Collecting cash from patients. Is this normal prior to transport?

ochacon80

ochacon80

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So I work for a Private BLS company here in Los Angeles and since I have been here I have learned about some extremely shady business practices between Con Homes and Private companies. Recently a fellow co-worker of mine told me we are now collecting cash from patients without insurance. Is this ethical?
 
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Emergency or non-emergent transports? (and.. yes... even private non-911 companies run emergency calls from time to time).

I've almost been asked a few times to collect payment and a few times I've had to call dispatch to quote a price. Quick question, when you go and buy food, do you pay (cash or credit) at time of service or a few months afterwards?
 
Of course I pay at time of service.


Non emergency for the most part. It just seems wired collecting money from patients families. Feels more like im a cabby then an EMT.
 
A lot of non-emergent transports is moving patients around from point A to point B for various reasons. The fact is that you are a cab for sick people. Are you saying that the services of the fast food worker is more important than your services because they get paid at the time of service? Sure, it's one thing if a patient has insurance and it is reasonable acceptable that the insurance claim for the transport will go through. However not all transports are medically required anyways. That's where private pay comes in.

Heck, when I went to the dentist last week to have 3 cavities filled, I payed my copay and deductable right there. Why is it ethical for the dentist to require payment (probably had payment options available, but I had the money to pay in full so I didn't inquire about them) to be set up prior to a procedure, but not ethical for ambulances doing non-emergent transports?

As an aside, I always wondered if the billing and paperwork issues endemic at a lot of ambulance companies went away if provider reimbursment was directly linked to company reimbursment. Transport claim gets denied because of bad paperwork, no pay for the crew from the time (dispatch->clear) for that transport.
 
I get what your saying. Ive only been doing this for 8 months and just recently I found out we just started collecting cash. I had never heard about it prior so I was a little confused on the subject. Thanks.
 
ochacon80 said:
Of course I pay at time of service.


Non emergency for the most part. It just seems wired collecting money from patients families. Feels more like im a cabby then an EMT.
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EMT = cabby with a defib. Welcome to EMS.
 
Not a bad idea.
 
You havent had the cash register installed in your truck yet?

Not a very progressive system. :)
 
In Israel, when we finished the PCR, we would write out the bill. Each driver had a laminated card with prices, although most BLS trips fall under a blanket charge (under a certain distance). We give the bill to the patient, or their family, and they pay the amb service. Some ambulance in Jerusalem carried credit card machines...
Families could choose to pay us in cash at the time of service, at the time of service, but most paid afterward.
 
when i worked in orlando a certain agency that does the primary 911 transporting for the tourist areas actually had a credit card imprint machine..if we had someone from out of the country.. we were actually supposed to ask for payment prior to leaving the ER... i wouldnt do it.. IMO thats not the time to ask for that type of money.. but my partner would quite often.. its interesting to hear someone get cursed out in german or french:blush:
 
A service I worked for would do this for the patients who frequently abused the ambulance. In particular one who would call us for a transport from a contracted assisted living community to get more pain meds, which she would come back and sell. This particular patient did this frequently, openly bragged about it to crews, and never paid their bill. The straw that broke the camels back was when she tried to tip the stretcher, injuring two of the EMT's (she was about 500lbs) when they had to prevent it from hitting the ground in an attempt to work up a lawsuit. So the company flagged her, if we went to pick her up we were required to collect the transport cost in cash up front. If she didn't have it we didn't transport unless the crew on scene felt it was a legitimate emergency. We had a bunch of patients like that, I never had to actually make any of their transports but my co-workers always would say it felt weird to ask for the money and tell them no if they couldn't come up with it.
 
I haven't heard of this, but I have heard of state troopers with credit card machines in their cruisers to pay speeding tickets on the spot. :P I don't know if that is true, but I can certainly see it happening.
 
We do on occasion, if the PT wants they can give us a check for services required at the beginning of the TX. We do not and will not carry cash though.
 
FLEMTP said:
when i worked in orlando a certain agency that does the primary 911 transporting for the tourist areas actually had a credit card imprint machine..if we had someone from out of the country.. we were actually supposed to ask for payment prior to leaving the ER... i wouldnt do it.. IMO thats not the time to ask for that type of money.. but my partner would quite often.. its interesting to hear someone get cursed out in german or french:blush:
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I wonder who that could be.....
 
trevor1189 said:
I haven't heard of this, but I have heard of state troopers with credit card machines in their cruisers to pay speeding tickets on the spot. :P I don't know if that is true, but I can certainly see it happening.
Click to expand...
That reminds me of Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane.
 
Detroit Fire EMS used to have a credit card machine in their rigs. Not sure if they still do
 
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