100euro for a&e visit?Correct?

bigpink

My friend fell and bumped her head Saturday night,went to A&E just i case.Prob spent 35 min there

Got a bill in the post today for 100 euro:eek:?

She works full time

foggy_lad

bigpink wrote: »

My friend fell and bumped her head Saturday night,went to A&E just i case.Prob spent 35 min there

Got a bill in the post today for 100 euro:eek:?

She works full time

That sounds about right, was she seen and treated if neccessary?

Cabaal

Sounds about right, afaik the increased charge was applied to stop idiots going to the ER with stupid issues that either a chemist or GP could deal with.

Sadly even with the 100e charge idiots still go to the ER.

If she has a medical card I don't think she pays but she should have displayed it at the time of admission.

Paulw

Yep, €100 is the standard charge for A&E.

Normally there are posters around the waiting room which state this.

RedXIV

bigpink wrote: »

My friend fell and bumped her head Saturday night,went to A&E just i case.Prob spent 35 min there

Got a bill in the post today for 100 euro:eek:?

She works full time

Could be worse, I went on a friday evening once at around 10pm with stabbing chest pains, didn't get seen till 6.30am and then told on the way out it'd cost me €100 for pretty much over the counter pain killers.

Still a bit annoyed over that

munchkin_utd

Cabaal wrote: »

Sounds about right, afaik the increased charge was applied to stop idiots going to the ER with stupid issues that either a chemist or GP could deal with.

Also, somewhere along the line I heard that certain countries in Eastern europe have centralised clinics for GP care, rather than communtity based GPs like in Ireland/ UK / other western european countries.

So when they have a bad dose they supposedly tend to go straight to the hospital rather than to a gp or after hours doctor.

and back on topic, 100 euro for A+E isnt much at all for a high tech critical care department. The real cost would be much much higher (ask anyone who had to pay in cash for such a thing in the US etc ! )
Or on the continent, if you get taken by an ambulance you may get a bill or between 300 and 500 euro just to drive a mile down the road. Why? Because A+E services are not cheap to provide.

kippy

If you go to the doctor first and the doctor refers you to casualty/A and E, this 100 euro fee is waived (you do of course have to pay the doctor but it is generally much cheaper).
I believe the 100 euro fee covers all treatments you received while in A and E.

I can see why the charge was brought in.

bigpink

But if a junkie went in they get it for free!!!Ireland lol

JDxtra

Yes, bit of a joke that any drunk/junkie/scum bag that happens to have a medical card is free to clog up the system with their self-inflicted injuries and do not get charged a cent.

dudara

That's the standard A&E fee. It's not a free service.

Fey!

I'm amazed she got out without paying on the night!!

bigpink

dudara wrote: »

That's the standard A&E fee. It's not a free service.

I understand but it was an accident she is not abusing or clogging up a free service
She doesnt have 100 euro at the moment can you pay a bit of it?

What would happen if she didnt pay?

Im sure people give false details to avoid paying

Toots

Her best bet is to get in touch with them and see what they say. I know a guy who just ignored his invoice and ended up with Intrum Justita after him. I'm surprised they didn't ask her for the money upfront. Any time I've gone to A&E I've had to pay before I'm treated.

Access

bigpink wrote: »

I understand but it was an accident she is not abusing or clogging up a free service
She doesnt have 100 euro at the moment can you pay a bit of it?

What would happen if she didnt pay?

Im sure people give false details to avoid paying

Are you serious? she thinking of not paying? you didnt say in your opening post, but if she was out saturday night, she must have had a few quid to spend in the first place? - maybe im wrong?

Ring the office number on the invoice and ask for a payment plan. they are accommodating if you tell them you are under pressure financially.

In all fairness OP, dont mind ideas of giving false details/not paying - thats the scumbag way of doing things.

your friend used a service... she should pay for it.

booboo88

bigpink wrote: »

I understand but it was an accident she is not abusing or clogging up a free service
She doesnt have 100 euro at the moment can you pay a bit of it?

What would happen if she didnt pay?

Im sure people give false details to avoid paying

she'll continue to get letters which eventually go external.
If you dont have a medical card you have to pay, end of.
It sucks but its life.


