From: Adam 

Tony Williams wrote:

> Adam > wrote:
>
>> Tony Williams wrote:
>>
>>> Adam wrote:
>>>
>>>> C) Once on the ambulance the job of the crew is in part to rifle
>>>> through your possessions looking for health cards or credit cards.
>>>>
>>> (C) matches my personal experience closely enough. I had insurance so I
>>> can't vouch for the rest.
>>
>>
>> Were you taken to a hospital run by/in an agreement with your health
>> insurance or the nearest?
>
>
> It was a car wreck (learned the hard way that people run red lights here
> ....), and I was in a bit of a daze. The cop asked if we needed an
> ambulance and a few minutes later one arrived to take us to the nearest
> hospital about 5 miles away.
>
> They spent the next year or so squabbling about who got to pay the $880
> ambulance bill - I was working on a temporary visa so it was either
> going to be my personal travel insurance or the company's group
> insurance and both wanted the other to fork over the money. That's one
> of the things I dislike about privatised medicine: the inefficiency and
> hassle of dealing with several different insurance companies and
> providers. I'd sooner pay one National Insurance charge and be done with
> it.
>

Ouch. I had a similar thing in spain. My EU health inurance card was less
than helpfull unless I went out of the hospital.....went to a local
doctor's (gp surgery) & got on his list & then came back....



>> Apparantly this has killed in the past but dem's de breaks i.e. if
>> having a heart attack & the blue cross hospital is 50 miles away but the
>> xyz hmo hospital is only 5 miles away....but your insurance states blue
>> cross.....prepare for a 50 mile journey....
>
>
> Obviously it's an unwise "life choice" to be poor and living
in a rural
> area.
>

Always was....no reason to think people would be bothered to change that.

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