$550,000 medical bills

[Nemo2]

For a minute, I thought your location 'Redmond' referred to Redmond, OT.

redmond, ontario, canada - Google Maps

-ERD50

Ontario would be ON rather than OT.

 

[Nemo2]

Perhaps you need to ask Sarah's husband, Rory, how he feels about the non-paying (in this case) Canadian system. But, generally, I agree that comments about the Canadian system are usually positive. Why do you think the Canadians acted so horribly wrong in this particular situation? Have you seen the pics of Sarah on the web? She seems like a happy, friendly, young person. Why would the Canadian authorities and their system single her out to not cover? I don't get it. As you say, Canadians seem to really like their system. Certainly the Canadian public would not approve of this treatment of one of their own.

Note that the article I posted is a UK article.

Remember, we're not talking about the USA health insurance system here. Sarah is a Canadian who held both Canadian coverage (that amazingly did nothing for her - unbelievable) and private coverage that was only for sanctioned events.

As I linked to earlier, Canadian, (available to eligible residents on a per-Province basis), health care coverage has, (I believe), full Provincial reciprocity within Canada but provides minimal coverage outside the country.......therefore travelers are exhorted to ensure that they have appropriate insurance coverage......especially for the US where the cost differential for hospital treatment is so much higher than at home.

Sarah Burke was not 'singled out', the onus was on her, as it is on all Canadians, (and we're all well aware of this), to obtain suitable insurance; although, since she was apparently engaged in a dangerous, non-sanctioned event, she may have considered the premiums prohibitive.......if she could've found an insurance company willing to take the risk of covering her.

 

[Hamlet]

People keep saying she didn't purchase insurance.

She did.

Sadly, it only covered the events themselves, not practices. It's very likely that she was unaware of this gap, as it is certainly a feature that was probably not hightlighted by whoever sold her the insurance (since it really makes the policy kinda useless from a covering risk standpoint).

Hopefully, the people in her profession will take this opportunity to make sure that their policies don't have the same loophole.

Sarah Burke was not 'singled out', the onus was on her, as it is on all Canadians, (and we're all well aware of this), to obtain suitable insurance; although, since she was apparently engaged in a dangerous, non-sanctioned event, she may have considered the premiums prohibitive.......if she could've found an insurance company willing to take the risk of covering her.

 

[Nemo2]

People keep saying she didn't purchase insurance.

She did.

Sadly, it only covered the events themselves, not practices.

Ergo, she didn't purchase full insurance.......especially since she likely would have spent more time practicing in preparation than actually competing.

Regardless....the insurance wouldn't have, (and didn't), saved her life.

Sad, I fully agree.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Many American health insurance policies to not cover accidents or illnesses outside the US.

IMHO she (and her husband) should have purchased insurance for their activities outside of CN. Now we are paying for her unreimbursed care.

At least in Sarah Burke's case, "we" are not paying for her unreimbursed care unless we made a donation to it: Sarah Burke's medical bills covered by donations - British Columbia - CBC News

Donations from the public mean freestyle skier Sarah Burke's medical bills will not create a financial burden for her family, her agent has confirmed.

 

[Lsbcal]

Speaking in my (reflective) blue rabbit persona for a moment:

I ask myself, why are these nice ER humans arguing so much about the health care situation of a now dead young skier? I like young attractive people taking risks. It's too bad when those risks come home to roost, sort of like a small rabbit being taken off by a hawk. Of course, rabbits do not take extreme risks. Rabbits just like to live, eat, and make more rabbits.

I also like medical people who want to help them at any cost. Then there are the medical bills, nobody likes them -- not even me. And those Canadians are just great people. Fortunately blue rabbits do not worry about assigning blame. Probably because blue rabbits won't be paying medical bills any time soon.

 

[Alan]

France does have a reciprocity agreement with a number of European and non-European countries (including the US).

That's pretty generous considering the cost disparity.

+1

I bet very few countries in the world have that kind of reciprocity agreement with the USA. I understand most EU countries only have it with the other EU countries. How does it work with the US emergency healthcare providers? French citizen just tell the ER personnel to send the bill to the French Embassy? No coverage limit? I have heard about intensive care bills of over $1M after a bad car accident.

I always advice my European relatives who come to visit in the USA get a travellers insurance with unlimited medical and repatriation flight coverages.

Note that FIRE'd did a little more checking and found that France only pays what it would cost in France and advises its citizens traveling to the USA to purchase additional insurance.

After researching the subject some more, there are restrictions on the amount of coverage (full reciprocity applies only in specific situations). In the US, health care services are covered up to what similar services would cost in France. So, they do encourage people to contract additional coverage when traveling to countries with expensive health care services, like the US.

