...Meredith-Mercedes ambulance service!

[fatlazyless]

Today's www.citizen.com has an article on Stewart's Ambulance Service switching over to ambulances made by Mercedes Benz over the next two years. I could not read the article because I do not subscribe and just read the beginning...oh well...Mercedes probably makes an excellent ambulance vehicle....and Stewart's probably never-ever buys any advertising in the Citizen....so will keep my mouth shut about making any wise guy comments about how the ambulance will show up to your Meredith address and provide medical help for FREE....and how the ambulance service for Meredith medical charges only start once you get loaded inside the ambulance and get transported to a hospital in a very posh Mercedes Benz.

For example...let's say you think you are having a heart attack at 3-am....but it turns out to be just a bad case of indigestion because you forgot to remove the cardboard backing from a frozen pizza and unknowingly ate some baked cardboard...well...Stewarts will show up to your Meredith address anytime, 24-7, to assist....and there is no charge for them to show up as long as you do not get transported in their Mercedes. ...say-hey....because it is a Mercedes....just maybe they could show up with a cold six pack of Heineken, the Mercedes of Beer, and ask if you need a cold Heiny to wash out and regurgitate that cardboard laced piece of $3.49 Hannaford's pizza at 3-am? Just think about that for a Mercedes style ambulance service, buddy!

[BroadHopper]

FLL, I'd think twice about calling the ambulance. Back in 2008, I broke my arm at Gunstock. By coincidence the ambulance services were busy transporting at the time so, my buddy transported me to LRGH. Several days later, I got a bill from an ambulance service for transportation to LRGH for $5,000. I called to find out what's up with that. Whenever they receive a call for service it is billed to the caller, even if you do not need the ride!

I'd rather rent an MB from a rental agency then call the ambulance service.

[CTYankee]

Well, BroadHopper, I guess you got billed for a nonexistent trip in their Rolls-Royce ambulance.

[VitaBene]

The MB (and cousin Dodge Sprinter) are very economical to run compared to a Ford van based unit and are already built tall inside so they don't need the roof work the "traditional ambulances require.

I talked to a gent at the country store in Moultonborough last year that was getting 24MPG in his Sprinter camper loaded down. They run a Mercedes diesel.

[fatlazyless]

....from a vague recollection....I recall that Gunstock is served by the Gilford Fire Dept ambulance, and that the Alton Fire Dept ambulance does not charge for transport, and that Meredith has a contract with Stewarts where they will show up and provide minor medical care, or something, and only charge for transport.

Maybe the specific info is posted somewhere just so you know before u-needa-ambulance for real?

[MAXUM]

.... and that Meredith has a contract with Stewarts where they will show up and provide minor medical care, or something, and only charge for transport.



I find it hard to believe that Stewarts will do anything for "free", makes no business sense for them to pay for trained staff, have a vehicle on the road burning gas or on standby showing up to calls and not getting compensated for it regardless if they transport somebody or not. IF Meredith has a contract with them then chances are the town is paying them with tax dollars to do what they are doing. Tax dollars are not "free"!

[VitaBene]

I find it hard to believe that Stewarts will do anything for "free", makes no business sense for them to pay for trained staff, have a vehicle on the road burning gas or on standby showing up to calls and not getting compensated for it regardless if they transport somebody or not. IF Meredith has a contract with them then chances are the town is paying them with tax dollars to do what they are doing. Tax dollars are not "free"!

Moultonborough has a contract with Stewarts that requires an ambulance in town with 2 operators 24X7. They park in the Fire Station.

I still received a 1600 dollar bill for a ride to Huggins in Wolfeboro, a drive that takes me 25 minutes.

[Just Sold]

Ambulance costs can get be costly.
When I had my heart attack I was taken by ambulance to the closest hospital and then it was determined I needed to go to a cardiac hospital for specialized treatment. I got billed for the full amount of the 2nd ambulance trip which was by the local FD. It was only $800. The first ambulance, a town contracted company, was covered by my insurance minus the deductable ($150) but not the 2nd. Insurance in most cases will not cover an ambulance from one hospital to another.

[tis]

Moultonborough has a contract with Stewarts that requires an ambulance in town with 2 operators 24X7. They park in the Fire Station.

I still received a 1600 dollar bill for a ride to Huggins in Wolfeboro, a drive that takes me 25 minutes.

What happened???? Are you ok???

[winnipiseogee]

Full disclosure here - I'm the Chairman of Stewart's. We do provide free care in all 6 of our towns (Meredith, Center Harbor, Sandwich, Moultonboro & Wolfeboro). You will only ever receive a bill from us if you are transported. Our theory is that we would much rather you call us and get checked out than have a heart attack or other serious condition go untreated. Please - if you aren't feeling well call 911 and at least let us check you out!

For Broadhopper we don't cover Gunstock or you wouldn't have gotten a bill. We always give people the opportunity to go by personal vehicle so long as its safe to do so.

