Charges for 911 Medical Emergency Calls
Tue, 03/02/2010 - 01:12
Once again mass media seemed to miss this little tidbit of info. March, 1, 2010 the city Loma Linda, CA and it's Fire Department started to charge residents $300 for each 911 call. Do not fret if you are calling 911 for a police emergency or for a fire emergency there will be no fee, only the Loma Linda Fire Dept is charging, of course 75% of all 911 calls to the Loma Linda Fire Dept is for medical emergencies.
These are not little charges it will be $300 per 911 call for residents and a mere $400 for non-residents, of course you could look forward like GOPers want women to do with their reproductive choices and pay annually $40 if resident and about $60 if non-resident. I really like the non-resident annual fee, I guess you better plan for the possibility you might end up in Loma Linda, CA and need to call 911.
This is not the first city to start charging for 911 calls and this isn't charges for prank calls or petty calls but for medical emergencies! This brings up many questions, like what happens if you can't afford the $300, do they shut off your ability to call 911, charge & arrest you for failure to pay? Is there a prepaid service for maybe visitors to Loma Linda that they can get refunded if they don't go to Loma Linda. What about those that pay the annual fee, do they get reimbursed if they don't call 911 or maybe a tax credit?
Exactly how do they plan on collecting these fees, send you a bill? Will the Loma Linda Fire Dept come out and demand payment? Do you need to pay before 911 operators dispatch the fire dept? If you can't afford the fees will there be a grant or government supplement for the indigent?
Will it be a fee that if let unpaid keep you from driving your car or having city provided water? Can they garnish your wages, put a lien on your home for unpaid 911 health emergency calls? Will the sheriff come knocking on the door to serve a court date for unpaid 911 fees? Could unpaid 911 fees cause imprisonment?
This is an outrage, how much longer before hospital emergency rooms can refuse service if you don't pay an E.R. pre-treatment service fee? If people are finding charges for 911 calls ok then it really won't be that long before people are ok with refusal for health emergencies if fees can't be paid. This is not an isolated case Tracy, CA starting 911 fees in June at $300 per call for residents, in both Tracy and Loma Linda most private insurance will pick up the tab, but Medi-Cal and Medicaid will not and to prove they aren't heartless there will be no 911 charge if the person dies.
Is this how states are allowed to make up for money lost, by charging for 911 medical emergency calls? Why don't states just start charging the poor for air since they live in the areas with the worst air quality. Maybe states should start charging a small fee for living in high crime area since police are needed there. Sound silly, well that's what I thought about 911 charges.
Is this how the richest nation in the world treats it citizens? If you aren't an US citizen and you have say an earthquake the US government is right there with supplies, doctors, and money as long as 1> you aren't US citizen & 2> it happens outside the US.
How much further is this country going to fall before someone, anyone goes enough is enough and will that someone speak up soon enough?
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