Accident

cena

My mom had an accident yesterday. she has broken two fingers that involved a visit to the hospital. She has informed me she forgot to get travel insurance.

I guess it is too late to get travel insurance now?

Thoie

cena wrote: »

My mom had an accident yesterday. she has broken two fingers that involved a visit to the hospital. She has informed me she forgot to get travel insurance.

I guess it is too late to get travel insurance now?

Yes, but if she has private health insurance, check with them if there's any cover. And if she paid for the holiday by credit card, check if the card company provides any kind of cover. Few do any more, but no harm in calling to ask.

cena

Thoie wrote: »

Yes, but if she has private health insurance, check with them if there's any cover. And if she paid for the holiday by credit card, check if the card company provides any kind of cover. Few do any more, but no harm in calling to ask.

Does not have private health insurance. She is a medical card holder.

Squatter

cena wrote: »

My mom had an accident yesterday. she has broken two fingers that involved a visit to the hospital. She has informed me she forgot to get travel insurance.

I guess it is too late to get travel insurance now?

That's rather like asking whether a still-warm corpse can take out a life insurance policy.

Effects

Have they given her a bill yet? How long more is she in the US and would she be happy enough never going back?

cena

Effects wrote: »

Have they given her a bill yet? How long more is she in the US and would she be happy enough never going back?

Only happened yesterday. She is their till Thursday week. All her aunts live in the states so no she would not be happy not going back again

Boxcar_Willie

Was she given a bill yet ?

volchitsa

cena wrote: »

Only happened yesterday. She is their till Thursday week. All her aunts live in the states so no she would not be happy not going back again

Then I'm pretty sure she will have to pay. Just like US citizens have to. Irish (and British/NI) people going to the states need to wake up to what it really means not to have a proper health care system. I get the impression a lot of people just don't really believe that they'll actually let you do without necessary healthcare in America if you insist enough that you can't or won't pay. They will.

cena

Boxcar_Willie wrote: »

Was she given a bill yet ?

I don't know. I have not spoken to her since yesterday before the ambulance arrived

splinter65

cena wrote: »

My mom had an accident yesterday. she has broken two fingers that involved a visit to the hospital. She has informed me she forgot to get travel insurance.

I guess it is too late to get travel insurance now?

How much is the bill? No, she can’t buy travel insurance on holidays after she’s had an accident.

antoinolachtnai

What sort of accident was it? Is there any prospect of making a claim?

cena

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

What sort of accident was it? Is there any prospect of making a claim?

I don't have that info yet

volchitsa

Squatter wrote: »

That's rather like asking whether a still-warm corpse can take out a life insurance policy.

Or if you can renew your expired car insurance after you've had an accident.
The answer is no, that's how insurance works. Or that's not how it works, depending!

banie01

cena wrote: »

I don't know. I have not spoken to her since yesterday before the ambulance arrived

She got an ambulance as well!
It's not what you or your mother want to hear but this is going to be ridiculously expensive.
Assuming no lights and a very basic x-ray and splint as a non US resident.
I think she will be doing well for this to be less than $5k.

markjbloggs

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

What sort of accident was it? Is there any prospect of making a claim?

that is soooooooo Irish

Boxcar_Willie

cena wrote: »

I don't know. I have not spoken to her since yesterday before the ambulance arrived

Ambulance won't be cheap , then consultation , X-ray , cast etc...
I'd say she's looking at $8,000 to $10,000.

cena

Boxcar_Willie wrote: »

Ambulance won't be cheap , then consultation , X-ray , cast etc...
I'd say she's looking at $8,000 to $10,000.

I know it won't be cheap.

realdanbreen

I'm surprised the hospital even looked at her without establishing first whether or not she had cover. This is a country with a huge bible belt but they worship the $ !

Boxcar_Willie

I'm assuming she's out now but some arrangement to settle the bill would have to be made on discharge .

cena

Boxcar_Willie wrote: »

I'm assuming she's out now but some arrangement to settle the bill would have to be made on discharge .

Ya she is out. Looks like a cast from the photo my cousin sent me

volchitsa

banie01 wrote: »

She got an ambulance as well!
It's not what you or your mother want to hear but this is going to be ridiculously expensive.
Assuming no lights and a very basic x-ray and splint as a non US resident.
I think she will be doing well for this to be less than $5k.