The MB Sprinter is a great vehicle and we love having them. The are incredibly reliable and very cost efficient. As a tax payer I try and do everything possible to save our towns money.

Finally I agree that ambulance bills are ridiculously high. Health care costs in general are insane and the system is broken. When you see our bills please keep in mind how we operate. We treat all of our patients without any discussion of how we might get paid. You are never asked for your insurance information in the back of one of our ambulances. While you are our patient we focus only on keeping you healthy.

That said, being in a tourist town means we OFTEN get stiffed on our bills. Folks get treated and we never hear from them again and we don't get paid. Unfortunately our bills our high because we have to write-off a high percentage of our bills. Don't blame us though - we didn't set this system up. It was designed and implemented in Concord and Washington :-)

Thanks.

[Rusty]

Full disclosure here - I'm the Chairman of Stewart's. We do provide free care in all 6 of our towns (Meredith, Center Harbor, Sandwich, Moultonboro & Wolfeboro). You will only ever receive a bill from us if you are transported. Our theory is that we would much rather you call us and get checked out than have a heart attack or other serious condition go untreated. Please - if you aren't feeling well call 911 and at least let us check you out!

For Broadhopper we don't cover Gunstock or you wouldn't have gotten a bill. We always give people the opportunity to go by personal vehicle so long as its safe to do so.

The MB Sprinter is a great vehicle and we love having them. The are incredibly reliable and very cost efficient. As a tax payer I try and do everything possible to save our towns money.

Finally I agree that ambulance bills are ridiculously high. Health care costs in general are insane and the system is broken. When you see our bills please keep in mind how we operate. We treat all of our patients without any discussion of how we might get paid. You are never asked for your insurance information in the back of one of our ambulances. While you are our patient we focus only on keeping you healthy.

That said, being in a tourist town means we OFTEN get stiffed on our bills. Folks get treated and we never hear from them again and we don't get paid. Unfortunately our bills our high because we have to write-off a high percentage of our bills. Don't blame us though - we didn't set this system up. It was designed and implemented in Concord and Washington :-)

Thanks.

You must have a Patient Billing/Collection Process that you follow that if the bill is not paid by a certain time then a collection agency takes over.
I know there are hardships to consider but to just write off a high percentage of your bills and then keep raising the price of transportation to offset the unpaid ones doesn't seem very business like to me.

[winnipiseogee]

You must have a Patient Billing/Collection Process that you follow that if the bill is not paid by a certain time then a collection agency takes over.
I know there are hardships to consider but to just write off a high percentage of your bills and then keep raising the price of transportation to offset the unpaid ones doesn't seem very business like to me.

We do have a collection process as well as a charitable write-off program but that not really the problem. As a high tourist area we often end up with no patient info to bill. For example - John Doe is up at a friends place for the weekend. He takes a header off the dock and we transport him to LRGH for a broken Leg. When he gets to LRGH he doesn't have his insurance card and he gives the address for his friends lake house. At that point we are never likely to find the guy. He might have the best insurance in the world but unless we can get better ID we can't find him to bill him. That happens a LOT.

The other issue is medicaid. If a patient is on medicaid we are required by state law to write-off 89% of the bill.

It really is a crappy system and a small few people end up footing the bill for everyone else but like I said - I didn't create the system but we all have to live with it.

[fatlazyless]

....next time I need to get to a hospital emergency room asap-pdq.....and I am unable to drive myself......believe I'll call A J's Taxi in Meredith at 393-6214 and catch a ride to the LRGH for about 25-dollars or just hitch-hike holding a sign that says LRGH-E.R. 20-dollars! .... and that would most likely get me there.....you know it!

.....besides doing hospital emergency room runs, A J's taxi is equipped with a trailer hitch, and for the same amount, about 25-dollars, A J will come to your Meredith location and launch or retrieve your boat at a Meredith launch ramp on your trailer when you do not have a vehicle with a trailer hitch and need to get your boat launched fast...

......and, how much would it cost to get your boat launched with a Mercedes ambulance if you are totally uninsured and are a cash customer......oh.....about $2500?:D;)

[SIKSUKR]

Good luck with that.I'm sure that taxi driver will be able to help stabilize you on your ride to the hospital.Actually,this ambulance payment/non payment thing is right up your alley Fll.:laugh:

[nhboat61]

We do have a collection process as well as a charitable write-off program but that not really the problem. As a high tourist area we often end up with no patient info to bill. For example - John Doe is up at a friends place for the weekend. He takes a header off the dock and we transport him to LRGH for a broken Leg. When he gets to LRGH he doesn't have his insurance card and he gives the address for his friends lake house. At that point we are never likely to find the guy. He might have the best insurance in the world but unless we can get better ID we can't find him to bill him. That happens a LOT.

The other issue is medicaid. If a patient is on medicaid we are required by state law to write-off 89% of the bill.

It really is a crappy system and a small few people end up footing the bill for everyone else but like I said - I didn't create the system but we all have to live with it.


