$550,000 medical bills

[obgyn65]

I could not help it, I had to post this article. Hopefully an eye opener for some...Sarah Burke Medical Bills: Donations Helping Defray Hospital Costs For Family Of Dead Skier

 

[aaronc879]

Don't her bills die with her? At least the part that's not covered by her assets?

 

[ERD50]

I could not help it, I had to post this article. Hopefully an eye opener for some...

Can you explain just what is supposed to be 'eye opening'?

This person decided to engage in a very risky activity, one which may bring her fame and monetary rewards. Why should anyone be surprised that she got hurt?

IMO, she should have been required to purchase high risk insurance. Why should others cover the costs that were the consequences of her own actions?

It' sad that she got hurt, but it was her doing. On the scale of sad things in the world, I think this ranks pretty low on the list. People who suffer through no fault of their own deserve more sympathy than this person.

So again, just what is supposed to be 'eye opening'?


-ERD50

 

[tjscott0]

Don't her bills die with her?

I would guess that depends on the state.

Why You Need to Consider Elder Law, Marital Estate Planning, Insurance, and Social Security in Divorce Cases - FlyingSolo

in 29 states, children can be held responsible for their indigent parents’ care under what is known as “Family Responsibility.”

Also known as filial responsibility law

Actually its 30 states
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/health/NOA/30states.pdf

 

[eridanus]

This person decided to engage in a very risky activity, one which may bring her fame and monetary rewards. Why should anyone be surprised that she got hurt?
-ERD50

You take chances every day -- waking up, crossing the street, sticking your face in a fan.

 

[Alan]

We tell all the folks who come to visit us from overseas to be sure they have health insurance.

I'm surprised that a sports person didn't have health insurance. Even as a soccer referee in Baton Rouge managing 8 and 10 year old soccer games the referee association provided health insurance for all of us refs.

 

[easysurfer]

Sad story, at the prime of her sport, favored for next olympics, in the prime of her sport and at such a young age.

Just questions and thoughts as far as her insurance coverage:

1) I assume she was a Canadian citizen. So much for the health care if you travel outside of Canadian soil? That doesn't sound like a good deal for those going outside of their country.

2) I'd think if she was not married, and her estate was less than the medical bill, then the hospital would just have to absorb the cost of treatment. But since she is married, I'd think the bill would go to her husband? So, did she have other insurance (accident? life?) to cover some of the bills?

 

[Bikerdude]

Can you explain just what is supposed to be 'eye opening'?

This person decided to engage in a very risky activity, one which may bring her fame and monetary rewards. Why should anyone be surprised that she got hurt?

IMO, she should have been required to purchase high risk insurance. Why should others cover the costs that were the consequences of her own actions?

It' sad that she got hurt, but it was her doing. On the scale of sad things in the world, I think this ranks pretty low on the list. People who suffer through no fault of their own deserve more sympathy than this person.

So again, just what is supposed to be 'eye opening'?


-ERD50

+1

 

[Alan]

1) I assume she was a Canadian citizen. So much for the health care if you travel outside of Canadian soil? That doesn't sound like a good deal for those going outside of their country.

It's the same with the UK health care. If a country's health care covered you in other countries then taxes would have to be higher to cover the few folks who travel. That wouldn't be fair.

We visited some elderly relatives in the UK last year (mid 80's) and they said that 2011 was the last year they would travel overseas, because the travel health insurance premiums were too high at their age.

 

[samclem]

If a country's health care covered you in other countries then taxes would have to be higher to cover the few folks who travel. That wouldn't be fair.

If she'd gotten injured in Canada while performing this high-risk sport, I suppose Canadian citizens would be picking up the tab when she got hurt. I wonder if they would think that was fair.

To the degree "everybody pays for the care of people when they get injured," it would seem fair that "everyone" gets to veto certain risky behaviors. Smoking cigarettes, riding motorcycles, skiing, etc.

On a less contentious note: Do nations with government health care have any reciprocity agreements when their citizens travel? It would seem possible.

 

[ERD50]

You take chances every day -- waking up, crossing the street,[-] sticking your face in a fan.[/-]

But those are chances we all face everyday. If I decide to compete in some risky sport, I'm taking risks above and beyond the usual.

-ERD50

 

[obgyn65]

Well people make mistakes. For example, most people are overweight, others smoke, many have unprotected sex or play unsafe sports. Does it mean we have to make them pay thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, when something goes wrong - when they need COPD, HIV treatments or hospitalizations for example - if they can't afford insurance, if they don't have a job with healthcare benefits, or if they simply do not have appropriate insurance coverage for whatever reason?

But those are chances we all face everyday. If I decide to compete in some risky sport, I'm taking risks above and beyond the usual.

-ERD50

 

[Nemo2]

Here is a link to the Ontario medical (OHIP) out-of-country coverage, which is likely similar to that of the other provinces:

Travelling Outside Canada - Ontario Health Insurance Plan - Publications - Public Information - MOHLTC

When I travel outside of Canada, will OHIP pay the same medical expenses that are covered in Ontario?