Yep. A relative of mine had a $ 22 000 bill for a walk-in consult in A&E that led to a night spent in a cardiology ward attached to a monitor, and a prescription for beta blockers when he left. Nothing else.

He had travel insurance, so if he'd been paying himself the bill would probably have been lower (that's another thing Europeans don't understand either, the size of the bill should reflect the cost and nothing else, surely? When in fact it often depends more on who is going to pay it!) but it's just to give anyone who doesn't know an example of why you should always take out travel insurance for a trip to the States.

And why people living in Europe generally but those with access to the NHS in particular should thank their lucky stars every day and stop fking complaining about the NHS!

martyoo

that is soooooooo Irish

If anything it's sooooo American.

cena

volchitsa wrote: »

Yep. A relative of mine had a $ 22 000 bill for a walk-in consult in A&E that led to a night spent in a cardiology ward attached to a monitor, and a prescription for beta blockers when he left. Nothing else.

He had travel insurance, so if he'd been paying himself the bill would probably have been lower (that's another thing Europeans don't understand either, the size of the bill should reflect the cost and nothing else, surely? When in fact it often depends more on who is going to pay it!) but it's just to give anyone who doesn't know an example of why you should always take out travel insurance for a trip to the States.

And why people living in Europe generally but those with access to the NHS in particular should thank their lucky stars every day and stop fking complaining about the NHS!

we totally forgot about the travel insurance till yesterday. First time to forget it

Effects

Prices vary depending on which hospital and ambulance service.
As she wants to return, then I think it's best to find out how much the bill is for and work out how to pay it.
Probably best to advise her to not get any more treatment while she is there.

cena

Effects wrote: »

Prices vary depending on which hospital and ambulance service.
As she wants to return, then I think it's best to find out how much the bill is for and work out how to pay it.
Probably best to advise her to not get any more treatment while she is there.

I doubt she well be going back.

intellectual dosser

cena wrote: »

we totally forgot about the travel insurance till yesterday. First time to forget it

When was the last time your mother got travel insurance? Has previous cover definitely expired?

volchitsa

cena wrote: »

we totally forgot about the travel insurance till yesterday. First time to forget it

Okay fair enough I can totally understand that happening by mistake. Like someone discovering the night before they leave that they've forgotten to renew their passport - these (apparently) mad things happen to the best of us. Or indeed forgetting to renew their car insurance (my aunt was driving around for months without car insurance because none of her children thought to check that she had remembered - her husband had always done it and after his death it just wasn't on anyone's radar. Luckily she didn't have an accident but it certainly gave them all cold sweats when they realized.)

I was assuming your mum had knowingly taken a "calculated" risk (though that's the wrong word, "stupid" would be better) to do without it because, you know, paying out for something she doesn't expect to need is so annoying.

cena

intellectual dosser wrote: »

When was the last time your mother got travel insurance? Has previous cover definitely expired?

It expired last December. When we were both over there.

jim o doom

markjbloggs wrote: »

that is soooooooo Irish

Yes so very Irish for a person to ask if an injury was caused by a third party, who could pay for the likely very expensive medical bills that are about to follow.

I mean, people who are responsible for accidents and injuries, they should just get off scott free while the injured party needs to pay thousands. Compensation culture! :rolleyes:

PM me nudes

OP don't forget that hospitals in the US are more often than not willing to be paid a sum that is substantially less than the bill they give when it is being settled away from insurance, so don't be afraid to "make an offer" when the bill is received.

splinter65

cena wrote: »

I know it won't be cheap.

Why did she get an ambulance?

cena

splinter65 wrote: »

Why did she get an ambulance?

Someone called one for her. As it happened outside the m&m store in new york

splinter65

cena wrote: »

Someone called one for her. As it happened outside the m&m store in new york

Ok. Expensive lift to the hospital!

antoinolachtnai

markjbloggs wrote: »

that is soooooooo Irish

The OP's relative is left in a situation where the hospital and the various allied services may well be left unpaid for their work.

Is it 'Irish' to not pay doctors?

antoinolachtnai

realdanbreen wrote: »

I'm surprised the hospital even looked at her without establishing first whether or not she had cover. This is a country with a huge bible belt but they worship the $ !

There is an obligation in US law to treat emergency patients, whether or not they have the means to pay.

cena

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

The OP's relative is left in a situation where the hospital and the various allied services may well be left unpaid for their work.

