911 service cost

[Dan]

My colleague asked me a few days ago:
"Dennis, Do you know, how much Americans pay for 911 service?"
"I don't know, whats up?", it was my own answer,
""They pay minimum 1200 USD for any call to 911"

Is it true?

 

[Norbert]

No.

But... if you require an ambulance and you're not a state resident (meaning your taxes don't go towards paying for the ambulance you just used) you will have a fee to pay later on. I think most decent insurance covers a good deal of this fee.

Another thing. I friend of mine, a Maryland resident who pays Maryland taxes, crashed his bike in Pennsylvania. The PA government accused him of messing up a guard rail along the road where he crashed. The bill they wanted him to pay was a few thousand dollars. Fortunately someone had taken photos of the crash scene that allowed him to prove that he didn't ruin the Pennsylvanian guard rail.

It's kinda like in-state college tuition. It costs more to go to school out of state, since your tax money never went to that school's budget.

It may seem Draconian to some.

 

[Cloned]

I had to pay a little over $1100 just for the ambulance ride when I crashed my bike. I believe ambulances here have a minimum fee of either $600 or $800 (don't remember).

And no, it wasn't covered by insurance. They wouldn't pay it.

 

[Stumbles06]

It's similar here in Australia. If you don't have health cover, then a trip to hospital in an ambulance will cost you anything from $650 upwards.
Take out a traffic light in a car accident and it will cost you around $5000, if you don't have the correct insurance cover (which a lot of people don't).

:rockon:

 

[Jez]

It's all free in the UK. Ambulances, healthcare, etc.

I had to ring 999 just yesterday. First time I've ever done it. I was sitting here facing the window at about 7.30pm. Dark outside, obviously. The window overlooks the marshes and the beach, and the North Sea is off to the left. I saw what looked like fireworks, except they didn't explode - they just hung in the sky staying lit. I realised it was a distress flare from a boat. I counted 5 of them.

I wanted to ring the Coastguard to see if they knew anything about it but the only number in the phone book was the emergency 999 one. So I called it. Spoke to Yarmouth coastguard who told me it was a lifeboat training exercise that were going to fire 5 signal flares, but that if I saw any more I should call again. Anyway, he said I did exactly the right thing by reporting it: "The lives of our mariners are dependant on members of the public being as observant as yourself." Which was nice of him.

Don't think I'll be getting a bill for that, anyway.

 

[Humperdinkel]

It's similar here in Australia. If you don't have health cover, then a trip to hospital in an ambulance will cost you anything from $650 upwards.
Take out a traffic light in a car accident and it will cost you around $5000, if you don't have the correct insurance cover (which a lot of people don't).

:rockon:

Luckily the Queensland Govt. bought in an Ambulance levy that you pay on your electricity bill..... $50 extra a year and it covers us for any Ambo ride , anywhere in the WORLD..... If we get Ambo'd oversea's either us or the other countries Govt. bills QLD health :thumbup:.... Great idea and everybody pays there bit without even noticing....