Teen lifeguard gets $2,600 bill for saving drowning boy's life

Well personally i have medicaid for my disability and a waiver which comes from medicaid and private donations, so i should pay nothing, yet i've been billed hundreds of dollars many times from using ambulances in the past.
Government paying or not i have no doubt this would happen anyways i bet.

seriously someone saving someone elses life and they r charged for the pleasure?wtf is that all about........as someone said here in europe we care for people and aren,t going to charge someone for doing that....america has serious issues on the medical front......how uz can charge and refuse medical help to save a human being is a joke,who cares how much it costs,money shudn,t even cum into it.

Why did this guys parents not have healthcare for their kid

Bad parenting is what caused this.

Originally posted by sirnukeem
Why did this guys parents not have healthcare for their kid

Bad parenting is what caused this.

bad parenting?bad health care service,how the richest country in the world can charge to save a human life i,ll never understand.

Originally posted by flice

I live in Denmark... For all my life I been able to go to the doctor for free, go to the hospital for free, get medical equipment for free... I even went to the dentist the first 18 years of my life for free. I would NEVER trade that for a few measly dollars here and now.

Had this episode taken place in Denmark that life guard, regardless of his post or on/off duty or experience he would have gotten a medal and the bill would have entirely been paid by the state.

And how much does that cost you in extra taxes?
The "State" doesn't pay for anything.
And - you can bet that they make a sweet profit from what they collect from the citizens.

Welcome to America!

The boy rescues a drowning person in the Pacific Ocean. He himself goes to the hospital, too, and is seen by a physician. Parents are billed. Well, that's the way it is here. Crazy, huh?

Young man, might I suggest you start a new Boy Scout merit badge. Along with knot tying, you could enlighten many a young man regarding the ins and outs of the American way of paying for medical care. Hell, if you can learn to decode my medical insurance plan, that could make you an Eagle Scout!

Yes, all the non-Americans here at ATS, our system is based on profit. That's why Bain Capital bought a medical flight company.

Romney’s trustee told the IRS that the trust would elect to begin receiving interest from a Bain Capital fund known as “Bain Capital Partners (AM) X, LP.” Although the fund is not detailed further in the return, the AP has learned that the fund is a partnership that was set up in the Cayman Islands, a foreign base that could allow U.S. investors to defer some of their future taxes under certain circumstances.

The fund is apparently tied to Bain Capital’s 2010 purchase of Air Medical Group Holdings, the largest independent U.S. provider of emergency air medical services. The deal cost Bain an estimated $1 billion.

source

It used to be the only gold in the health care system was in teeth. Now it's in everything. And Bain's earnings go to the Cayman Islands, while my neighbor goes to Mexico to save on dental work.

Originally posted by sirnukeem
Why did this guys parents not have healthcare for their kid

Bad parenting is what caused this.

Sir, permit me to explain something...after I comment on the "bad parenting". This young man, according to the article, is the youngest of 9 children. He saves a life and teaches knot tying to Boy Scouts. I hope there are eight more siblings like him, the product of "bad parenting"!

Again, according to the article, the parents are "trying to make arrangements to get the bill paid." As an American with private insurance, I have a deductible I have to meet before any insurance kicks in. I would have to pay this bill, too, as my insurance would say, Sorry, you didn't meet your deductible yet. And FYI there are "affordable plans" out there with $10,000 deductible.

Originally posted by desert

Originally posted by sirnukeem
Why did this guys parents not have healthcare for their kid

Bad parenting is what caused this.

Sir, permit me to explain something...after I comment on the "bad parenting". This young man, according to the article, is the youngest of 9 children. He saves a life and teaches knot tying to Boy Scouts. I hope there are eight more siblings like him, the product of "bad parenting"!

Again, according to the article, the parents are "trying to make arrangements to get the bill paid." As an American with private insurance, I have a deductible I have to meet before any insurance kicks in. I would have to pay this bill, too, as my insurance would say, Sorry, you didn't meet your deductible yet. And FYI there are "affordable plans" out there with $10,000 deductible.

No ones fault but the parents, this is not HIS bill it is his parents. They can't personally bill you until your of age..
Bad parenting

Where is the common sense? Someone makes these decisions, so someone saw that bill and decided to charge the poor guy.

Why couldn't the hospital just suck it up and be decent people, understand that the kid did a good thing?

There seems to be a lot of really nasty people involved in this, all passing the buck and refusing to recognize that a young man did a very good thing.

This kind of story just makes you feel sick for Humanity. You'd have thought someone would have had some common sense and decency and just made that bill "disappear".

Oh, and it's another reason why I love our National Health Service.

reply to post by detachedindividual


The hospital would not "suck it up" because hospitals are a Profit Making Business!
If they don't make a profit their shareholders get unhappy.

In my opinion they should never be for profit corps.
The bills they hand out are obscene.
Insurance companies also make a big profit.
That is why premiums are so high.

reply to post by OhZone


Sweet profit? What for? Our hospitals are state run..... And since the human body is 100% guaranteed to break down at some point Im pretty happy that Ill NEVER ever have to worry about having money going to the doctor or receive medical care regardless of whatever I might encounter. EVERYTHING is paid for....

Oh did I mention that while I paid a lot of tax I actually get money from studying? Everyone here gets just under 1000 dollars a month for studying.... And free healthcare forever.

