D.C. Fire dept. & E.M.S. are NOT at fault here. It is the 911 service that dispatched/not dispatched the CORRECT services!!!! I live in NC and read all the pertinent info. D.C. 911 dropped the ball, Effed up in other words. The dispatcher themselves may not need to be charged for negligence, but D.C. 911 sure as hell does! If for no other reason than lack of proper training for their employees!!!!!!!

Here's how I'd put it to the billing company..

In regards to my bill. I have forwarded it my accountant. Her name is Helen Waite, If you think I'm going to pay this bill you can go to Hell N Wait.

This story is great fodder for garnering the desired readership but it is far short of being responsible and complete in providing a realistic picture of what occurs in such situations and the facts supporting the charge.

The response time, while not meeting the anxiety of the family, was not an extreme length of time...particularly since the fire department responded so quickly and in general comes with a crew who are trained thoroughly in emergency interventions and care until transport arrives. When an area has their ambulance out on other calls, there is usually a mutual aid call to another area to respond with an ambulance..there are times when more than one call to mutual aid points of contact must be made before locating an available transport. The cost of transport is quite often through a private company and frankly the cost is not exhorbitant when you calculate the manpower dollars, cost of running the rig, etc. While the pain of a loss of a life is excruciating for the family, to expect the service to be free because the patient died is absurd. If the patient requires emergency surgery and it takes time to set up all the equipment, the room, and to gather a qualified surgical team, and the patient still dies, you would not expect the medical center to bypass the cost of all the prep and surgical costs or that the surgeon and anesthesiologists would forgo a fee for services rendered. If the man did not have insurance coverage for the costs, then his estate will have to reimburse for the services. Grief and mourning are horrendous but ambulance companies don't operate on air....this family needs to suck it up and be responsible for paying up!

No problem....just tell them you'll forward the bill to your father by placing it in his coffin and let him deal with it..!!

Now I dialed 911 a long time ago

Don't you see how late they're reactin'

They only come and they come when they wanna

So get the morgue embalm the goner

I call a cab 'cause a cab will come quicker

So get up, get get down

911 is a joke in yo town

Get up, get, get, down

Late 911 wears the late crown

911 is a joke

-Public Enemy

ok, this made the news...why? Because this happens all the time. People are billed who should not be billed...people are sometimes billed in error. why did this guy not call the billing company and ask if it was sent in error? No, he had to have his 15 minutes of fame and get on the news. no mention that ford even talked to some one about the problem. I'll bet he has an attorney lined up to sue.

When you need to get to a hospital quick, it is best to call a taxi.

The family should not have to pay that bill. That is ridiculous.

Welcome to Obamacare.

It took 40 MINUTES for the ambulence to come for my dad! I was performing CPR on my dad ;hen they came; I asked if they wanted to take over. They said, "No, you're doing a fine job".

They just ending up making a mess taking out his stomach contents. (I guess they had to prove they did something). They drove without their flashers to the hospital at a slow speed. We were behind him in a car. My dad was pronounced dead at the hospital. And yes, my mother got a whopping bill from the ambulence company. Thank you very much.

I know that there are many hardworking, dilligent, and focused EMT's and ambulance services in the US, but it is a known fact that in poverty stricken, urban, and underserved communities requesting ambulances during emergencies is usually the last resort because the wait is so long. I know it's not true for every Ambulance service but for many people 911 is a joke (~Public Enemy)....

City people become so dependent on others for instant help. Half the citizens of the U.S. live far away from

such quick response times. Sometimes it can take an hour or more for an ambulance to even get to the

of an accident. Guess you haven't thought about that if you have ever taken a trip, or left your block.

You take it for granted that you will have immediate care following you around. Wake up. Sorry the old

man died, but you asked for service and they got there as fast as they could and did what they could, you

don't have any reason to complain. Try living out in the country were the ETA's are actually long.

And tell these first responders thank you for trying to help. You are lucky to have paramedic on call.

A lot of people live where there are volunteer firefighters who take training to help in emergencies and then

have to wait a long time for an ambulance to arrive.

Never call emergency.. Transport your family member yourself. It is faster and safer, in the long run.

@Flatiron....shows how little YOU are paying attention!!

Anyone who is receiving Medicare, or Medicaid, can't drive.

In some cases, don't even own an automobile OR have NO FAMILY, who can drive them to the ER.

Be thankful, that when YOU need it, those of us who have been

paying for it, for the last 70 years, will have paved the way enough

for YOU to use it, when you need it.

Your post sounds extremely selfish, since you have not thought about any circumstances

the elderly may be facing. If you can still drive yourself to a Doctor

be thankful for that. Not everyone has YOUR good fortune, so keep

your mouth shut, until you know what you're talking about.

Ron Behlin is an extremely sick individual. Someone PLEASE call a DC ambulance for him.

We're living in a country whose government is not the slightest bit interested in improving this problem that is only getting worse. The idiots in Congress are more interested in building bombs and sending gobs of cash to sh*thead countries like Pakistan and Israel, but do nothing to prevent the rot that is occurring within our own borders. This is only a slice of the rot.

"FlatIron720

Us taxpaying suckers get billed for everything. After all, someone's got to pay for Medicaid recipiants to use ambulances like a taxi service to the emergency room even for minor headaches and coughing without paying a dime."

-----------------------------------

In what state is a Medicaid recipient allowed to not pay for a nonemergency ambulance? Where I live, Minnesota, if it turns out the ambulance was not needed then the Medicaid recipient has to pay the entire cost. If it turns out it was an emergency and needed then the recipient pays $16 to cover the cost of the ambulance plus co-pays on the ER visit, the drugs and supplies and a co-pay for the doctor.
On top of all that in the city I live every household pays a set amount every
month to cover the cost of first responders going out on a call so that the person
who needed the service doesn't have too.

Dat's Yo Gubmint ond da jowb....Ya'alls voted fo da sucka, Gets ta's a reapin ow dem der benefits.....GO`OBAMA...

I am sorry for the family's loss... however, this whining conduct is unbecoming, and sadly typical. Many ambulance services are privately operated, and they all bill for their services. They bill for their services whether or not the person dies. And they do not do contingency work, they are entitled to be paid, regardless. The response times here are not unreasonable, especially for a New Year's holiday period. As hard as it may be for some people to accept, there is no "entitlement" to every service and product available to mankind. You have to pay. That's the nature of a free country and a free economy. Pay the damn bill and stop complaining.

disgusting...shows a person what is REALLY more important than life to some people.....money

Oh I can't wait for Obama care..an Ambulance in every garage!..A doctor in every closet!..we will be HEALED!

Tell them you'll pay the bill.. out of the law suit against them for failure to respond to an emergency in a timely manner as required BY LAW. 30 minutes is a VERY unreasonable time, I'd call it negligent homicide.

Don't understand why this is news. It happened slightly over a month ago, so he probably only just got the bill. His councilperson is dealing with it. Why did he feel the need to involve the press?

I'd send the bill to George Bush. We are still allowed to blame all bad things on him are we not?

And around the far turn, heading for home, here come THE LAWYERS!