I can't help with much but there are a few questions I can answer to the best of my ability.
Would there be any trouble about an ambulance not coming because they're not insured?
No. If you call an ambulance, they do NOT ask "well do you have insurance?" before deciding to send one.
Would the ambulance go to a bad neighbourhood?
Yes. They'll pretty much go anywhere they have access to. Now that's not to say they would *like* it (especially if they are familiar with the area or its a known gang area or whatever) but they would go.
Would the hospital not accept the ambulance because the grandmother isn't insured?No. Technically (at least here in Washington state) they have to accept you if you are insured or not. My dad (who is uninsured) recently had an 'incident' in which he ended up in an ambulance, going to the hospital (a few towns away as he wasn't at home at the time) and being treated. We don't have insurance. The initial bill is about $7,000. (Which is *thankfully* being covered by the state as he was involved in a state
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Thanks, that's really helpful. Not living in the US, it's hard to separate what's true from urban legends and random stuff that you hear via via via.
I am so sorry that that happened to your dad! Hope he's doing okay and yeah, good that the state is paying for it! It's just... bizarre to me that the richest nation in the world denies it's citizens such a basic human right as health care, and getting my head around how it works is tricky, my brain just has trouble coping with the bizarreness.
[soapbox]Politicians in both parties are up to their eyeballs in money from corporations: insurers and pharmaceuticals. Those companies are making a shitload of money on the backs of the Americans too unfortunate to be rich. Corporations want it to stay that way. Hence our piece of shit system. It's not bizarre at all, just appalling.[/soapbox]
They don't ask for your financial info until after you're in the hospital, especially if you're not conscious. The daughter wouldn't necessarily be able to ride along -- I don't know how that works, especially if she can't drive or there's no public transport, but there's that to think about too, how she gets to the hospital
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Thanks for this! So, what happens after initial treatment? I'm going to presume they can't kick her out of the hospital straight away. Would she be in Intensive Care, and if so for how long? What happens next? What I would like to happen plotwise is for her grandma to be in hospital a few days before she passes, with the granddaughter there the whole time, as the grandma's condition is quite serious throughout. I'm not sure if a stroke or a heart attack or 'something else' is more realistic for this.
I think it depends on part on the hospital, but they'd probably keep her if she would get worse without hospital treatment, is my guess. Because they probably won't kick her out if she'd immediately need to come back (because it would a. cost her more, and b. increase their medical liability if the granddaughter decided to sue), but if she's obviously dying and there's nothing they can do, short of hideously expensive surgery the granddaughter can't afford, I don't know if they'd keep her or send her home. It'll also depend on how big/busy the hospital is, and time in ICU depends on what you've given her.
To get an ambulance, you would probably call "911" for emergency services and report a medical emergency. The dispatcher would not ask about payment options, but would simply dispatch the appropriate emergency personnel. As long as there's no physical barriers preventing the ambulance getting to the location, the ambulance would get there. There may be questions about how fast emergency personnel respond, though
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Would there be any trouble about an ambulance not coming because they're not insured?
No. If you call an ambulance, they do NOT ask "well do you have insurance?" before deciding to send one.
Would the ambulance go to a bad neighbourhood?
Yes. They'll pretty much go anywhere they have access to. Now that's not to say they would *like* it (especially if they are familiar with the area or its a known gang area or whatever) but they would go.
Would the hospital not accept the ambulance because the grandmother isn't insured?No. Technically (at least here in Washington state) they have to accept you if you are insured or not. My dad (who is uninsured) recently had an 'incident' in which he ended up in an ambulance, going to the hospital (a few towns away as he wasn't at home at the time) and being treated. We don't have insurance. The initial bill is about $7,000. (Which is *thankfully* being covered by the state as he was involved in a state ( ... )
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I am so sorry that that happened to your dad! Hope he's doing okay and yeah, good that the state is paying for it! It's just... bizarre to me that the richest nation in the world denies it's citizens such a basic human right as health care, and getting my head around how it works is tricky, my brain just has trouble coping with the bizarreness.
Thanks again!
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[soapbox]Politicians in both parties are up to their eyeballs in money from corporations: insurers and pharmaceuticals. Those companies are making a shitload of money on the backs of the Americans too unfortunate to be rich. Corporations want it to stay that way. Hence our piece of shit system. It's not bizarre at all, just appalling.[/soapbox]
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