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Question on Medical Bills in California

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  • 26-12-2013 7:12am
    #1
    EoinT89
    Registered Users Posts: 52 ✭✭


    J1 - CIEE - MapFire Insurance - San Francisco

    Spent Christmas eve drinking in Tahoe across the state border in Nevada. My friend got ridiculously drunk and ended up getting picked up by the police. They offered him Jail or the Hospital. He choose the hospital. He was taken by ambulance.

    From what I can tell he's not covered by insurance for anything resulting from alcohol intake. Is there anyone that can confirm this?. We were drinking about 100 meters from the Californian border in Nevada and this is where the cops picked him up but he was brought to a hospital over the border in California. I know there are different state laws and regulations so I'm just seeing if this is relevant.

    What medical bills could occur from this. He doesn't have much information on what happened. I know a lot of ambulance services are privatized here and the hospital visits can be costly.
    Tagged:


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    #2
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    Was he admitted to hospital or just ER? In SF ambulance rides are 1500, only covered by insurance in emergency cases.

    Was your buddy admitted? Hopefully the hospital took his insurance detailsand will fudge it through, otherwise you could be looking at 10000 or so at least altogether.


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    #3
    InTheTrees
    Registered Users Posts: 9,900 ✭✭✭InTheTrees


    Jail or hospital? Why did he pick hospital? To avoid charges against him I guess? What sort of medical treatment did he receive?


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    #4
    mathepac
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,991 ✭✭✭mathepac


    OP that's MAPFRE a Spanish insurance company Irish contact details and help here -> http://www.mapfre.com/mapfreasistencia/en/travel-turism.shtml


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    #5
    clairefontaine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,390 ✭✭✭clairefontaine


    Send the bill to the Nevada PD.

    Insurance coverage will depend on what the hospital has written down as the cause.


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    #6
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,382 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    If the cops were offering jail or the hospital then it sounds like he wasn't really in need of emergency medical treatment which in turn suggests that no US surgical hospital would have taken him in without insurance.

    In plain English, getting p1ssed drunk is not grounds for being admitted via the A&E room of a general hospital in the US.

    Just saying.


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    #7
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,382 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    clairefontaine wrote: »
    Insurance coverage will depend on what the hospital has written down as the cause.

    Technically true which is why it's highly unlikely that he was admitted unless the hospital figured both that (1) he did have insurance and (2) they could dress up his treatment as being for something other than the excessive consumption of alcohol.


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    #8
    JONJO THE MISER
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 12,333 ✭✭✭✭JONJO THE MISER


    Who cares, if they hit you with a bill come back to ireland and dont pay it, sounds to me that the cops and the ambulance are in cahoots, must be a nice little earner for them.


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    #9
    clairefontaine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,390 ✭✭✭clairefontaine


    coylemj wrote: »
    Technically true which is why it's highly unlikely that he was admitted unless the hospital figured both that (1) he did have insurance and (2) they could dress up his treatment as being for something other than the excessive consumption of alcohol.

    By law they have to treat you.

    My point is the insurance may cover it if the hospital billing department did not code it with an intoxication.

    He should consider himself lucky. If he was cited with an offence, it would be on his record and could affect future trips to the US.


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    #10
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    JONJO THE MISER wrote: »
    Who cares, if they hit you with a bill come back to ireland and dont pay it, sounds to me that the cops and the ambulance are in cahoots, must be a nice little earner for them.

    and ruin any chances of getting back into the states hassle free again.


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