Raw Deal for one of our own

Many of you have met Paul Heiba, @Motiv here on the site, at my Maintenance Day. Paul and Julie live not far from me and I consider them to be good friends. Reading things like this hurt me regardless of who it is and especially when it's a friend and a VentureRider member.

Last year, Paul and Julie took a dream trip on the bike that turned out to be a nightmare. Paul had a blowout and lost control of the bike on their way back home. I'll let this story speak for itself but I can tell you that it is all true. My prayers are with them in hopes that it will get resolved but it appears that the company just wants their money, nothing else matters to them.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/investigations/diagnosis-debt/it-can-happen-to-anyone-of-us-an-air-ambulance-ride-costing-53-000?fbclid=IwAR0zSC3evSlgTrbGnM6A3TXPAlFo3IJcIlMxJFcF3f_YMEvCvtsdgpaUi9s

When I had my one bad accident in 2005 one of the first responders said they had a helicopter on the way. I had heard they were extremely expensive. I told him to send it back. As long as you don't get on it can't charge you. The ambulance ride was excruciating but I imagine a helicopter ride would have been too and probably wouldn't have saved 15 minutes. Of course I was only about 20 miles from the hospital. If I had been in the middle of nowhere I might have chosen differently.

Many of you have met Paul Heiba, Motiv here on the site, at my Maintenance Day. Paul and Julie live not far from me and I consider them to be good friends. Reading things like this hurt me regardless of who it is and especially when it's a friend and a VentureRider member.

 

Last year, Paul and Julie took a dream trip on the bike that turned out to be a nightmare. Paul had a blowout and lost control of the bike on their way back home. I'll let this story speak for itself but I can tell you that it is all true. My prayers are with them in hopes that it will get resolved but it appears that the company just wants their money, nothing else matters to them.

 

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/investigations/diagnosis-debt/it-can-happen-to-anyone-of-us-an-air-ambulance-ride-costing-53-000?fbclid=IwAR0zSC3evSlgTrbGnM6A3TXPAlFo3IJcIlMxJFcF3f_YMEvCvtsdgpaUi9s

That really sucks!! Medical billing is increasingly expensive as it catches up with other crooks like Dentists.

I don't like riding highways and freeways. Maybe I'm just old and lame but I like 55-60 Mph cruising.

The speed may have not been a factor in this case but I figure the slower you are going the less damage a body will take when something goes South.

Good to know. I guess that getting some other transportation, if you are able, is the way to go. The pricing for helicopters certainly is "flexible".

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Part of the problem is like with all medical services many people don't have insurance or won't or can't ever pay, so they really stick it to people who have insurance or ability to pay the bills. Perhaps a law that requires cost estimates before the service is provided if possible would be a good idea.

I spent one night in the hospital in Homestead, FL undergoing observation and warfarin injections when I got a blood clot in my leg from my Concours falling on my foot and breaking a bone. The hospital charged $10,000 for one day, then reduced it to $5,000 because that was the Medicare limit. Our medical system is really messed up. I wish I was smart enough to know how to fix it.

Yes, this company clearly stated that Medicare and Medicaid don’t pay enough so they charge people with insurance much more. They said that by law, they can charge whatever they want. Paul had already been transported by ambulance to the hospital, that hospital decided to transfer him to another one. Julie took a taxi to the other hospital and it was a 37 minute drive. So maybe 10 minutes by chopper and $52,000.00. They are. Crooks in my opinion.

In 2007 I had an air ambulance ride in Ohio that cost about $10,000.00, a hospital stay in Akron that was over $400,000.00, a Lear Jet ride to Detroit and a land ambulance ride to another hospital at home here in Canada. Don't know what the Lear Jet cost. After all of that, another three months in two local hospitals. All of this was paid for by my bike insurance policy and our "free" health care system. None of this takes into account the expenses that my late wife incurred, including the cost of her funeral. Also all paid by my bike insurance policy.

We here in Ontario pay a very high price for our bike insurance. I'm paying over $1200.00/year. The government mandates that all vehicle insurance includes a set minimum amount of health care coverage. Of course, the risk being higher on bikes, makes the cost higher. I won't even mention the high cost of our "free" health care that is paid for by our tax system. I don't know what portion of the over 50% of our income that we pay in various taxes goes directly for health care.

I feel very bad and sorry for the couple that had the accident and for the unexpected ambulance bill. This is a very dangerous hobby and we all have to know that anything can happen at any time, no matter how good a rider you think you are. We take a chance every time we ride, near or far.

I guess my point is, when it comes to insurance and health care, you get what you pay for. Be prepared!

He really needs to talk to a lawyer. A friend of mine went through this to the tune of $60,000, in the end they agreed to settle for what insurance paid.

I see this going to be a settlement somewhere in the middle. But this is why our health care insurance is so freaking high. Why does it cost $800 for self pay, twice as much for medicare and 50x if an insurance company is involved. The hospital somehow deemed it necessary to transport less than 40 miles by air???? Who is on the air ambulance board of directors at that hospital. BS call me an Uber. I hope it gets all settled out without them going to the poor house.

I read stories like this and find them unbelievable.

I guess we are lucky in the UK with the NHS... If you need to 'get to the chopper' it costs you no more than if you limp in to hospital on foot.

Most of our air ambulances are charity ran, so the extra funds needed are raised from events (a large number by Motorcycle clubs) so no extra premium on insurance as appears to be the case in Canada (in fact UK motorcycle insurance is ridiculously cheap... But that's another story)

I hope they can get everything sorted!