I was in for my birthday after 3 months of going to doctor saying there was something wrong with me.
I was right.

bigpink

I didnt mean to come across as being a scumbag,she is just frustrated at paying taxes and getting feck all when she needs it.I dont know why they didnt charge her on the night but i will find this out

What happens to people if they cant pay at A&E?
Visitors to the country if they have an accident?


why bother pay taxes in this country when you can't see a doctor

maxer68

bigpink wrote: »

I didnt mean to come across as being a scumbag,she is just frustrated at paying taxes and getting feck all when she needs it.I dont know why they didnt charge her on the night but i will find this out

What happens to people if they cant pay at A&E?
Visitors to the country if they have an accident?


why bother pay taxes in this country when you can't see a doctor

They could offer it totally "free" - but you'd have to pay even more taxes.

Or do it the American way. $1000 minimum, give credit card or insurance details, if not, feck off, we won't treat you. - and Americans pay taxes too!

or the other scenario - if there was no charge, she might have been seen the following afternoon. I rememer the day when a 12 hour wait in A&E was normal because people came in with scratches on their knees.

bigpink

its time they bought in a national i.d card with fingerprints so people cant give false detaisl

Kotek Besar

A&E is FOC if RTA.

dudara

bigpink wrote: »

I understand but it was an accident she is not abusing or clogging up a free service
She doesnt have 100 euro at the moment can you pay a bit of it?

It really doesn't matter whether it was an accident or just lounging around. There is a charge for using the service. And in fairness, it is a vastly subsidised charge. I visited A&E once years ago with a torn knee. I paid my A&E fee, but all subsequent physio visits and follow-ups were free. Amazing value for one payment.

What would happen if she didnt pay?

The hospital is entitled to chase the debt. If she didn't deal with it, then it could be passed to debt collectors.

Her best bet is to contact the hospital and offer to pay it in installments.

Im sure people give false details to avoid paying

Generally, you pay upfront, but given that this is Ireland, no one is going to be denied service just because they don't have the money to hand. You'd be expected to pay later and I'm sure some people abuse that trust.

racso1975

There should be some sort of waver system in place though. Last oct my son got brought to hosp with burns by ambulance and last month my other son cracked his collar bone. No point going to gp with those injuries first particularly the burns

Padraig Mor

bigpink wrote: »

I understand but it was an accident she is not abusing or clogging up a free service
She doesnt have 100 euro at the moment can you pay a bit of it?

What would happen if she didnt pay?

Im sure people give false details to avoid paying

She is entitled to apply to have the fee waived if she is a "hardship" case. I don't know how they define "hardship" or how to apply I'm afraid. Of course if she'd never worked a day in her life and didn't fancy paying her chemist for a few paracetamol for a hangover she wouldn't have to pay a penny........

booboo88

dudara wrote: »

The hospital is entitled to chase the debt. If she didn't deal with it, then it could be passed to debt collectors.
Her best bet is to contact the hospital and offer to pay it in installments.
Generally, you pay upfront, but given that this is Ireland, no one is going to be denied service just because they don't have the money to hand. You'd be expected to pay later and I'm sure some people abuse that trust.

Ive never been asked for payment upfront? Always a letter through the door?

bigpink wrote: »

I didnt mean to come across as being a scumbag,she is just frustrated at paying taxes and getting feck all when she needs it.I dont know why they didnt charge her on the night but i will find this out

What happens to people if they cant pay at A&E?
Visitors to the country if they have an accident?


why bother pay taxes in this country when you can't see a doctor

We are ALL frustrated at having to pay prsi, when you cant claim any benefit for eye care etc. But such is life.
no one thinks your a scumbag.

axer

bigpink wrote: »

I didnt mean to come across as being a scumbag,she is just frustrated at paying taxes and getting feck all when she needs it.I dont know why they didnt charge her on the night but i will find this out

Generally they are very accomodating over payment of this charge. Although my girlfriend came out of A&E, the guy behind the counter said - there's no rush with payment of the 100 euro but a few months later she got a letter threatening legal action if it is not paid. I'd say ring them up and tell them she will pay in about 10 weeks. Then save 10 euro each week and pay then.

bigpink wrote: »

What happens to people if they cant pay at A&E?

There is no problem there - they are not out to get people.

bigpink wrote: »

Visitors to the country if they have an accident?

