It
is important to choose carefully when seeking assistance with
transporting individuals with care needs.
If
you call 911, you will be taken to a hospital and treated
by a physician. Ambulances responding to 911 calls and many
other ambulance services use their judgment in deciding where
a patient should be taken depending on departmental policy,
proximity to the closest medical facility, and/or their assessment
of the patient's condition and needs. If the patient is unconscious
or having trouble breathingy, they are required by law to
take the patient to a hospital unless they are presented with
a signed Advance Health Care Directive stating the patient
does not want medical care and wants to go only to a Christian
Science (nursing) facility. In certain critical emergency
situations, federal and state laws may require a subject to
be transported to the nearest hospital even if the Advance
Health Care Directive states otherwise.
It
is important when arranging ambulance services to state clearly
that you are requesting "transportation only." That
will both reduce the likelihood of their insisting on providing
medical care enroute and reduce the cost. Some medical transport
services will reduce the charge by half if the patient is
able to sit up.
Ambulance
services charge approximately $1,250 to transport patients
to a care facility. Non-medical transportation services may
charge less if they are informed early that the patient is
being transported to a Christian Science facility. Costs and
accepted methods of payment should be ascertained at the outset.
Ambulance services to a Christian Science nursing facility
are not covered by Medicare Part A, sometimes by Part
B.
The
above ambulance services have been used by patients served by
the facilities cited and have honored requests to take patients
to a Christian Science nursing facility. They are listed in
alphabetic order; the order does not suggest recommendations
or quality of service. You may want to request the latest information
from the care facility you plan to enter before calling a service.
When making arrangements, try to get their assurance they will
take the patient to a Christian Science nursing facility.
Note
to patients using an ambluance between a hospital and release
to a C.S. nursing facility:
Patients
arriving by ambulance to a nursing facility after being released
from a hospital may or may not have coverage for covering
the cost of ambulance service. See note about Medicare coverage
above. Some, but not all, private insurance policies cover
this type of transfer.
Extract
from Medicare documentation:
"Medicare pays for limited ambulance services. If you go
to a hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF), ambulance services
are covered only if transportation in any other vehicle could
endanger your health. Generally, transportation from a hospital
or SNF is not covered. If the care you need is not available
locally, Medicare helps pay for necessary ambulance transportation
to the closest facility outside your local area that can provide
the care you need. If you choose to go to another facility farther
away, Medicare payment is based on how much it would cost to
go to the closest facility. All ambulance suppliers must accept
assignment.
Medicare
does not pay for ambulance transportation to a doctor's office.
Air
ambulance is paid only in emergency situations. If you could
have gone by land ambulance without serious danger to your
life or health, Medicare pays only the land ambulance rate
and you are responsible for the difference."
Please
visit the Your Medicare Coverage
section of our website for additional information regarding
ambulance transportation as well as many other coverage topics.
