was some drunk that didn't know anything. True, I didn't know who or where I was at the time, but my god, give me a break, I just had a seizure and had been surrounded by strangers who had called 911, but yet they acted like I should know who, what where, when, etc. Plus I had a MedicAlert bracelet on, but did they bother checking it? Hell No!

Hospitals are required to stabilize you, but they're not required to treat you if you're stable. Most people who have had a seizure are considered stable, as there's nothing they can really do. Treating broken bones is not required as it's not life or death, so they could choose to send you home without any treatment. You'll still get billed for the evaluation. Many hospitals will send you to collections if you don't pay. And yes, it's illegal to give false information.

There is no reason to go to a hospital unless one has a bad TC in public or is seriously injured because of the seizure. Or if the person goes STATUS- the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes. Been there done all that.
 
Why wouldn't someone be approved if they are truly unable to work? I know that it is a complicated process and can take awhile, but it seems that eventually one would prevail.

No one said anything about not being approved. It does take time.
 
we're also discussing moving out of state in retirement, and in this environment that is scary. I guess the only upside to OC is that they can't turn down anyone with a pre-existing condition.

Before you move out of state, you had better find out how much OC is going to cost you. It has been on the news that people have had to pay more for OC than the plan that they were on.

It's true they cannot turn you down because of your health. They sure can make you pay a lot more than what you expect.

I assume you are thinking of moving because of the drought. I sure want to move out of CA, but our insurance is in CA. So we cannot move, plus we have a house.

No matter what state you move to, it is going to have it's problems. :ponder:
 
If you end up in the ER, or at the hospital for any reason and don't have insurance, or it's not covered, make sure to apply for financial aid from the hospital. Ask about it while you are there, or call them later, even after you get the bill. Depending on your finances they will even write the whole thing off. You can almost always get a discount simply for not having insurance. The insurance company always pays less than you do at full price, so the discount is not charity.
 
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