Would You Take a Bullet Train from Anaheim to Las Vegas?... Brightline West

[Disney Irish]

Exactly.

Private health insurance covers transportation to/from routine doctor's appointments or health check-ups for those who have no car or have no driver's license. Even Medicaid, the lowest common denominator of health insurance available to poor Americans, offers free transportation via Uber or taxi to a scheduled doctor's appointment or health check-up, or full reimbursement for emergency transportation to a clinic or hospital.

Those who have no car are at risk at limiting their ability to travel, to be sure, but in the USA even free Medicaid covers free Taxi/Uber transportation to your doctor's office for a visit, or emergency service to a clinic or hospital if things are dire.

Not entirely true. I have one of the top plans at United Healthcare and they don’t cover medical transport, for a recent procedure where I couldn’t drive they wanted to charge me $300 for transport. Good thing I could get a friend to pick me up.

Also for most procedures that require you not to drive hospitals won’t allow you to take an Uber/Lyft or other ride share service because the drivers aren’t liable for medical incidents. So they won’t release you unless you have a proper ride that can be liable if an issue happens, either a family member/friend or medical transport.

 

[TP2000]

I faced cancer for almost 3 years. I couldn’t help but felt annoyed every month required multiple trips to see specialist at City of Hope with a car. My drive is an hour and half to main campus in Daurte. To know there is direct metro close by made me envious of locals who would wish to use metrolink.

Getting that far to/from a cancer center would be difficult for anyone not within the immediate Duarte area. But at least you had the City of Hope available to you as a local resource! It's one of the absolute best cancer centers in the entire world, and is unmatched in many so-called "Western" countries.

I had a dear friend who passed away far too young with lung cancer almost 15 years ago this year, and they were treated at City of Hope in Duarte. The care they received extended their life at least five years, and we all made sure they had a helluva lot of fun those last few years! I left a heartfelt donation to the City of Hope after he passed. They were truly remarkable at what they do.

Gifts That Cost You Nothing Now - City of Hope

Discover ways to support City of Hope through planned giving. Learn about charitable gifts that preserve your assets during your lifetime.

myplanwithcoh.org

 

[TP2000]

Not entirely true. I have one of the top plans at United Healthcare and they don’t cover medical transport, for a recent procedure where I couldn’t drive they wanted to charge me $300 for transport. Good thing I could get a friend to pick me up.

Most middle-class plans you get through an employer don't proactively cover free taxis to doctor's appointments, because they figure you have at least a 15 year old Honda Civic to drive yourself to your annual checkup. If you were physically unable to drive because of your sudden illness, you luckily had an option to pay $300 to your insurer, $30 to Uber, or get your friend to drive you for free.

But for low-income folks and those on Medicaid, free taxi/Uber service to routine doctor's appointments or emergency services to clinics or hospitals is covered. Because most poor folks on Medicaid don't have a 15 year old Honda Civic, or a friend with a 15 year old Honda Civic, or even $30 in the bank to cover an Uber to the doctor's office for their free medical care.

Also for most procedures that require you not to drive hospitals won’t allow you to take an Uber/Lyft or other ride share service because the drivers aren’t liable for medical incidents. So they won’t release you unless you have a proper ride that can be liable if an issue happens, either a family member/friend or medical transport.

So you are saying Uber or Lyft's app won't accept a ride with an end address at a hospital? I know that for a fact that is false.

 

[DLR92]

Not entirely true. I have one of the top plans at United Healthcare and they don’t cover medical transport, for a recent procedure where I couldn’t drive they wanted to charge me $300 for transport. Good thing I could get a friend to pick me up.

Also for most procedures that require you not to drive hospitals won’t allow you to take an Uber/Lyft or other ride share service because the drivers aren’t liable for medical incidents. So they won’t release you unless you have a proper ride that can be liable if an issue happens, either a family member/friend or medical transport.

I once had United healthcare…I would never go back to that insurance ever again. NO way!
They took many issues of expensive medications, treatments ordered by specialists at the time.
I’m still not sorry what happened with the CEO.

 

[Disney Irish]

Most middle-class plans you get through an employer don't proactively cover free taxis to doctor's appointments, because they figure you have at least a 15 year old Honda Civic to drive yourself to your annual checkup. If you were physically unable to drive because of your sudden illness, you luckily had an option to pay $300 to your insurer, $30 to Uber, or get your friend to drive you for free.

But for low-income folks and those on Medicaid, free taxi/Uber service to routine doctor's appointments or emergency services to clinics or hospitals is covered. Because most poor folks on Medicaid don't have a 15 year old Honda Civic, or a friend with a 15 year old Honda Civic, or even $30 in the bank to cover an Uber to the doctor's office for their free medical care.

