EMSA Opt-Out "Open Season"

[RecycleMichael]

Friendly Bear doesn't care about the truth or facts. He just wakes up from his hibernation every few weeks and poops on threads.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by OkieDiva

FB: the fact is that the majority of people who have Medicare or insurance still have a copay or deductible that is over the EMSA fee amount.

Another fact: insurance and Medicare regularly deny claims. Some most certainly should be denied (the federal government shouldn't be paying for people to use an ambulance if they have a papercut), but Medicare also denies very legit claims... times when a reasonable person could logically assume that calling 911 was necessary. In those instances, when Medicare or insurance denies a claim, the patient pays the EMSA bill if they opt-out. This happened in my family - when the physician's assistant at the minor emergency center called for an ambulance to take my husband to the hospital. (Insurance wouldn't reconsider; we were EMSA members though and didn't have to pay.)

If the judgment of medical staff can so easily be discounted by insurance adjusters, then imagine what chance Average Joe has....

If you're a Senior Citizen on a Medicare HMO like PacifiCare or CommunityCare, then your co-pay for ambulance transport is $50.00 per person per transport.  That fee is WAIVED if the patient is admitted to a hospital.

So, in fact, there may be ZERO co-pay, depending on the circumstances.

[OkieDiva]

FB: that's ONLY if your HMO approves the claim. You are assuming that it will approve 100% of claims... and that is a very expensive assumption. If you have insurance or Medicare and they deny a claim - for whatever reason - the patient pays full billed charges.

It's logical to assume that an insurance company/a Medicare plan would refuse a claim if the ambulance was called because a person had a papercut or a hangnail. But what about a person exhibiting signs of stroke... and after an MRI, proves to be a medication reaction? What about a person with a family history of heart disease who suffers chest pain... and after testing, proves to be indigestion? Insurance can and often does deny claims like these.

The bottom line - something I hope we can agree on - is that people would be well-advised to contact their insurance companies and to read the fine print in their policies. Ask specific questions and pose what-if scenarios. Find out the facts from the source - not from bears, divas and other animals of the web forest - and find them out BEFORE you are in a crisis situation.

[RecycleMichael]

I am glad to pay twelve cents a day for ambulance service. We have unfortunately needed an ambulance twice in the last two years. One was when my mother-in-law had some chest pain and the second was when my daughter fell off a playground and broke her arm.

The peace of mind of knowing I would get an ambulance quickly and wouldn't have to figure out how to pay for it was well worth the small amount of money we are charged.

I just think that friendly bear has something against ambulances. He must have been scared by the sirens when he was a cub.

[Rico]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I am glad to pay twelve cents a day for ambulance service. We have unfortunately needed an ambulance twice in the last two years. One was when my mother-in-law had some chest pain and the second was when my daughter fell off a playground and broke her arm.

The peace of mind of knowing I would get an ambulance quickly and wouldn't have to figure out how to pay for it was well worth the small amount of money we are charged.

I just think that friendly bear has something against ambulances. He must have been scared by the sirens when he was a cub.

While I agree the plan is reasonable.. it is rather curious that EMSA bills your Insurance company for you and then picks up either the difference or the whole thing if they (your insurance company) don't foot the bill.

[MDepr2007]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I am glad to pay twelve cents a day for ambulance service. We have unfortunately needed an ambulance twice in the last two years. One was when my mother-in-law had some chest pain and the second was when my daughter fell off a playground and broke her arm.

The peace of mind of knowing I would get an ambulance quickly and wouldn't have to figure out how to pay for it was well worth the small amount of money we are charged.

I just think that friendly bear has something against ambulances. He must have been scared by the sirens when he was a cub.

You've had that option all along before the new way of catching un-aware residents.
Got to wonder how well EMSA is being ran when a Creek County ambulance covered a call at Peoria and I-44 for them Wednesday. Curious as to why EMSA couldn't take care of it[?]

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I am glad to pay twelve cents a day for ambulance service. We have unfortunately needed an ambulance twice in the last two years. One was when my mother-in-law had some chest pain and the second was when my daughter fell off a playground and broke her arm.

you called an ambulance for a broken arm? ****in a you are the reason the EMSA fees will only go up.[B)]

when I broke my arm as a kid my parents hauled me 30 minutes to the hospital and it was set.  done deal.

[RecycleMichael]

No. I did not call an ambulance. It happened when we were at church. My daughter missed the landing off the playground monkey bars. My wife in I were in the service and the church people had already called the ambulance before we were even found in the sanctuary.

I am glad you are such a tough guy. But trying to attack me without the facts of my situation means you are not a smart guy.

[OkieDiva]

And when you were a kid, Inteller, the local funeral home ran the ambulance service. No parent in his right mind would have called for help... too much of a vested interest in providing bad care.

Children can be very badly hurt - even killed - in playground accidents. That's why there are so many restrictions on surfacing, spacing, etc. on public playground facilities and those at licensed schools. RM's daughter could have broken a rib in the fall and punctured a lung, suffered a serious concussion or who knows (and none of us wants to think about) what else.

I can't imagine any informed parent or competent caregiver NOT calling for emergency help in a similar situation...

[Jason]

You've had that option all along before the new way of catching un-aware residents.
Got to wonder how well EMSA is being ran when a Creek County ambulance covered a call at Peoria and I-44 for them Wednesday. Curious as to why EMSA couldn't take care of it[?]
[/quote]
Another uninformed citizen strikes again.
There is what is known as a "Mutual Aid" agreements between communities that are close to one another. It secures Emergency Ambulance services for the people of each community in the event that their ambulance service is overwhelmed by large call volumes. This situation does happen from time to time. EMSA has in fact called Creek county and Owasso EMS to assist on occasion. However, EMSA provides this service for each of these communities more regularly than they recieve it. Unfortunatley, the number of calls that need an ambulance from day to day cannot be known exactly. It has to be guessed. While EMSA Does very well nearly everyday, on a rare day they do ask for help rather than tell someone that there is no one to help them.

