A horrifying image shows the injuries of a hiker who walked 10 miles with a trekking pole through his body instead of paying for a helicopter evacuation.
  • benjirenji@slrpnk.net
    581·
    11 days ago

    In Switzerland I pay 40CHF (~49USD) yearly to get a free helicopter evacuation in case of an accident. Never needed it, but I know people that have. Absolutely worth it. While it’s “just hiking” in most cases, being out in nature in the middle of nowhere can get dangerous fast.

      • Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de
        11·
        11 days ago

        Yeah it’s not great. Transport costs for emergencies are often only covered 50% in Switzerland. We do have the second most costly system after the US, and it’s for the same reason imho, private insurers. There are some more guardrails here than in the US, so it’s not completely horrible, but there are lots of better systems around Europe.

        Regarding helicopter rescue specifically, that’s kind of a funny case. In Switzerland the first helicopter rescue organization was founded as a non-profit foundation called Rega, and it continues to operate that way.

        For patrons the Rega eats the cost of a rescue that no insurance covers. If you are not a patron and get rescued then the cost of the rescue that isn’t covered falls to you. So in effect a Rega patronage also acts as a sort of gap-insurance.

        Around 40% of the population are registered patrons of the Rega foundation. The cost for that is what benjirenji was actually referring to.

      • Obi@sopuli.xyz
        112·
        11 days ago

        In Switzerland they deal with an endless line of brain-dead tourists that put themselves into stupid situations where helicopter evacuation is the only option, so I can kinda understand that they’d put some stuff in place to prevent people from abusing that.

    • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
      7·
      11 days ago

      I once went on a trip to Atacama and as a responsible person got insurgence that specifically covered rescue above 5000m. When I got there locals told me that there are actually no rescue teams there or anything.

      • Gordon Calhoun@lemmy.world
        6·
        11 days ago

        I once went on a trip to Atacama and as a responsible person got insurgence that specifically covered rescue above 5000m. When I got there locals told me that there are actually no rescue teams there or anything.

        Not sure i would trust insurgents with that task…

    • Bixcut@lemmy.world
      1·
      10 days ago

      2 different companies cover the area I live in. I pay the annual fee for both. Just in case I have an accident while sitting at my computer that requires an air lift.

  • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
    37·
    11 days ago

    He was a nurse to. Which just makes him more aware of how things like that can just ruin a person in the us. Remember when that hospital took away healthcare benefits from its janitorial staff. That to me is peak us explanations. A hospital can’t afford to give its staff health insurance. ugh.

  • Pyr@lemmy.ca
    121·
    11 days ago

    That’s stupid, emergency services should not come at a cost. If it were a hiker needing to be rescued because they were stupid and didn’t prepare properly charge them. If it’s an unforseen emergency than provide it as a service.

    I’m surprised the cops don’t charge money for showing up to calls, or the firefighters. Why is the medical field so different?

  • Crashumbc@lemmy.worldEnglish
    121·
    11 days ago

    I’m all for universal health care. But at the same time being outdoors/hiking/fishing most of my life.

    Some of the insanely stupid shit I’ve seen people do in the middle of fucking no where…

    I mean accidents happen, but if you’re that idiot that ignored four warnings and got gored trying to pet a bison, part of me thinks you SHOULD have to pay for that helicopter ride

    • sunstoned@lemmus.orgEnglish
      22·
      10 days ago

      There should be consequences, sure, but life long financial ruin isn’t exactly a punishment that fits the crime here.

      • Aeao@lemmy.world
        1·
        10 days ago

        They have to cut off their own finger and hand it to the rescue crew. After the filth time the take a hand. Then just keep going until the decide to stop being stupid.

  • Zephorah@discuss.online
    114·
    11 days ago

    Look up the cost of life flight. It’s often an entirely separate insurance (ask).

    The majority of people don’t understand that there are levels to hospitals. Couple lives near a hospital in a beautiful though remote coastal location, thinks they have it figured out. Oh, but it’s a level 3 hospital. Not many surgeons, just one bone doctor.

    One of them has a stroke. Now they need level 1-2, depending. Time is a critical factor, so, life flight. Ditto for a heart attack.

    Last check it’s ~$50-60k.

    • justsomeguy@lemmy.world
      18·
      11 days ago

      Saw a thread where a father got a 100k bill for a life flight his son needed. Insurance didn’t want to pay because they didn’t preapprove but it was an emergency so there was no time anyway.

      I’m just wondering why every thing in the medical field immediately costs 10x as much as it needs to. Yes, helicopters are expensive to maintain and so is the personnel but 100k per flight is ridiculous. Show me the calculation.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
        11·
        11 days ago

        The calculation is, “We have you over a barrel so get fucked, you poor.” I took a helicopter flight over Lake Tahoe just for the hell of it earlier this year. The total duration was probably similar to a flight from anywhere within those mountains to the local hospital and in fact we flew right by the hospital when we were still in town. The total cost was a couple of hundred bucks. This was from a private operator, so the profit from that cost had to include his own fuel and time, insurance, plus financing and maintaining his own machine, plus whatever it costs to stable it at the airport. Nobody is subsidizing him, and no municipality is giving him a cushy tax break, either.

        So there’s no way in any rational universe that a helicopter flight to the hospital should cost more than a thousand, maybe two thousand dollars even accounting for the payroll of everyone on that bird and all the other expenses, plus a fat 200% profit margin.

      • Zephorah@discuss.online
        10·
        11 days ago

        Right? I had an MRI to check on my ear. It took 30-40min all said and done. $28k. 100% covered by insurance.

        That tech is getting paid $60-$75/hr. There’s the machine, which is always on. Then there’s the doc who reads it. Some paperwork filings in the chart.

        That’s probably 1hr of tech pay, after cleaning / set up. Radiologists make ~$300/hr per salary on average.

        So, after the $375 for hands on personnel, and the electric bill, I don’t know what whimsy created the $27,625.

        Per the search bot, 165-226 kWh per day for the MRI being on.

  • switcheroo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    10 days ago

    Welcome to the US.

    If I’m conscious, no matter what happens, I will always have the thought: can I make it to the hospital on my own.

    Disgusting dystopian hellhole…

  • Dearth@lemmy.world
    5·
    10 days ago

    Ive heard of helicopter rescue insurance in the United states. Last i looked into it (15 years ago) it was around $50 per year. Considering the fact that ive heard more than one story of people getting themselves out of the backcountry with terrible injuries, i think it would be a good investment for anyone navigating privatized healthcare while enjoying outdoor sports.

  • UselessAsshole@lemmy.world
    21·
    11 days ago

    Those fucking poles are overpriced outfitter gear. He’d have probably been better off with a good stick.