Text 10798, 95 rader
Skriven 2013-10-17 15:31:46 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 10789 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: Re: APODs
=================
Hi Ward,

> No-no-no ... When I visit my docter in his private practice for whatever
> business he will charge me the official established rate for an exam, at the
> moment I think 22 Euro which you know in advance you must pay so don't come
> without it. 22 Euro at today's exchange rate is US$29.67. You get a receipt.

hehe.. much better, no doubt.  :)

I did read later that you also have to bring soap, towel, and I assume jammies
though <g>  Those are all provided here (wow <bg>).

> That receipt I add some info to it and and drop it in the mailbox of the
>health-insurer with which I am affiliated. Within 24hrs my bank-account gets a
>deposit of 16 Euro, about US$21.57 today, meaning my doctor's appointment will
> have cost me 6 Euro, i.e. US$8.11. I do get free choice of docter.

We would be lucky if our health insurance could ever be similar here.. I don't
see it happening though.

>When going to the pharmacy for whatever medication, I have a credit-card sized
> insurance card with chip. That goes into a reader and I get charged what the
> insurer does not re-imburse, the bulk goes automatic from the insurer to the
> pharmacy.

As I understand it, the amount you are responsible for would seem to be what
we'd consider pocket-change as well..

> Hospital visits/stays are "never" paid in cash. You will always be billed by
> invoice in the mail and the amounts on it ar "net"-amounts, meaning your
> insurer has already contributed its part.

Ok, I can see that.

> Cash-operations are out. Too expensive, too dangerous. Already decades. The
>oldest hospital experience which I can remember is the birth of my first son i
> 1984 ... n cash involved so I have no clue where what you read came from.

I'll have to find that link again it was obviously very very wrong.. "But I
read it on the internet!" <bg>

>> Over here, no hospital will reject you if you have no $$ to pay for your
>> hospital stay or emergency treatment.  You will always be billed later
>> for whatever service you had.

> Overhere everyone is always insured.

We may someday be able to say that..

[...]
> which is overdue" ... You need to understand, Janis, that collection agencies
> are illegal in Belgium.

Don't we wish that were true here.. they are a pile of jackals, every one of
them.

> The little fellah ran faster than the wind. letters stopped. I've never been
> bothered for any credit-thing after that, not here, not overthere.

hehe.. good story.

When we moved to this house in Ithaca, the previous owners of this telephone
number we were given were obviously crooks or something ... the collection
agencies started calling our number non-stop and at all hours asking for a
person we'd never heard of <g>.  No amount of explanation of the fact that we'd
just been given the # mattered.   Once I told them they'd be hearing from the
Attorney General of NY, they stopped the nonsense.

>> ... but the important thing here is
>> that no one that I've ever heard about is forced to pay for any medical
>> services before they leave the hospital or emergency room.

> I've had to go to a hospital in Washington DC on July 4th one time with my
> daughter who developped very high fever.

> When entering the hospital in order to be admitted I had to put hundreds of
> dollars cash on the counter "before" the tourniquet would be enabled to pass
> with a very sick child.

Geez.. that's insane.

> They couldn't care less that I was Belgian, other people received the same
> treatment and a credit card was not accepted.

> That is Washington DC, as in "your nation's capital". And it happened BEFORE
>being allowed in even, not after services received (the services were excellen
> BTW)

What a horror..

Take care,
Janis

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