There address will be still taken and they will be sent a bill like anyone else. (thanks, you reminded me to check my EHIC which I see was out of date).

bigpink wrote: »

why bother pay taxes in this country when you can't see a doctor

Who is stopping you seeing a doctor? If you geniuinely cannot afford the charge they will work something out. They are not tyrants but the main thing is to communicate this to them.

The charge was brought in to stop the amount of non-emergencies that are still showing up at the A&E. It is clogging up the system and is the reason why people are being left on trollies for the night.

borderlinemeath

bigpink wrote: »

I didnt mean to come across as being a scumbag,she is just frustrated at paying taxes and getting feck all when she needs it.I dont know why they didnt charge her on the night but i will find this out

What happens to people if they cant pay at A&E?
Visitors to the country if they have an accident?


why bother pay taxes in this country when you can't see a doctor

Course you can see a doctor, GP fee for about €50 (mine is anyway) and get referred if necessary.
Your friend went into a 24hr facility with emergency services available and is moaning at having to pay the set (very low imo) fee.
These places have to take the rough with the smooth, the RTA or suspected heart attack victim pay the same as your friend, the former take up far more time, manpower, procedures and expenses while your friend gets to go home happy in the knowledge that she is ok.

I have only had 2 occasions where I had to go to A&E, both times were necessary, both times I had no problems paying the fee as the services received were not something I could have availed of at a GP and was given excellent care in the 2 hospitals I attended.

ChewChew

booboo88 wrote: »

Ive never been asked for payment upfront? Always a letter through the door?

I think it's just a recent thing they are trying to do, to encourage people to pay on arrival because there are so many people out there who ignore their invoices.

A&E charges are necessary. People were abusing it because it was easier to go to instead of a GP so it just eliminated some minor cases and helped leave the doors open for more urgent/serious cases. However, I'm not so sure how that is working out lately.

Lawrence1895

JDxtra wrote: »

Yes, bit of a joke that any drunk/junkie/scum bag that happens to have a medical card is free to clog up the system with their self-inflicted injuries and do not get charged a cent.

How come, that they are brought into A&E in the first place? I know from Germany, they can be put into Police custody, considering, they can cause harm to themselves and others. Of course, there is always medical staff at hand, should something happen

DanWall

There was a friend recently had to pay a €100 before they would put him in the ambulance, His friends had to club together to make up the amount. Would they leave him on the side of the road?

Meteoric

I get where the charge comes from but when I fell and broke my wrist it was a Saturday morning, phoned doctor service and the nurse told me there was no point going to the doctor and clogging up their resources as I needed an X-Ray so to go to the hospital. I could have got myself charged less by going to GP, making people who could have been helped wait longer. That doesn't seem right to me. If people can prove they contacted a GP service and were told they needed to go to A&E they should maybe get some sort of exemption for not wasting GPs time...... I really don't know

Nightwish

Spent New Years Day in A+E and although the charge of €100 broke me, I have to say I was impressed with the treatment I received. I was seen by triage nurse, got an Xray and examined by Registrar. I wish my health insurance covered the charge, but that's another rant. I have to say what I received was value for money. GP charges are cause for complaint with regards services rendered.

Bella mamma

DanWall wrote: »

There was a friend recently had to pay a €100 before they would put him in the ambulance, His friends had to club together to make up the amount. Would they leave him on the side of the road?

Rubbish.

Corruptedmorals

You said she works full time, can she put by €20 a week or in the meantime get a family member/good friend to help her out? It's really not a huge amount. I was treated in ER in Vegas recently, no details required until discharge. $2500 minimum charge, will be at least $700 extra due to an ultrasound taken. So, $3200 for 7 hours in an ER, 4 of which were waiting. Could only pay $100 on the time and did not have enough travel insurance details but it will be all sorted out thankfully. To me it puts €100 in perspective...it wasnt fantastic service either, plenty of waiting and they would not admit anyone, even an endstage cancer patient in agony. No trolleys admittedly..

maxer68

DanWall wrote: »

There was a friend recently had to pay a €100 before they would put him in the ambulance, His friends had to club together to make up the amount. Would they leave him on the side of the road?

If you can pove that, I'll give you a grand.