[MDepr2007]

quote:Originally posted by Jason


You've had that option all along before the new way of catching un-aware residents.
Got to wonder how well EMSA is being ran when a Creek County ambulance covered a call at Peoria and I-44 for them Wednesday. Curious as to why EMSA couldn't take care of it[?]

Another uninformed citizen strikes again.
There is what is known as a "Mutual Aid" agreements between communities that are close to one another. It secures Emergency Ambulance services for the people of each community in the event that their ambulance service is overwhelmed by large call volumes. This situation does happen from time to time. EMSA has in fact called Creek county and Owasso EMS to assist on occasion. However, EMSA provides this service for each of these communities more regularly than they recieve it. Unfortunatley, the number of calls that need an ambulance from day to day cannot be known exactly. It has to be guessed. While EMSA Does very well nearly everyday, on a rare day they do ask for help rather than tell someone that there is no one to help them.
[/quote]

Maybe they should spend the extra millions they stole last year on more manpower. Then our tax dollars might stretch father without using TFD as much []

[Jason]

Maybe they should spend the extra millions they stole last year on more manpower. Then our tax dollars might stretch father without using TFD as much []
[/quote]
The little wink does not make your statement any more correct. It just means to me that you will frown when you realize that I am right. EMSA has stolen no moeny from anyone. THe money that is collected, by legal means, is used to save lives and coer the cost of it for people who dont have the money to do it. FB puked on about about a $50.00 co-pay for services to medicare patients. I wonder if anyone realizes how many of those patients are not admitted to the hospitals. Not to mention many of them go more than once a month by ambulance to the local ER. $50.00 is more than the annual cost of the water bill subsidy. Saving the people's lives and money...Does it get better....?

[Mike G]

quote:Originally posted by MDepr2007


Got to wonder how well EMSA is being ran when a Creek County ambulance covered a call at Peoria and I-44 for them Wednesday. Curious as to why EMSA couldn't take care of it[?]

There's a lot more to that situation that meets the eye.  Was the Creek County truck called to the scene for mutual aid, or did they stumble on it on their way back home?  What about the local hospitals?  Were the ERs overloaded?  If so, that means there was multiple EMSA trucks sitting with patients on their cots at the ER.  They can't leave until they get their patient off they cot.  Was there a large event going on, like the apartment fire at 21st and 101st East Ave?  Those will temporarily overload EMSA, then what happens if those 3-5 ambulances from that event are held up at the hospital because the ER is overloaded.

Like Jason said, communities mutual aid each fairly often when they get overloaded.  Services have to staff what is reasonable and cost effective, which sometimes you just get a mass influx of calls.  What would your opinion be if EMSA took any extra money and added more trucks and crews on duty for that once-in-a-while overload?  Then you would see more ambulances sitting around and complain about how EMSA is wasting money letting all of these extra ambulances just sit around wasting gas.

EMSA spends a large amount (compared to other services) of money calculating how many trucks they need for each hour of the day to meet call volume and staff to meet that number and not much over.  It's a very efficient and effective system.  EMSA also has to meet a time standard to calls, so they staff to meet that need.  And if they don't have an ambulance to send when you call 911, they will call someone else so you will get an ambulance.  People in some other cities don't have that luxury.  They have to wait until they ambulance(s) for their town/city come out of the hospital before an ambulance is sent to them.

[rwarn17588]

quote:Originally posted by Mike G

quote:Originally posted by MDepr2007


Got to wonder how well EMSA is being ran when a Creek County ambulance covered a call at Peoria and I-44 for them Wednesday. Curious as to why EMSA couldn't take care of it[?]

There's a lot more to that situation that meets the eye.  Was the Creek County truck called to the scene for mutual aid, or did they stumble on it on their way back home?  What about the local hospitals?  Were the ERs overloaded?  If so, that means there was multiple EMSA trucks sitting with patients on their cots at the ER.  They can't leave until they get their patient off they cot.  Was there a large event going on, like the apartment fire at 21st and 101st East Ave?  Those will temporarily overload EMSA, then what happens if those 3-5 ambulances from that event are held up at the hospital because the ER is overloaded.

Like Jason said, communities mutual aid each fairly often when they get overloaded.  Services have to staff what is reasonable and cost effective, which sometimes you just get a mass influx of calls.  What would your opinion be if EMSA took any extra money and added more trucks and crews on duty for that once-in-a-while overload?  Then you would see more ambulances sitting around and complain about how EMSA is wasting money letting all of these extra ambulances just sit around wasting gas.

EMSA spends a large amount (compared to other services) of money calculating how many trucks they need for each hour of the day to meet call volume and staff to meet that number and not much over.  It's a very efficient and effective system.  EMSA also has to meet a time standard to calls, so they staff to meet that need.  And if they don't have an ambulance to send when you call 911, they will call someone else so you will get an ambulance.  People in some other cities don't have that luxury.  They have to wait until they ambulance(s) for their town/city come out of the hospital before an ambulance is sent to them.

Ambulance services are sort of like police departments. Sometimes a big disaster happens, and you need "all hands on deck," which includes emegency services from other locations.

Also, if an out-of-area ambulance or cop happens to encounter an emergency situation, they will intervene out of a sense of professionalism and decency. Time is crucial in such events, and I'd be shocked if an ambulance driver or cop was chewed out because he/she intervened during a situation that was "outside the jurisdiction."