No. If you are a resident of Ontario and you are insured under OHIP, you are entitled to very limited funding for a limited range of medical services when you are travelling outside of Canada. For this reason, you are strongly advised to purchase additional health insurance every time you leave Canada and ensure that the supplementary insurance you have purchased provides adequate coverage.

For inpatient services, OHIP will pay $200 CDN per day. If the services are inpatient services rendered in an operating room, coronary care unit, intensive care unit, neonatal or pediatric special care unit, then OHIP will pay at the higher rate of $400 CDN per day for hospital services.

 

[frank]

I take chances everyday and I assume the risk everyday. I make sure that I am protected so that my family will not have to worry. If this woman was not covered with some form of protection I would be very surprised. It was a tragedy, but that is what we all plan for and protect against, so if they failed to do what was necessary it is their own fault.

 

[Hamlet]

Do you have any facts that support the idea that Olympic skiers face a significantly greater risk of death than the general public?

I suspect that anyone who owns a motercycle, boat, or snowmobile has just as great a risk of accidental death.

There seems to be a strong desire in a lot of people to blame bad outcomes on the person receiving them. I suspect that people want to do that so that they can go through life thinking that if they make good decisions, bad things won't happen to them.

But those are chances we all face everyday. If I decide to compete in some risky sport, I'm taking risks above and beyond the usual.

-ERD50

 

[donheff]

But those are chances we all face everyday. If I decide to compete in some risky sport, I'm taking risks above and beyond the usual.

-ERD50

Yeah, probably this individual screwed up but how many of us or our kids traipsed around Europe without coverage or even realizing we didn't have it? Should your kids or parents have to foot the bill if you F up like that? And what if you lost your job and couldn't get insurance due to some pre-existing condition? Do you have to give up skiing as a consequence? This is why I find the US practices involving pre-existing conditions so irritating (pre current law). In some circumstances a parent couldn't do anything to get the adult kids covered. If the kid gets cancer, what should the parents do? Spend down their retirement fund? Those who propose to repeal the health care act (as opposed to replacing it) would throw us back into that mess.

On the state filial responsibility laws, IIRC it covers providing basic sustenance, not covering catastrophic medical bills.

 

[obgyn65]

I am speechless. Would you have the courage to say this to her parents who now have to pay a half a million dollar bill, on top of it ?

it is their own fault.

 

[ziggy29]

I am speechless. Would would have the courage to say this to her parents who know have to pay a half a million dollar bill, on top of it ?

Mostly people who think they are more responsible than everyone else and who seem to think bad things never happen to good people, that any time something bad happens to someone, it's their own fault and society doesn't have a moral responsibility to lift a finger to them.

 

[donheff]

I am speechless. Would you have the courage to say this to her parents who know have to pay a half a million dollar bill, on top of it ?

+1

 

[Bestwifeever]

Some clarifications in this article (Sarah Burke's medical bills necessitate donations) about this particular incident (medical costs came to $200K, not $550K as reported by media, which has already been raised).

Sad story. I imagine her family guaranteed they would pay when she was admitted so that is why they are responsible for the bills?

 

[frank]

[/Q

UOTE]I am speechless. Would you have the courage to say this to her parents who know have to pay a half a million dollar bill, on top of it ?

I do not assume that the parents would be responsible for the bills of a 29 year old woman. I also assumed that anyone of that age would protect themself, If not from death, then a disabling injury that they would have to pay for.

 

[easysurfer]

Some clarifications in this article (Sarah Burke's medical bills necessitate donations) about this particular incident (medical costs came to $200K, not $550K as reported by media, which has already been raised).

Sad story. I imagine her family guaranteed they would pay when she was admitted so that is why they are responsible for the bills?

Yet, I wonder if by guaranteeing was it more than just a signature during the course of treatment. When the hospital says, were are going to do such and such (which has a chance to save someone's life), sign here..what choices do a family have? Most probably sign first, worry about the bill later rather than say, I can't sign as I can't afford the treatment.

 

[ziggy29]

Yet, I wonder if by guaranteeing was it more than just a signature during the course of treatment. When the hospital says, were are going to do such and such (which has a chance to save someone's life), sign here..what choices do a family have? Most probably sign first, worry about the bill later.

Contract law often has to consider whether any of the undersigned parties were agreeing to the terms "under duress," and in some jurisdictions that is grounds for making the contract unenforceable.

"Assume their financial responsibility or watch them die" is not a choice anyone should have to make.

 

[easysurfer]

This reminds me of Christopher Reeve. I remember there were questions about who would pay his medical bills. Did he have to self-insure or have adequate insurance? I remember reading rumors, reports saying his good friend Robin Williams covered the expenses.

 

[growing_older]

As a competitive skier, it is customary for the event organizer to carry insurance and Sarah should have expected to be covered. Indeed if this had been a sanctioned event she would have been. What is unclear is why the event sponsor (Monster Energy Drink) failed to provide the usual coverage. It is unreasonable for all participants to have to inspect the detailed documentation of event organizers to determine if they are covered. Faced with a medical emergency, her family likely signed anything the hospital gave them, how could they do anything but? I don't see either Sarah nor her family as being at fault here. Monster seems to have taken a gamble to go uncovered.