From what the OP said, the $3k is the cost his insurance won't cover as he hasn't met the deductible yet. So it's most likely already at the negotiated insurance amount. Considering he was able to make the flight that left only 4 hours after he landed the $3k negotiated rate sounds about right. It's possible he might be able to get a small discount on it if he pays it all at once, but if the $3k is the allowable amount according to his insurance they are more likely to suggest a payment plan than negotiate a lower price.
SW Airline makes medical decision and takes passengers' tickets
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Reading back through his posts, it's unclear to me that he has filed the claim with his insurance. In the posts #10 and #15 he said:
No indication that he has contacted his insurance. Just that "they won't pay". I also think he's waiting until he contests the charges.
Ronald, have you filed the claim yet?
Our Insurance will not cover this expense, which was the result of a misdiagnosis
May be they all think the insurance company will pay-but it will not-I have a high deductible
No indication that he has contacted his insurance. Just that "they won't pay". I also think he's waiting until he contests the charges.
Ronald, have you filed the claim yet?
One does not "get approval for emergency Healthcare?". One goes to the appropriate level of medical facility and, by federal law (EMTALA), one is seen. Denial of emergency medical care by a healthcare facility violates the law. Your medical insurance carrier may decline to pay for the visit and you will then have to fight them over the denial, but you will have been seen and treated appropriately for the emergency event.
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That is what I meant - approval for insurance coverage, not approval for the actual emergency heath care services.
It was the "and before I can get emergency healthcare outside of their HMO system, assuming I'm not out cold, I need to get approval" that made it sound otherwise...
My insurance works like that too. The insurance will not pay for emergency room visits unless there is a documented threat to life, limb, or eyesight. Otherwise, I need to call for preapproval and they will likely push me to an urgent care facility rather than an emergency room.
Our Urgent Care coverage fortunately requires no preapproval, either and is only a $12 copay so unless it's really a dire emergency we go there for things like suspected strep throat, the flu. etc.. but, I'm beginning to be REALLY grateful for our military health care!
$12 copay?!? Ours is $350 for an emergency visitOur Urgent Care coverage fortunately requires no preapproval, either and is only a $12 copay so unless it's really a dire emergency we go there for things like suspected strep throat, the flu. etc.. but, I'm beginning to be REALLY grateful for our military health care!
Emergency Room or Urgent Care? Those are very different things. $12 is pretty generous, but $350 is a HUGE amount to have to co-pay for an urgent care visit...$12 copay?!? Ours is $350 for an emergency visit
Military healthcare is AWESOME. It always bugs me when someone tells me I shouldn't be on "Standard" (PPO) and should be on "Prime" (HMO version) because Prime is free and there are costs with Standard. Yeah... $1,000 out of pocket max for the entire family, $150 individual deductible, $300 max deductible for the entire family. And I hardly EVER end up paying anything anyway. I have an autoimmune disease... I'll take my dirt cheap PPO, thank you very much. I will miss Tricare Standard a LOT when my husband retires...$12 copay?!? Ours is $350 for an emergency visit
PPOs are definitely better than HMOs in my opinion. Unfortunately, no one offers PPOs to the individual market any longer. Since we are self-employed we have few options.
Many wrong medical decisions may be made inflight, but the airlines will always err on the side of safety. On a flight from Miami to San Francisco, 20 minutes into the flight a young woman experienced seeing blind spots. A young physician was onboard who said to land the plane. The airlines asked for another opinion and that being my specialty, I diagnosed visual migraine and the plane went on. Ten minutes later another young woman had abdominal pain. It was her first flight and she was scared. They relied on the newbie doctor who ordered the plane to land, in New Orleans whose airport had closed for the evening. The woman had to leave her luggage behind and was transported by ambulance to the hospital, ER bills always being in the thousands.
Be prepared for anything while traveling. Everyone is presumably doing their best but diagnoses are rarely accurate at 35,000 feet. Get trip delay and medical insurance even if you think you're healthy.
Be prepared for anything while traveling. Everyone is presumably doing their best but diagnoses are rarely accurate at 35,000 feet. Get trip delay and medical insurance even if you think you're healthy.
Yep, $200 for an ER emergency visit for me! $250 for a non emergency. $75 for urgent care.$12 copay?!? Ours is $350 for an emergency visit
Chris,
None of us were there.
Our only information comes from the OP, and my comments are obviously based on his information and my experience with many people brought to hospital ER's by "ambulance crews" in the SF Bay area. Southwest flight crews( with permission of the aircraft Captain) can deny passage to any passenger, but the passenger can decide NOT to get in the ambulance ( sometimes termed by the ambulance crew notes "DWG"- didn't want to go-, "patient refused"). I do not know what recompense the deplaned passenger can get from Southwest or if he can buy a ticket on another airline. When i have evaluated people brought to the ER from a large nearby airport, many had no significant medical problem, and were advised to go on their way. Most went to their cell phones immediately to arrange another flight. None of them lived in my area, so I don't know if they were able to immediately buy another ticket.
None of us were there.
Our only information comes from the OP, and my comments are obviously based on his information and my experience with many people brought to hospital ER's by "ambulance crews" in the SF Bay area. Southwest flight crews( with permission of the aircraft Captain) can deny passage to any passenger, but the passenger can decide NOT to get in the ambulance ( sometimes termed by the ambulance crew notes "DWG"- didn't want to go-, "patient refused"). I do not know what recompense the deplaned passenger can get from Southwest or if he can buy a ticket on another airline. When i have evaluated people brought to the ER from a large nearby airport, many had no significant medical problem, and were advised to go on their way. Most went to their cell phones immediately to arrange another flight. None of them lived in my area, so I don't know if they were able to immediately buy another ticket.
"Ten minutes later another young woman had abdominal pain. It was her first flight and she was scared. " This young woman may also have had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy (probably not within your "visual" specialty) with catastrophic results if not attended to promptly. A woman of childbearing age with acute onset abdominal pain ALWAYS has ectopic pregnancy in the differential. So please stick to your visual specialty (and I'll stick to mine-Emergency Medicine). The "newbie" doctor was right; being young does not mean incompetent. The risk to the patient (and airline, of lesser importance) if not attended to would be significant.
Given your experience in the medical profession you must be familiar with the issues of lawsuits. An airline is being sued for not diverting fast for a sick patient who died. Or the lawsuit against SW where there was a claim that the airline did not do enough when a passenger got very ill before descent and subsequently died. Also remember the contagious disease issues when flying -- SARS, Ebola and now measles.
The airlines have to balance public safety, cost and liability -- and that is why they err on the side of caution.
