Woman injured in subway accident begs to not have ambulance out of fear of costs - Sensationalist Headlines

http://thehill.com/homenews/media/395409-story-of-injured-woman-begging-people-not-to-call-ambulance-due-to-costs-gains A Massachusetts woman is drawing attention for begging people not to call an ambulance for fear of high hospital costs after she was injured in a subway accident. Video of the woman from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police (MBTA) Police Department went viral over the weekend. It shows her in apparent agony after her leg was caught in a gap between a train and the platform on Friday. The 45-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, asked fellow passengers who came to her aid to not call the ambulance. “Do you know how much an ambulance costs?” the injured woman asked one passenger.The story first picked up traction on Twitter when a Boston Globe reporter posted about the incident after witnessing the aftermath of the accident on Friday. The story picked up more traction when The New York Times editorial board wrote about the platform accident on Monday with the headline: “This Tweet Captures the State of Health Care in America Today.” “In the face of a grave injury, a series of calculations follow: The clear and urgent need for medical attention is weighed against the uncertain and potentially monumental expense of even basic services, like a bandage or a ride to the hospital, and that cost, in turn, weighed against all the known expenses of living that run through any given head on any given day,” the editorial board wrote. “This discord, between agony and arithmetic, has become America’s story, too.” According to a police report obtained by the Globe, the woman was eventually taken to the hospital shortly after the incident where it was determined she did not suffer any broken bones but did suffer a “serious laceration, exposing the bone,” and would need surgery. The chief of Boston EMS, Jim Hooley, told the publication the cost of an ambulance transporting people within the city is between $1,200 to $1,900. “We just worry about taking care of people,” Hooley said. “We don’t want to cause them more stress. We just want to reassure them that nothing bad is going to happen to them because of their inability to pay.”

I've actually heard of people calling Uber or Lyft because its 99.999999999999% of the cost.

What life is like for regular citizens in the richest country in the world, everybody.

I can't fathom living in a country where I'd be injured and not just solely worry about getting better.

I don't think richness has anything to do with it. The US isn't even in the top 10 richest countries by GDP.

The chief of Boston EMS, Jim Hooley, told the publication the cost of an ambulance transporting people within the city is between $1,200 to $1,900. That's at least 109 hours of work, if you have a minimum wage job (11$/h). Which assuming you somehow work 40 hours a week, 2 and a half weeks of work just to be able to afford the ambulance

Or for conservatives to be willing to pay for universal healthcare.

Several reasons. America's natural conservatism, cultural sense of self-reliance, some peeps hate paying tax that goes to help people, lobbying, bootstraps. Nixon could have brought universal healthcare.

Wait, minimum wage is $11? I'm pulling $7.75 after a raise.

A friend of mine got too drunk and was admitted overnight. He got a hospital bed and some IV fluids. I believe he said he had to pay around 2000$ for his stay. It's just ridiculous

My brother broke his hip in a dirtbike accident a year ago, after surgery he now has a $20k debt to pay off and cannot work manual laor jobs anymore which is a large percent of available work in my town. So basically even if he really wanted to pay off his hospital bills he just can't.

Most ERs charge between 200 and 1000 just to admit you at all.

Incorrect. World GDP Ranking 2018 The World's Top 10 Economies | Investopedia https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/the-largest-economies-in-the-world https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

They'd have to care first

And here i am, a simple European, happy with my "socialist" medicine and no need for health insurance.

Even with insurance in the US you can still pay at least $100+. There are also cases where you get the "wrong" ambulance since insurances have networks of doctors and places they cover, so even with an insurance you still pay full price if you just get unlucky. Pretty much the worst you can pay here in Germany is 10€ for the ride. Okay, one exceptions is when you do not drive with them back to the hospital because the emergency doctor gave the clear after it arrived, but even then we are talking 200-400€ max. (Although if somebody else called it for you and this happens then nobody pays.)

Life is so fucking precious in America that we can't let women have the agency to control what happens to their own bodies, but god forbid any of those unwanted babies live long enough to need government assistance for an ambulance

If you're looking at the least useful statistics, then yeah. But put that number per capita and take purchasing power parity (PPP) into account, and you get a much different number. Straight GDP is there only to stroke your dick, it doesn't doesn't represent richness in the slightest. China is a richer country than the US, if you just compare GDP (PPP). But that doesn't represent richness, only the number of people living there. Take it per capita, and you have something that represents the richness of a country.

Nothing like getting fucked up in an accident caused by someone else, and still having to pay out of pocket initially for everything. Trust me I know from personal experience that it's not fun.

My grandmother and my GFs grandmother both brought their enormous debt to their graves. It's sad but it's the only option for so many.

So then post some numbers and stop making claims? Because China is #109 and the US is #20 on GDP (PPP). There's only like 4 countries ahead of the US in GDP (PPP) that are big enough countries to compare it to, and not something like Luxembourg or Monaco.

Not to mention ambulances will take you where they get the most kick backs from said private hospital. There's a nonprofit hospital near me that is 13 miles away, and when my dad had chest pains and called an ambulance, they kept trying to force him to go to the hospital 24 miles away that is for profit. They even straight up lied and said the non profit doesn't have a cardiac unit when my mom had been there before for partial heart failure 5 years prior. Its all a scam, and its extremely disgusting.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD?year_high_desc=true My point is that these absurd medical bills have absolutely nothing to do with the richness of the country. Norway beats the US in GDP PPP per capita by nearly 10k and it doesn't have medical bills the size of a yearly salary.

I think that's not what the original point said. The claim isn't that the richer the country, the costlier the bill, quite the contrary. It said that it's ridiculous that one of the richest countries doesn't have proper healthcare.

It doesn't come across like that to me, sorry. "What life is like for regular citizens in the richest country in the world, everybody." It does make a connection between rich country = high medical bills. To which I responded that richness of the country has very little to do with it.

I was in a semi-remote rural neighborhood when I broke both of my arms. Even though it would have been better, both for the immediate first aid and painkillers to call an ambulance, my parents and uncle instead drove me to the closest hospital. By the time I was in the doors and waiting for surgery I was screaming in so much agony due to the lack of administered drugs, and yet I still agree with their decision NOT to call the ambulance as that would have further indebted them. Also had to wait almost 24 hours because the small hospital couldn't afford to keep a surgeon for broken bones on hand and had to call one in.

My point was, in fact, that it's fucking shameful that in the richest country in the world a regular citizen has to worry about the affordability of healthcare.

Yeah sorry, we can't just find any money in the books to help our citizens... ~Immediate approves 700B+ spending bill~

a sad reality of living in this country. and even with the expensive insurance we have to buy there is still a huge bill that you have to foot yourself.

ya'll just freeloaders, who needs subsidized healthcare when you can have freedom!