The point was that your claim that "Private health insurance covers transportation to/from routine doctor's appointments or health check-ups for those who have no car or have no driver's license." is false. They don't cover it, they charge you. They don't care if you have a drivers license or not.

So you are saying Uber or Lyft's app won't accept a ride with an end address at a hospital? I know that for a fact that is false.

No, Uber and Lyft will take your business, they don't care. What I'm saying is that a hospital WILL NOT release you to an Uber or Lyft driver after a procedure, as the driver WILL NOT accept medical responsibility for you and the hospital WILL NOT release you to someone who will not accept that responsibility. I have first hand experience with this just recently. So no your are wrong here. Welcome to the world of medical litigation where everyone is CYOA.

 

[Disney Irish]

I once had United healthcare…I would never go back to that insurance ever again. NO way!
They took many issues of expensive medications, treatments ordered by specialists at the time.
I’m still not sorry what happened with the CEO.

Way off topic from this thread, but overall I have no complaints with the plan I have, they cover almost everything I need and hardly ever deny anything. I can't even remember the last time they denied anything. They already recently went from 30 day supply to allowing 90 day supply on medications, so that is a plus too.

It probably comes down to the plan you're on which coverage you get, as with me having one of their top plans its probably a better experience than one of their lower plans. Don't know what plan you were one, but sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[TP2000]

No, Uber and Lyft will take your business, they don't care. What I'm saying is that a hospital WILL NOT release you to an Uber or Lyft driver after a procedure, as the driver WILL NOT accept medical responsibility for you and the hospital WILL NOT release you to someone who will not accept that responsibility. I have first hand experience with this just recently. So no your are wrong here. Welcome to the world of medical litigation where everyone is CYOA.

Okay, so in this scenario, we have a middle-class person who had to have out-patient surgery. But they have no family in town, no neighbors they chat with occasionally, no friends in town, and they don't even know a co-worker they've been cordial with at the Xerox machine, and their doctor doesn't want them taking an Uber after their big surgery. So they either have to pay for an ambulance to drive them home.... or they need to make a new best friend in the lobby fast after their surgery?

I would think in that scenario, where a person has no family, no friends, no neighbors, no cordial co-workers, and Uber won't take them because of liability after their big surgery.... they're going to have to eat the cost of an ambulance to get back home.

But when they return to work next week, if I were them I'd start being a lot more friendly at the Xerox machine!

 

[Disney Irish]

Okay, so in this scenario, we have a middle-class person who had to have out-patient surgery. But they have no family in town, no neighbors they chat with occasionally, no friends in town, and they don't even know a co-worker they've been cordial with at the Xerox machine, and their doctor doesn't want them taking an Uber after their big surgery. So they either have to pay for an ambulance to drive them home.... or they need to make a new best friend in the lobby fast after their surgery?

I would think in that scenario, where a person has no family, no friends, no cordial co-workers, and Uber won't take them because of liability after their big surgery.... they're going to have to eat the cost of an ambulance to get back home.

But when they return to work next week, if I were them I'd start being a lot more friendly at the Xerox machine!

Yep, again welcome to the world of medical liability where you bear all responsibility on transport to and from a procedure and end up eating that cost because everyone is CYOA. If I couldn't have gotten a friend to pick me up it would have been $300 out of pocket just for a 10 minute ambulance ride. And forget about it if you don't have insurance, that ambulance ride ends up costing you like $4000 or more.

 

[TP2000]

Yep, again welcome to the world of medical liability where you bear all responsibility on transport to and from a procedure and end up eating that cost because everyone is CYOA. If I couldn't have gotten a friend to pick me up it would have been $300 out of pocket just for a 10 minute ambulance ride. And forget about it if you don't have insurance, that ambulance ride ends up costing you like $4000 or more.

This is why it's important to pick up a bar tab every once in awhile.

You'll never know when you need a favor.

 

[Disney Irish]

This is why it's important to pick up a bar tab every once in awhile.

You'll never know when you need a favor.

Yeah, well a hospital probably won't really want to release you to a drunk friend either, but that is another topic.....

 

[TP2000]

Yeah, well a hospital probably won't really want to release you to a drunk friend either, but that is another topic.....

You don't go to a bar on a Tuesday afternoon across the street for a hospital while your friend is having surgery! Who would do that?!?

You go out on Thursday evenings (with friends), on Friday nights (with your date) and Saturday night (to tell your friends about your last date).

How do people not know this?

 

[Disney Irish]

You don't go to a bar on a Tuesday afternoon across the street for a hospital while your friend is having surgery! Who would do that?!?

You go out on Thursday evenings (with friends), on Friday nights (with your date) and Saturday night (to tell your friends about your last date).

How do people not know this?

Oh you’d be surprised, I know a few patrons that would do just that. Heck I know one guy who literally checks himself out of the hospital and shows up at the bar 10 minutes later.

