Make sure to get her Visa # Fred
Shirley Kimel was pleased as punch when multiple police and fire fighters showed up at her accident in Winter Haven, FL. Turns out, they were there for a piece of the action. She got a $316 “response” bill for the accident:
But last July, Winter Haven became one of a few dozen cities in the country to start charging “accident response fees.” The idea is to shift the expense of tending to and cleaning up crashes directly to at-fault drivers. Either they, or their insurers, are expected to pay.
It sounds “reasonable” until you start to wonder who is showing up and whether they are there to help or make a buck or two.
In other words… bad idea. Nobody wants to get in an accident, charging for them will only increase hit and runs and non-reporting.
Sure, somebody has to pay, but there must be plenty of optional expenses government can cut before charging extra for the few things they are rightfully to do.
We simply cannot trust our government anymore. They aren’t there for us, but for them.
April 11th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Don’t we pay every two weeks? Or everytime you buy something? Or twice a year ( property taxes)?
I go a bill for $1000 for a short abmulance ride when I got hit in my police car a couple years ago. City paid it of course, but knowing how much it cost, if I did it in my POV and had no insurance, I would have had someone drive me to the hospital.
This opens up a whole can of worms in determining who is at fault and to what degree. And who pays if its an act of God?
Just a bad idea in general.
April 11th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
$1,000 is excessive, $300 might be reasonable max for a nominal medically necessary transport. Poor 911 dispatch or bad jurisdiction response policy, especially for volunteer ambulance outfits, is cause for insurance company rejection. If you think you don’t owe it tell them “I’ll see you in court, and bring your ambulance contract.”
April 13th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Looking at the trees and ignoring the forest. Someone has to pay to establish and run the EMT system so that you will get trained people with appropriate equipment in your emergency, no matter how large a scale the emergency is. Any doubt as to what is necessary you should want resolved in favor of your protection. That level of attention costs extra. When you have been injured with some level of unknown but potentially serious damage, you don’t want amateurs and well-meaning friends picking you up and moving you. In your case you had seriously and obvious broken bones and you probably struck your head. Moving you the wrong way could have compounded your injuries. If you think the responders make an excess profit, you should try going into the business and learning the real economics.
Oh yes, everyone has an opinion about how some other government expense should be cut so he gets maximum government coverage for his need. But taken in toto, the coverage always adds up to more than we want to pay in taxes.
Why not have a tea-party over excess government emergency systems and invite only those who have never needed such help, and don’t ever expect to need it, and would reject it if it were offered?
BTW: how many EMS responders are private companies, not government, who can charge whatever they want? And how do the police, or anyone else, sort out who gets the business when competing responders arrive? Maybe the anti-government advocates would like a system of purely private responders?
April 13th, 2009 at 11:19 am
#3 As usual, you miss the point. This is a public service benefiting everybody, it should be paid for with general funds. You can make tea party jokes all you want,but again, you miss their entire point.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
http://www.pinellascounty.org/EMS/dispatch.htm
Competing responders should lose to the jurisdiction’s facility or split the actual cost. How is that cost determined? Not by some politician’s swag!
Vehicle – $90,000, $18,000/yr ~ $3/hr : 1each = $3
Hourly wage – $25 unloaded, $75 loaded: 6 each, 2/run @ $150/hr x 2hr = $300
Training – $8,000/yr/trainee – $4/hr/trainee : 6 each = $24/hr
Medical Supplies – $50,000/yr ~ $50/hr : 1 restock/run = $50
TOTAL $377 not nearly $1,000
It’s reasonable to assume that the home station and property insurance costs belongs to the general public.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
#3 must think I’m stupid. If I had had broken bones or a concussion, in a crash in my POV, I would have let the EMT tsansport. But if I wasnt sure if I was injured, or it didn’t seem that bad, I might get someone to take me ( if I had no insurance). That was my point.
To answer your BTW question: in almost all jurisdictions the govt ( city or county) fire dept provideds the EMT’s. There is usually only one ambulance company, whose rates are probably regulated.
Was my last ride worth $1000? Probably not, but I’m sure I (or my insurance) was paying for all the deadbeats who don’t pay but they are forced to transport by law.