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Passengers Who Call Uber Instead Of An Ambulance Put Drivers At Risk (buzzfeed.com)
Sick people are increasingly using ride-hail to get to the emergency room, putting drivers in an uncomfortable position and a potentially tricky legal bind, BuzzFeed News reports. From the report: Mike Fish was driving for Uber 10 minutes outside of Boston when he picked up a second passenger in his Uber Pool who, he said, seemed "out of it, drowsy -- almost sedated." When the drowsy passenger asked him if Boston's Mass General hospital was the nearest emergency room, "that set off a red flag," Fish told BuzzFeed News. "I said, 'Do you need the ER?' He said yes. It came out that, over the last few days, he'd been passing out and losing consciousness." But instead of calling an ambulance to get the urgent medical attention he needed, the sick passenger called an Uber Pool. The shared ride would save him a few bucks, but it meant he'd have to wait for Fish to drop off the first passenger before he'd get to the ER. "I was a little nervous," Fish said. "I didn't know what was going to happen."
Ride-hail drivers are, by and large, untrained, self-employed workers driving their own cars on a part-time basis. They're not medical professionals. But as health care costs have risen and ride-hail has become more pervasive, people are increasingly relying on Uber and Lyft drivers to get them to the hospital when they need emergency care. A recent (yet to be peer-reviewed) study found that, after Uber enters new markets, the rates of ambulance rides typically go down, meaning fewer people call professionals in favor of the cheaper option.
Ride-hail drivers are, by and large, untrained, self-employed workers driving their own cars on a part-time basis. They're not medical professionals. But as health care costs have risen and ride-hail has become more pervasive, people are increasingly relying on Uber and Lyft drivers to get them to the hospital when they need emergency care. A recent (yet to be peer-reviewed) study found that, after Uber enters new markets, the rates of ambulance rides typically go down, meaning fewer people call professionals in favor of the cheaper option.
I got a *copay* bill once for a transport from one hospital to another (4 miles) of $2300. The full bill was $3500. This was a municipal ambulance run by a paid fire department. I drove the injured kid to the first ER and the hospital staff did nothing to stabilize, nor did the ambulance crew. It took them 15 minutes to arrive too (10 minute drive to the other hospital). $0 value.
I can't blame anybody who calls a taxi for anything that doesn't need on-scene EMS.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
with a substantial bureaucratic overhead added in
As opposed to the current complete lack of bureaucratic overhead in the US healthcare system?
Ezekiel 23:20
Yes, there is absolutely no cost for calling an ambulance in the UK. Even if you don't pay National Insurance (effecively a tax to cover things like medical costs) I have never heard of anyone being charged for the ambulance. If you aren't a UK citizen or EU citizen with a special (practically free) card, then you technically attract a cost at end of any medical care you receive - which is seldom checked, charged or paid. I do not believe you get charged for the ambulance to get to the hospital in the first place. It is basically a public service.
I know in Australia they're not covered under Medicare (although doctors and the ER is covered). Its still way cheaper there ($300 ~ $500 depending on the city, compared to >$500 with insurance in the US), but it seems like this is something the State should cover. Emergency is an essential service.
You don't know anything about Australian or US ambulance prices. Ambulances in Australia are run by the states, and are all completely different.
In Vic you are looking at $1,000+. In Tas and Qld it is free. In WA, SA, and NT it is a private org, which is free for members. In NSW it is free of you have private insurance, or a heavily subsidized ~$300 if you don't.
In the US (Cal) it cost me $150. That included the fire department sending a full fire engine to give me first response treatment until the private county ambulance arrived 5 minutes later to transport me to the ER.
They had to vote on the ACA bill first before they could find out what was in it.
Yes... the Democrats passed the ACA after 79 hearings, and about two months of discussion, including multiple amendments from Republicans: https://mic.com/articles/17630...
I was paying attention to the Republican complaint at how "quickly" ACA was passed right up until I saw how they decided to do in the "repeal and replace" bill, which was NO hearings, a bill written in secret, and an attempt to pass the bill before the budget office even stated what the cost would be.
Not to mention provisions being added to the bill handwritten in the margins overnight before voting... which no senators or representatives actually admitted to adding https://www.vox.com/policy-and....
The Republicans did everything that they accused the Democrats of doing, but even more so.
Your anecdote does not invalidate the data. The data is that medical bills are the number 1 cause of bankruptcy in the US. From the USA Today/Motley Fool article:
So even if people have medical insurance, in many cases they are spending every dollar they have for medical costs. This doesn't happen in most other countries. A lot of "shitholes" can provide all their people with medical care, but in the US it's not possible because the people who are making a lot of money off of other people's misery are much too powerful because of the horrible political system. If campaign finance is fixed then maybe there is a chance for this to change, but currently both the corporate parties are currently fully bought and owned which is the same reason that we don't have universal gun background checks or legal marijuana even though a majority of the people support such measures. We used to have a representative government, and we still do, but now the representatives work for the corporations and the rich rather than for the general public.
Enigma