They called 911 DESPITE my saying that I could drive him and now we have a large bill- what now?

Question

My bf and I, were at his primary physicians office for complaints of him feeling dizzy. Before the doctor could actually see him, while we were waiting he got up to ask if he could rest on a bed or cot instead of sitting down and as he was asking this of the nurse/staff personel, he fainted and slid down onto the floor. They took it upon themselves to call 911 for an ambulance, and I said "I can drive him thats hundreds of dollars!" They said "We already made the call" SHE WAS still on the phone and had only called 5 seconds ago- they arrived and took him to the hospital and now we get a bill for $800 for the AMBULANCE services. WHAT the hell is this? I informed them that I could take him myself and now we have this bill? Granted I havent mailed off proff of insurance yet, I only got it today, but when he has gone before in an ambulance we never got a bill, at all for it. NOTHING. Are we responsible for this when THEY took it upon themselves to call an ambulance despite my words

IF THEY were so called responsible, why dont THEY pay the bill? Im his domestic partner and I informed them that I could manage it. They werent stuck with the bill, we are. I understand the situation and what MAY have occurred had the ambulance not been used, however the fact is that he didnt have seizures, he ended up having a labrynth virus and he had gone to the hospital in an ambulance before when he had 3 days of not being able to produce a bowl movement and we discovered he had kidney cancer when the MIR and CT scans used to find out why he wasnt using the bathroom discovered masses on his kidney, and we werent charged for the ambulance ride..... why are we charged for THIS one?

work something out with his family? Im his family. His mother is dead and his father he hasnt spoken to in about 15 years and his father used to want him dead rather than gay and is a freaking sad *** psycho who has done any number of unfatherly acts- Im his family. Thats it.

what kind of an IDIOT gives ME a thunmbs down Im the one asking the question you sincere morons. THUMBS DOWN? GROW UP!

and when 5 people are telling you that "we've already made the call!" that HEAVILY implies that its NO LONGER in my hands. So I felt I had no choice but to allow them to take him concidering I PROTESTED and yet was informed that "We'vbe already made the call!" well they could have cancelled it as they were STILL on the phone and only made the call 5 seconds before- if its some doctors responsibility to call then why isnt it the doctors responsibility to pay? THATS CRAZY.I stated my desires and a GROUP of people informed me that it didnt matter

listen stop making YOUR assumptions about my behavior. I havent voted on anyones answers at all so dont tell me what problems I have and dont accuse me of giving you a thumbs down.

Answer 1

Your boyfriend was at a doctor's office when he fainted; an episode of a person losing conscience is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Since he was in a medical facility [A DOCTOR'S OFFICE], the doctor and his staff were OBLIGATED BY LAW to tend to him immediately and do all that they could to evaluate and stabilize him. If they couldn't treat him because of lack of appropriate equipment, or for any other reason whatsoever, then THEY had to provide transportation by ambulance for the patient to another medical facility AT THEIR EXPENSE, EVEN IF THE PATIENT COULDN'T PAY FOR THE SERVICES OR DIDN'T HAVE MEDICAL INSURANCE. This is known as the "EMTALA" or "anti-dumping law". Therefore, the doctor and his staff are the ones responsible for paying the expenses incurred in transporting your boyfriend by ambulance to the hospital, NOT YOU. My advice: forward the bill to the doctor's office along with a note stating that you know that the dispositions of the law makes them responsible for the payment of the ambulance's fees; keep a copy for your records. DON'T PAY THAT BILL, you're not responsible for it; THEY ARE:IT'S THE LAW.

Answer 2

I would forward the invoice to the phsyicians office, stating that you had NOT given them consent to make the call.

I cannot see how you can be landed with a bill for services you neither requested or consented to. The problem however is you did then USE the ambulance service instead of taking him there yourself.

It is possible that that you can get the practice to settle the bill with ambulance folks - but if you do that, you might need to consider that they may wait for you to make any and every call next time - and if someone dies because you could not be found to give your consent to an urgent need - you are going to feel grim.

I do feel for you, but the fact that you DID make use of the ambulance doesn't help. See if the insurance covers it, if not, perhaps offer the ambulance folks 50% on condition they get the rest from the people who called them. If they do not accept, then you could refuse to pay and see what happens or pay it in full - or seek legal guidance.

Answer 3

Can you stay calm enough to drive him without getting distracted and causing an accident? You don't have flashing red lights so traffic isn't going to stop for you. What will you do if he stops breathing en route? I think you're bettter off waiting for an ambulance, but of course, that's judgment call you will have to make. I trust he has his injectable medicine with him at all times. (Forget what the stuff is called but your probably know the name.) Please be aware that he needs to have BOTH doses with him. Sometimes it takes two doses in succession, so tell him not to leave one somewhere else as a spare. Also you might want to learn CPS in case you need to keep him breathing till the ambulance gets there.

Answer 4

Yes you ARE responsible. Quite frankly, there isn't a darned thing you can do to fight it either. It was ordered by a health care provider (the nurse). Also, they couldn't NOT call the ambulance. Their malpractice insurance forbids you from transporting him at that point. No, YOU OWE THE BILL. It is YOUR responsibility to pay. Period. Also, note that the doctor has a legal duty to the patient. The doctor did his legal duty by calling the ambulance (actually the nurse fulfilled this duty). Look it up: Fiduciary Duty.

Answer 5

He fainted--since he was at the doctor's, it was their LEGAL responsibility to get him to the hospital.

Ambulance costs are expensive. You won't get much from the insurance, if anything. Just pay off the bill.

You have no legal standing though--that was their duty to get him to a facility that could accurately care for him.

Answer 6

I used to work in a doctor's office and there is NO WAY if someone passed out and slid to the floor that they would ever allow someone to drive them to the hospital. He was their responsibility when he was there. God forbid something happened to him on the way to the hospital if you drove him like he started having seizures or something.

You should be grateful they called 911 right away and that everything turned out OK.

Answer 7

Call the doctor's Office Manager and tell her you said you were going to drive to the hospital and did not request or need an ambulance.

Answer 8

Sorry to answer with a question but who sent you the bill the doctors office, the hospital or the city/rescue/county/ambulance co?

Answer 9

Wow...living in the US must really suck.
When are you guys going to push for better healthcare benefits?

I would suggest you get legal advice on this matter, though I'm afraid there's little you can do if this is a common thing where you live.

Edit:
Give me all the negative score you want to. But seriously, I live in Argentina, in the third world, and even here we don't have to pay for an ambulance. Think about that.

Answer 10

Did he regain consciousness when the paramedics were treating him? If so, he could have refused transportation and signed a waiver.
If not, the Dr's office is obligated to call 911 if they are not able to treat and evaluate.
You are probably not going to be able to get out of it.