I can understand where you are coming from. My FD runs EMS in Connecticut. We end up writing off 45% of our billing. One of our biggest problems is that we get a good amount of undocumeted aliens and they have no addresses or insurance -so thats a free-bee, we have a high population of elderly. If they are chronically ill and need to have multible trips to the ER, then MA./MC starts to pay at a reduced rate. A portion of the bill is written off.

Running EMS is expensive, being a former fire chief, I know only too well. And yes, the cost of an ambulance is expensive. $190K for the last unit we bought. 5g's for the stretcher, 10K for the defibrillator......that even before you buy a band-aid ( which we have to carry, but can not use). Better stop now before it becomes a ramble.

[chipj29]

....next time I need to get to a hospital emergency room asap-pdq.....and I am unable to drive myself......believe I'll call A J's Taxi in Meredith at 393-6214 and catch a ride to the LRGH for about 25-dollars or just hitch-hike holding a sign that says LRGH-E.R. 20-dollars! .... and that would most likely get me there.....you know it!

.....besides doing hospital emergency room runs, A J's taxi is equipped with a trailer hitch, and for the same amount, about 25-dollars, A J will come to your Meredith location and launch or retrieve your boat at a Meredith launch ramp on your trailer when you do not have a vehicle with a trailer hitch and need to get your boat launched fast...

......and, how much would it cost to get your boat launched with a Mercedes ambulance if you are totally uninsured and are a cash customer......oh.....about $2500?:D;)

More crap-tacular "advice" from FLL. Take a taxi instead of an ambulance. For non life-threatening things (broken leg) that might work. But if I had a heart attack I would rather be in the hands of trained paramedics than a cab driver who may or may not even speak English.

FLL, is your life worth less than a possible $800 bill for an ambulance ride?

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

I can understand where you are coming from. My FD runs EMS in Connecticut. We end up writing off 45% of our billing. One of our biggest problems is that we get a good amount of undocumeted aliens and they have no addresses or insurance -so thats a free-bee, we have a high population of elderly. If they are chronically ill and need to have multible trips to the ER, then MA./MC starts to pay at a reduced rate. A portion of the bill is written off.

Running EMS is expensive, being a former fire chief, I know only too well. And yes, the cost of an ambulance is expensive. $190K for the last unit we bought. 5g's for the stretcher, 10K for the defibrillator......that even before you buy a band-aid ( which we have to carry, but can not use). Better stop now before it becomes a ramble.

Very true for the municipal ambulance such as a city or town that gets their EMS service from their fire department. Not so true for the private ambulance companies, like AMR, that makes their money from non emergency transport and takes their lumps doing 911 contracts, most at "zero bids" in the metro Boston area. The amount of business a private ambulance company gets for transports between medical facilities is not comparable to doing city/town emergency calls. You can't ask a car accident patient or a resident who calls 911 for insurance info, so you do the call and attempt to obtain insurance info at the hospital, many times unsuccessfully. For a non emergency transport you are able to obtain much more patient info and many times the transport is signed off by a doctor declaring the transport a medical necessity and making recoup from their insurance company more likely.
I transported thousands of people from their homes to dialysis appointments, most were regular 3 day a week round trip transports who walked to my ambulance and even sat in the front seat. The reason was their insurance didn't cover a wheelchair van because the van was not considered "medically necessary" as an ambulance was, thus, their insurance covers the ride. Insurance information is obtained before transport. I admit the Medicare/Medicaid patients are not great revenue producers. Running an ambulance company is not easy.
As far as the Mercedes style ambulance. It's a nice vehicle for non emergency transport, but if you are in need of true emergency medical treatment, you don't want that van, the box ambulance is MUCH better for treating the trauma/medical emergency.
The ambulances you see, other than those doing dedicated 911 contracts, are nothing more than glorified taxi cabs. The hourly rate for EMTs and Paramedics are amongst the lowest wages in the medical arena. It's a job with huge turnover, most using it as a stepping stone for more lucrative careers like fire, police and RN's.

[PaugusBayFireFighter]

More crap-tacular "advice" from FLL. Take a taxi instead of an ambulance. For non life-threatening things (broken leg) that might work. But if I had a heart attack I would rather be in the hands of trained paramedics than a cab driver who may or may not even speak English.

FLL, is your life worth less than a possible $800 bill for an ambulance ride?
Believe me, the people with no insurance, knowingly unable to pay for the ambulance ride and equally unable to pay for a cab, will call 911 for the ambulance for anything from a toothache to 3 week old back pain knowing its a free ride. You find them sitting on the steps of a house waiting with bags packed.

[fatlazyless]

Something else that's new at the Plymouth Wal-Mart; next to the pharmacy counter; a freebie, no-charge, sit-down, self-administered, diagnostic desk-booth for humans that tells you, assuming you are a human and not an alien from outer space, all your important numbers for your blood pressure, vision, and body mass index or BMI.

https://solohealth.com/

How much does it cost? It is no-charge. But, just maybe they should sell one-dollar nips of 49.5% alc, banana flavored rum next to their diagnostic booth?:laugh::D