 

[Parteecia]

Thanks for all of your replies. Looking at insurance sites, including Medicare, I see a lot of "may", not so much "will".

Not exactly the case I was asking about, but for instance, friends getting colonoscopies put the plea out. I would 100% prefer provided transportation over inconveniencing a friend but this from the Mayo Clinic seems to confirm that it isn't always easy or covered.

No ride home? What to do instead of canceling your procedure - Mayo Clinic Press

Sometimes the hardest part about a medical procedure isn't the appointment itself. It's finding a ride home afterward. Some procedures, like colonoscopies or cataract surgeries, require you to have a responsible adult to drive you home when it's over. That's because anesthesia may make you too...

mcpress.mayoclinic.org

Haven't yet found the personal experience stories I was originally looking for.

ETA My first post on this subject was about people who live using public transportation only. If life is like sit-coms (I know) no one else in the friend group would be likely to have a car either.

 

[Disney Irish]

Thanks for all of your replies. Looking at insurance sites, including Medicare, I see a lot of "may", not so much "will".

Not exactly the case I was asking about, but for instance, friends getting colonoscopies put the plea out. I would 100% prefer provided transportation over inconveniencing a friend but this from the Mayo Clinic seems to confirm that it isn't always easy or covered.

No ride home? What to do instead of canceling your procedure - Mayo Clinic Press

Sometimes the hardest part about a medical procedure isn't the appointment itself. It's finding a ride home afterward. Some procedures, like colonoscopies or cataract surgeries, require you to have a responsible adult to drive you home when it's over. That's because anesthesia may make you too...

mcpress.mayoclinic.org

Haven't yet found the personal experience stories I was originally looking for.

ETA My first post on this subject was about people who live using public transportation only. If life is like sit-coms (I know) no one else in the friend group would be likely to have a car either.

Unfortunately for a car first society that the US has been for the last 70 years its hard for the non driver that relies on public transportation to do much of anything that would normally require a car, and in this scenario almost impossible without going into major debt or bumming a ride from a friend (if they even have a car like you mentioned). We have really done a disservice to our society by in many ways forcing someone to have to choose between getting and not getting a medical procedure all because they don't have a car.

My experience is probably not as unique as some would make it. There are plenty of single folks who drive but otherwise don't have a close ready support system that can be there for these type of situations, be it friends or family.

 

[Professortango1]

I know when my dad was fighting cancer, being a non-driver, we had to choose between a 3-hour bus ride to get 25 minutes away, or me taking off 3 hours a week to drive him to and from treatments as well as the time of the treatment itself. Getting chemo and bloodwork was a huge headache and financial impact due to the bus and availability of covered facilities.

Our medical system and public transit systems are terrible here in the US.

 

[TP2000]

I know when my dad was fighting cancer, being a non-driver, we had to choose between a 3-hour bus ride to get 25 minutes away, or me taking off 3 hours a week to drive him to and from treatments as well as the time of the treatment itself. Getting chemo and bloodwork was a huge headache and financial impact due to the bus and availability of covered facilities.

Our medical system and public transit systems are terrible here in the US.

Is there a country out there that has socialized healthcare that covers transportation to routine medical appointments and/or emergency transportation to the hospital? That transportation to both routine appointments and in emergencies being taken to a hospital is in fact covered by the US Medicaid and Medicare systems.

But Canada's healthcare system doesn't cover that, even in emergencies requiring an ambulance.

Neither does Australia's healthcare system, for either routine appointments or emergencies in an ambulance.

The NHS in the UK is a bit better, but nowhere near the blanket transportation benefit of the US system. If you qualify for it in the UK, basically by being in a wheelchair or confined to a stretcher or having a certain condition, the NHS will allow you to apply for a limited system of transportation to your doctor's office for specific treatment. It doesn't cover routine doctor's visits or trips to the pharmacy.

So those are three healthcare systems in the English speaking world that do not cover medical transportation, let alone routine transportation to doctor's visits, like the United States Medicare and Medicaid systems do.

Does anyone have any experience with other countries not in the Anglosphere? Mexico? Brazil? South Korea? Germany? India? Which countries government healthcare gives you free taxis to/from your doctor's office or hospital appointments like we get in the USA?

 

[Disney Irish]

Is there a country out there that has socialized healthcare that covers transportation to routine medical appointments and/or emergency transportation to the hospital? That transportation to both routine appointments and in emergencies being taken to a hospital is in fact covered by the US Medicaid and Medicare systems.

But Canada's healthcare system doesn't cover that, even in emergencies requiring an ambulance.

View attachment 873830

Neither does Australia's healthcare system, for either routine appointments or emergencies in an ambulance.