 

[FinanceDude]

It says the event she fell at was one of her sponsors, Monster Energy. She was not covered under her Canadien Freestyle Association medical policy because the Monster Energy event was non-sanctioned. I think Monster Energy can claim no responsiblity but I think there will be a civil suit settled out of court for an undisclosed amount at some point.........

 

[DangerMouse]

Australia has reciprocal health agreements with the following countries.

New Zealand
The United Kingdom
The Republic of Ireland
Sweden
The Netherlands
Finland
Italy
Belgium
Malta
Norway
Slovenia

I don't believe it likely that any country would want to enter into a reciprocal agreement with the USA because of the inflated costs for medical treatment. Also you would develop a system where people would become medical tourists. I would say that in the Australian case, that each of those countries we have a reciprocal agreement with likely has a national health system.

 

[jayc]

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

Yes. The SAME people that makes the mistake/decision should be the SAME person that pays.

 

[MichaelB]

This thread has taken on a slightly political tone so it was relocated to the Politics forum. Hopefully it will stay related to FIRE.

 

[Bikerdude]

I think what is controversial is the attitude that since someone chose a risky career, we shouldn't have sympathy for them when they get hurt.

By the logic of your original post, I would expect people to shrug off the deaths of soldiers, police, and firemen (or mine workers, alaskan fishermen, overnight store clerks, etc)

Those people have willingly chosen risky occupations.

"Why should anyone be surprised when they get hurt?"

You heard about the tragic death of an incredible young athelete, and the first thing you apparently think about is making sure that no one else gets stuck with her medical bills.

Well I can tell you that in my State of CT we have sympathy for those high risk careers like drug dealer/gang banger who get shot performing their trade. We treat them in the hospitial emergeny room and pay for rehab, all on the State tab. I'm not quite sure, but the State may put a lean on their Cadillac Escalade to recover some of the costs. Those meanie bureaucrats.

 

[M Paquette]

Folks enjoying Medicare coverage might want to check how well they are covered before snowboarding (or just enjoying a cruise or tour) outside the USA. (Hint: zip.)

Private insurance for USAians outside the country is typically limited to emergency care sufficient to stabilize ones condition, where "sufficient" is defined by your loss containment specialist.

 

[Nuiloa]

Would it not be a better option for him to simply get a 6 month travel insurance with high medical coverage, or is that kind of option not available for Canadians? .

It is possible to get annual out-of-country insurance but there are bump-ups at certain age levels. For instance, I paid $78 for full-coverage last year. When I turn 61, that will be significantly higher. If I had any pre-existing conditions, it would get higher still. There are also some caps on certain procedures - I guess they really want you to get back to Canada if anyone big is happening.

My friend has had both a heart attack and a couple of strokes, so she pays in the $2K range for insurance at age 61. They are worried that they won't be able to travel much longer because the price of insurance is so high.

 

[youbet]

Folks enjoying Medicare coverage might want to check how well they are covered before snowboarding outside the USA.

Thanks! I'll be starting Medicare later this year. As is traditional for all retirees entering the "Medicare Phase," I'll be taking an extensive world tour exhibiting my snowboarding skills to crowds of international fans. I'll be picking up the "International Snowboarding for Geezers" Medicare option. It'll be well worth the small premium kicker. In Medicare lingo, it's refered to as "Part S."

 

[NW-Bound]

It appears to me that the villain in this case was the organizer of the events who did not provide for, nor insist that participants obtained the proper insurance for an activity that was clearly known to be hazardous.

I for one do not blame the Canadian government for not accepting responsibilities. They could not single out a famous person for special treatments, while neglecting other ordinary Canadian citizens who might need medical care while abroad.

I do not know how expensive it would be for any government, not just Canada, to provide emergency coverage to its citizens who travel overseas, but would it be fair for people who do not or cannot afford to travel to have to pay more in taxes to subsidize those who do? I am speaking as one who has done a bit of travel abroad.

Regarding health care issues, one time my wife was worried about me when I was on a short work assignment to a "little" country. She looked for and bought extra insurance for me. It turned out to cover only emergency medical evacuation back to the States, and was not expensive. I guess it would be useless in case I needed to be treated locally, but it was the only thing we could find in a short time. It did serve as a placebo to calm my wife down.

 

[eridanus]

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

It's a joke. Lighten up, Francis.

 

[ERD50]

It's a joke. Lighten up, Francis.

You're making jokes about the death of this young woman

This is a strange thread, a real 'eye opener' indeed.

-ERD50

 

[eridanus]

This is a strange thread, a real 'eye opener' indeed.

-ERD50

Nah, it's about what I expect from some [MODERATOR EDIT]

 

[FIREd]

Thanks everyone!