Originally posted by Juggernog
reply to post by Blackmarketeer

 

link

John Clark is a lifeguard at the Firstenburg Community Center pool and the Marshall Community Center in Vancouver. He's the youngest of nine kids; his family is trying to make arrangements to get the bill paid.

He wasnt a hired lifeguard at that beach, he is a lifeguard at the city pool. He jumped in on his own accord, yes it was a brave thing to do but it wasnt his job.
It says that he had a "headache", who takes an ambulance to the hospital for a headache?

A 17 year old who was offered to ride along with the victim.

Not a lot of people would have understood that after saving a life you would be charged over a 1000 dollars to go to the hospital in case you had damage. I doubt many 17 year olds, I don't think I would even, after the stress of the rescue be thinking about that!

The driver should have said, hey kid if you come with us it will be very expensive!

Yeah, healthcare costs are insane. Back in 2006, I went to the hospital for a heart attack (no ambulance, I drove myself, I'm a tough guy lol), and had to have a stent inserted into my right coronary artery. When I got the bill, it was $55,000. Fortunately, the VA pays my medical, and all they paid was $5,500. That's what the same thing woulda cost the govt, so that's what they paid lol.

Originally posted by Juggernog

Originally posted by antonia
reply to post by Juggernog

 

If you hit your head and you get a headache you better go to the doc. Certain brain injuries present themselves first as a headache.

So, the pounding waves gave him a concussion?

have you ever been sucked into a wave and out to sea, or been pounded into the sand by a wave. The kid used his abilities to swim to save a life, but he certainly risked his own. This is NOT sweet southern Ca waters!

Originally posted by TsukiLunar
Well its not fair, but i would still pay it.

I am trained in swimming safety and if I saved a life(I have actually saved two swimmers and have been saved once myself, not that I am bragging) and was still slapped with a bill then I would still say "Money well spent".

If i was absolutely forced to pay the bill of someone i saved, then i would do it. Its emotionally a lot better then having to dive in and knowing that a life a depends on you and if you fail...

Well lets just say that, for a life guard, having to pay money is inconsequential when compared to the responsibilities one has to abide by.


I would like to add that I have never gotten a thank you for saving those people and I was actaully fired once because of the inter-politics.

I never, have ever, regretted it.

edit on 4-8-2012 by TsukiLunar because: (no reason given)

I doubt the kid makes enough to pay it. If he were my son I would not have the money to pay it. Not many people in that are have much income. The parents of the saved kid could pitch in if they could afford it.

Originally posted by Char-Lee

Originally posted by Juggernog

Originally posted by antonia
reply to post by Juggernog

 

If you hit your head and you get a headache you better go to the doc. Certain brain injuries present themselves first as a headache.

So, the pounding waves gave him a concussion?

have you ever been sucked into a wave and out to sea, or been pounded into the sand by a wave. The kid used his abilities to swim to save a life, but he certainly risked his own. This is NOT sweet southern Ca waters!

Oh give it a rest ffs.. yes i have swam in all types of surf conditions. no, my head has never slammed into the bottom and I have never sustained a concussion or any other type of head injury from swimming in the surf.
The entire point of the thread was.. Why did this kid get a medical bill?
The answer is, he went to the hospital.. period.
Now who pays for it? Who cares.
Its not my problem, nor is it yours.

Originally posted by sirnukeem
Why did this guys parents not have healthcare for their kid

Bad parenting is what caused this.

It is so unbelievable how many people do not understand the rate of poverty in this country! We work and yet we have not had health insurance...preexisting -conditions prevent it.

We have not been to a Dr in 15 year,. there is no extra! My parents never had any insurance all the years I grew up, we never ever saw a Dr as a child and if an emergency happened there would have been no paying a Dr we had not even enough for food.

Originally posted by Juggernog

Originally posted by Char-Lee

Originally posted by Juggernog

Originally posted by antonia
reply to post by Juggernog

 

If you hit your head and you get a headache you better go to the doc. Certain brain injuries present themselves first as a headache.

So, the pounding waves gave him a concussion?

have you ever been sucked into a wave and out to sea, or been pounded into the sand by a wave. The kid used his abilities to swim to save a life, but he certainly risked his own. This is NOT sweet southern Ca waters!

Oh give it a rest ffs.. yes i have swam in all types of surf conditions. no, my head has never slammed into the bottom and I have never sustained a concussion or any other type of head injury from swimming in the surf.
The entire point of the thread was.. Why did this kid get a medical bill?
The answer is, he went to the hospital.. period.
Now who pays for it? Who cares.
Its not my problem, nor is it yours.

You sound disinterested enough to not be replying all through this thread.

People made it their business when the woman was bullied on the buss enough to get her wealthy! Hope you or your kid never needs rescuing!

I was saved from drowning once, well who knows if I would have made it back to shore or not that's irrelevant now. Point is if I had required a trip to the hospital and my rescuer was charged for her trouble I would have been outraged. I would have paid the bill for her but still, crazy world we live in. Could you imagine the s### storm this kid would be in had he not acted and watched the other kid drown because he was off duty? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

reply to post by Char-Lee

People made it their business when the woman was bullied on the buss enough to get her wealthy

wtf are you talking about man?