Another myth - Ambulance drivers don't work for the hospitals and have nothing to do with any financial aspect of the operation and on top of that afaik, if your are brought in by ambulance there is no charge, similarly if you are sent in by a doctor.

McLoughlin

Meteoric wrote: »

I get where the charge comes from but when I fell and broke my wrist it was a Saturday morning, phoned doctor service and the nurse told me there was no point going to the doctor and clogging up their resources as I needed an X-Ray so to go to the hospital. I could have got myself charged less by going to GP, making people who could have been helped wait longer. That doesn't seem right to me. If people can prove they contacted a GP service and were told they needed to go to A&E they should maybe get some sort of exemption for not wasting GPs time...... I really don't know

Doesn't a Doctors letter get you into an A&E for free ? Or is this gone out the window?

limericklad87

There was a friend recently had to pay a €100 before they would put him in the ambulance, His friends had to club together to make up the amount. Would they leave him on the side of the road?

No way in hell was this true.... don't even know where to start

Another myth - Ambulance drivers don't work for the hospitals and have nothing to do with any financial aspect of the operation

+1 and to clarify. there is no such things as ambulance drivers:D:D. Gone are the days of a driver and a nurse responding to calls.

Nanazolie

I used the A&E twice. The 1st time, I was picked up by an ambulance after suffering anaphylaxis shock. They didn't ask me whether I could pay or not, I was in no state to answer that. I received a bill which I duly paid but I was wondering what would have happened should I hadn't have the money to pay it?
The 2nd time, I was reffered by DDoc (after hour GP, cost is 60 euros for a visit and they filter the calls before you see them) so didn't have to pay.

Some people say the charge is to prevent abuse, but most drunks abusing the system have medical cards and are not charged for the A&E fees anyway

Kotek Besar

Nanazolie wrote: »

most drunks abusing the system have medical cards

Paulzx

DanWall wrote: »

There was a friend recently had to pay a €100 before they would put him in the ambulance, His friends had to club together to make up the amount. Would they leave him on the side of the road?

I think you're confused. That was a "TAXI" sign on the roof...........not ambulance.:cool:

How much drink had they on board?

Paulzx

maxer68 wrote: »

If you can pove that, I'll give you a grand.


Another myth - Ambulance drivers don't work for the hospitals and have nothing to do with any financial aspect of the operation and on top of that afaik, if your are brought in by ambulance there is no charge, similarly if you are sent in by a doctor.

You do pay if brought in by ambulance.

The only way to waive the A and E levy is to be referred by your GP (who you pay) or be a medical card holder.

Nanazolie

You do pay if brought by an ambulance, but the fee is the hospital's not the ambulance's.
I must say that I am not against paying, the service is all the better for it, and they do not kick you out if you don't have the means to pay like they would in the US. However, there should be a review of the charge system, something like:
If you are brought in with a life threatening condition, you do not pay (or may be the equivalent of what you would have paid to attend a GP, which you couldn't for obvious reasons)
If you bypass the GP and attend A&E for a non life threatening condition, you get charged 100 euros, regardless whether you are a medical card holder or not (if you attend your GP and get a refferal letter, you do not pay the A&E fee. If you have a medical card, you don't pay the GP, so in the end you don't pay anything if the GP sends you to A&E)
If you are brought in for drink or drug related injuries, you do pay, medical card or not.

The current system supposedly prevents people clogging up the emergency service but it's only true for people who don't have medical card. I once brought my child to Temple Street with suspected meningitis (in fairness, she was seen immediately), it was 6am, I had called DDoc who had advised me to go straight to the hospital. When we left at around 11 am, the waiting room was full of children who were given Calpol and sent home. If you have a medical card, you can attend the GP or even DDoc for free, so I don't understand why people would rather go to the hospital?

legendary.xix

The price of treatment in Ireland is crazy. Even visits to GPs. On message boards like this, open public discussion should be allowed so people can know the most reasonable priced places to go and get good treatment at the same time.

Kotek Besar

I like the NHS.

Corruptedmorals

There are a few people saying that hospitals in the US will not treat you if you don't have means/insurance. Just to reiterate, I was seen in an ER in Vegas recently, and this was not discussed on the admittance form or at any other point until discharge, I was treated regardless.

Access

Op, just tell your friend to pay the bill. Enough said.