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ambulance charges


MKT
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As per my post elsewhere, my healthy 48 year old husband suddenly had a massive heart attack on 18th July in the early hours  and died.

I called 18 of course, and the pompiers came and they (i assume) called the SAMU who arrived later and then some police came too. It was all in vain and my darling was already dead and never recovered. I am unclear what the SAMU people did as I had been removed from the room and they were still trying to resussitate, but he didnt go in any ambulance anywhere - I had to call the funeral directors to collect him.

To my horror today a letter arrived addressed to him from Auch hospital (I live in the Gers - 32) and it said send them a photocopy of our mutuelle and that if they didnt hear from me in 7 days they would be billing me. Well we didnt have a mutuelle, we paid any difference ourselves. I rang them and told them this and also told them they could send any bill they liked but that they wouldnt be paid becuase his accounts have all been frozen. Fair enough she said, she would block the bill for the moment and I would need to get in touch with her when I could pay it. I asked how much we were talking about and to my horror she says €1100 . Well I havent got that sort of money even when the accounts are unblocked,. The funeral cost nearly 4k and that pretty much cleans me out - apprently they take it out even though its blocked.

Leaving aside the insensitive treatment aspect of this upsetting letter, is this a normal amount does anybody know? and will I get any of it back via CPAM? (we are covered under criteria of residence and pay URSAAFF or whatever they are called) and will I get some time to pay?. I thought emergency treatment was covered free and if dying of a heart attack isnt an emergency I dont know what is .

I know I am not a frequent poster on this site but I have already received help and support in both the motoring and legal sections of this forum on this matter and would be grateful for any information about how this works.

Maria

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So sorry you've had this shock, on top of everything else.

I can't be sure of the answer to your question, hopefully someone else will know. All I can tell you is that I had a cardiac problem in 2006, called the ambulance etc and was taken to Auch hospital.

I never received a bill for the ambulance. Though I did for part of the treatment. Then an amblance car took me to Toulouse and I got a bill for around 200€ but sent it to CPAM and they paid it in full. (we don't have a mutuelle.)

Are you sure she said €1100? I would say you should definitely query it with CPAM. You could ask the maire's secretary to ring for you - they are usually very helpful.

Bon courage - Pat.

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First and I hope only time I had a motoring accident in France I walked about 45 kms with three broken ribs having been pushed complete with car about 90 metres into a fosse. Sapeurs eventually told a couple of passing ambulances to disappear at 5 am once they had found Isabel who I had left behind in said fosse because I could not carry her up and out,despite trying my only excuse was that it was at least 50 metres straight up. I would suggest going to see the local pompiers and asking their advice - I suspect they will know exactly how to deal with the ambulances. The ambulances are not any form of public service as far as I am aware you have not a contract with them.

Re reading sorry if it sounds a bit brusk but first stage try the Pompiers. They are volunteers and decent people

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The amount surprises me.

I have been carted away a couple of times by ambulance, driver and two ,paramedics to the nearest hospital 40km's away with some minor treatment done, bandaging wounds, injections etc before transporting, in both cases the crew alsospent considerable time at the hospital handing over and making sure that I was taken in charge etc before they left.

The first one was classed as a major accident and I was hospitalised for a week therefore it was 100% prise en charge, the second time I was discharged afer treatment cat scans etc and the bill was €130 of which CPAM paid 70%

To put it in perspective while I was there I had to translate for some English speaking German road accident victims, the cost of a taxi to take them about 10km to the F1 hotel was €40.

I am fairly sure that you wont have anything to pay, perhaps the hospital concerned does not have your carte vitale details and are treating you as a foreign visitor, normally its the very first thing that is done once the patient is stabilised but in your very sad situation I can easily see why this wasnt done. If you contact the hospital with your carte vitale details it will probably be taken care of, I doubt that you will even have to pay the 30%.

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Thank you very much, I shall do as you say and also will ask the Mairie secretary when it opens next Tuesday.

If I have only got to pay some or part then of course I will, when the accounts are available, and I imagine the cost is high becuase it was 2am on a Sunday morning and we are 40 mins from Auch so if you count their travel time it was probably 3 hours in total. I did repeat the amount to her as I was somewhat in shock. You may be right about the treating us as foreigners - they took neiher his nor my carte vitale details.

Anyway, theres hope so I will try not to worry about this too much for the minute.

Thanks

Maria

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In my experience - once involving a fatal road accident and more recently, a friend in  the next commune who had a heart attack, the SAMU bills are high.  Neither person had a mutuelle.  The driver managed to avoid paying at all - long story - and the heart attack patient (a woman in her late 70s, early morning call out, taken to Sarlat hospital) received a bill for €600.  She has negotiated with the hospital to pay the bill by instalments and perhaps you might be able to do something similar?
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Maria - have re-read your question, and realise now that the letter you received was the same as one sent to my husband from the hospital after he was taken into Auch hospital as an emergency from the Dr.s 3 weeks ago. I had to take in a copy of his passport, Carte Vitale etc. otherwise he would be billed for the full amount.

So I think Chancer's explanation is right - perhaps they never got your husband's CV details.

I wonder if they've had people on holiday having treatment then going off to UK or wherever without paying or showing their EHIC , so are being extra strict.

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As far as the order of their concerns are it is a very close second to an immediate threat to the life of the patient.

In my experiences once they had stabilised me the next questions were regarding carte vitale and whether it was an accident de travail, this procedure is repeated many times during the admission process.

Clearly in the case of a heart attack and subsequent death they compassionately avoid this, can I also add my sympathies to the OP whilst I am writing this somewhat dispassionately.

I understand why they do what they do, if not they would stand to lose lots of money, I reckon that lost of foreign visitors or even residents end up not paying quite innocently because the system of billing takes so long, I am still recieving bills for treatment in 2007, they say that "cest normale" and cant confirm that there aren't more yet to come, actually they did once and 6 monhs later another bill arrived.

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thank you again, Chancer and PatF especially.

Shall I perhaps photocopy the CV, the passport and the death certificate thing and send it to them with a copy of the letter they sent me and repeat the explanation about the accounts are blocked curretnly?

Maria

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