Is it 'Irish' to not pay doctors?

Never said the bill won't be paid

keeponrockin

PM me nudes wrote: »

OP don't forget that hospitals in the US are more often than not willing to be paid a sum that is substantially less than the bill they give when it is being settled away from insurance, so don't be afraid to "make an offer" when the bill is received.

Never knew that and nice to have a positive comment that might help the OP!

shamrock55

Gonna be a costly holiday, my wife is a travel agent and shes amazed at the amount of people who go abroad without getting insurance even when she advises them to get it they see it as a waste of a few meesly quid and it's so common for people to have accidents get sick or even die on holiday, madness really

Tombo2001

Some amount of smart alecks on this thread. Why do people love to put the boot in.....

cena

We have a cousin that works in a hospital in Brooklyn. Maybe he can help.

splinter65

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

The OP's relative is left in a situation where the hospital and the various allied services may well be left unpaid for their work.

Is it 'Irish' to not pay doctors?

It’s well documented in the media at the moment that here in Ireland it’s quite common to blame someone else and seek financial recompense from them when youve tripped over your own feet really.

splinter65

splinter65 wrote: »

It’s well documented in the media at the moment that here in Ireland it’s quite common to blame someone else and seek financial recompense from them when youve tripped over your own feet really.

Yes, but the 'compensation culture', as it's known, most certainly has American origins. It's definitely a more American trait than an Irish one.




Anyway, that aside...


I actually only learned very recently that if you get an ambulance in the US that you have to pay for it, and it's in the thousands of dollars. Someone on Reddit posted complaining before that they ended up with a huge bill, and they ended up mentioning that they paid about 5k for the ambulance journey alone.


America isn't a specifically 'cheap' country, so it's not like a thousand dollars is the same as a hundred euro over here. It's a massive bill. I was dumbfounded when I heard this, and I, at 30 years old, never knew this was the case.


Made me really appreciate the services that we have here in Ireland.

cena

So far the doctors bill is only less than 300 dollars. Would be more if bill was sent to Ireland

khaldrogo

Boxcar_Willie wrote:

Ambulance won't be cheap , then consultation , X-ray , cast etc... I'd say she's looking at $8,000 to $10,000.

For 2 broken fingers!!!!! Ridiculous

cena

khaldrogo wrote: »

For 2 broken fingers!!!!! Ridiculous

It's only the one now. They have told her she needs an operation but to wait till she gets home

khaldrogo

So is it definitely on 300$? Incl ambulance?

banie01

cena wrote: »

So far the doctors bill is only less than 300 dollars. Would be more if bill was sent to Ireland

If she was in an FDNY ambulance the charge should be less than $400 for the ambulance portion of the costs.
If that doctors bill is full and final, I'd snap their hand off to clear it.

US practice is to charge each incident separately however so there may be a follow on bill

cena

banie01 wrote: »

If she was in an FDNY ambulance the charge should be less than $400 for the ambulance portion of the costs.
If that doctors bill is full and final, I'd snap their hand off to clear it.

US practice is to charge each incident separately however so there may be a follow on bill

If it was an FDNY ambulance our cousin maybe able to help out as he is a fire chief with fdny

cena

khaldrogo wrote: »

So is it definitely on 300$? Incl ambulance?

I don't know if they includes ambulance

Del2005

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Some amount of smart alecks on this thread. Why do people love to put the boot in.....

Because too many people will spend thousands of Euro on a holiday and not spend a few Euro for travel insurance. Then when they get sick or injured in a foreign country they start a begging campaign to get treatment or home.

The OP on the other hand unfortunately forgot to renew their insurance and now have a large bill on the way.

My mother (60s at the time) took ill (breathing related) in a NYC hotel, they called for an ambulance, she was taken to hospital, examined etc, kept for one night. The bill she received was 23k + some change, that nearly gave her a heart related condition, anyhow, she had insurance but they refused to pay the bill as they were not the initial contact.They said she or whomever was dealing with the situation should have used the contact info that came with her policy and the people on the other end of that phone would of organised assistance for her. That is fair enough I guess if you are in a position to call them first, not much use if you are unable to. Fortunately we have some friends who ran a travel business and they were able to settle through their company insurance, I don't know how much they settled for but the mammy got a lucky break that time.
I will be amazed if the bill is less than 10k. Not much help to you I know.I hope everything works out ok.