View attachment 873832

The NHS in the UK is a bit better, but nowhere near the blanket transportation benefit of the US system. If you qualify for it in the UK, basically by being in a wheelchair or confined to a stretcher or having a certain condition, the NHS will allow you to apply for a limited system of transportation to your doctor's office for specific treatment. It doesn't cover routine doctor's visits or trips to the pharmacy.

View attachment 873839

So those are three healthcare systems in the English speaking world that do not cover medical transportation, let alone routine transportation to doctor's visits, like the United States Medicare and Medicaid systems do.

Does anyone have any experience with other countries not in the Anglosphere? Mexico? Brazil? South Korea? Germany? India? Which countries government healthcare gives you free taxis to/from your doctor's office or hospital appointments like we get in the USA?

Outside of the Australian Outback, which lets face it if you're in the Outback you're not using the healthcare system for the most part anyways, what do most of those countries that have socialized healthcare outside of the US have in common? A well funded and perfectly filled out public transportation system, something that is very much lacking in this country and what is really the topic of this thread. So they don't need to rely on offsetting it with medical transport services (publicly paid or not), which makes your point basically moot. If this country had a better public transportation system the need for medical transport services wouldn't be needed except for emergencies.

Our shortsightedness on one side of the system ends up causing an issue in other parts of the system, a common tale here in the US.

 

[TP2000]

Outside of the Australian Outback, which lets face it if you're in the Outback you're not using the healthcare system for the most part anyways, what do most of those countries that have socialized healthcare outside of the US have in common? A well funded and perfectly filled out public transportation system, something that is very much lacking in this country and what is really the topic of this thread. So they don't need to rely on offsetting it with medical transport services (publicly paid or not), which makes your point basically moot. If this country had a better public transportation system the need for medical transport services wouldn't be needed except for emergencies.

I've travelled quite a lot in many countries in the past 50 years. Contrary to popular opinion, there is not a magic carpet of instant air trains waiting to take you from your front porch to your doctor's office, or anywhere really. You have to walk, you have to transfer trains, you have to transfer buses, you have to queue up on crowded platforms, strap hang on crowded trains, also do rain/ice/snow/heat/humidity etc., etc. That's true in Osaka and Oslo and everywhere in between that I've been to.

If I lived in the inner suburb of Burnaby, BC and wanted to get the 6 miles to Vancouver General Hospital for an afternoon appointment, I have two basic choices since the Canadian Medicare system does not cover free transportation to doctor's appointments or medical visits like the US Medicare/Medicaid system does.

I can either drive my own car, or get a friend or family member to drive me the 6 miles to Vancouver General Hospital in 25 minutes on surface streets.

Or, I could take Vancouver's public transportation system of buses and trains. It will require just over a mile of walking, plus an hour of transport time that will require two different buses and a Metro train to get there, plus some waiting in between buses and trains.

If I was sick and not feeling well and too poor to own a car, that over one hour commute of walking a mile and then transferring between two different buses and a train to get to the hospital's front door would convince me to just stay in bed and hope it blows over.

And if it's any time between October and April in Vancouver, that commute is cold and wet and no fun.

You could do this exact same "How Do I Get To The Hospital" commute scenario in Sydney and London and Manchester and Brisbane and Toronto and Paris and Munich and Stockholm and any other number of cities big and small around the world. And it would pan out the same.

But at least in the US, Medicaid provides free taxi rides from your front door direct to your doctor's appointments.

 

[Disney Irish]

I've travelled quite a lot in many countries in the past 50 years. Contrary to popular opinion, there is not a magic carpet of instant air trains waiting to take you from your front porch to your doctor's office, or anywhere really. You have to walk, you have to transfer trains, you have to transfer buses, you have to queue up on crowded platforms, strap hang on crowded trains, etc., etc. That's true in Osaka and Oslo and everywhere in between that I've been to.

If I lived in the inner suburb of Burnaby, BC and wanted to get the 6 miles to Vancouver General Hospital for an afternoon appointment, I have two basic choices since the Canadian Medicare system does not cover free transportation to doctor's appointments or medical visits like the US Medicare/Medicaid system does.

I can either drive my own car, or get a friend or family member to drive me the 6 miles to Vancouver General Hospital in 25 minutes on surface streets.

View attachment 873843

Or, I could take Vancouver's public transportation system of buses and trains. It will require just over a mile of walking, plus an hour of transport time that will require two different buses and a Metro train to get there, plus some waiting in between buses and trains.

View attachment 873844

If I was going to a routine doctor's appointment, I would much rather drive my own car or have a friend drive me. But I suppose if I was retired and it wasn't winter and I was too poor to own a car, the one mile walk and one hour bus/train commute would be manageable. But if I was sick and not feeling well and too poor to own a car, that over one hour commute of walking a mile and then transferring between two different buses and a train to get to the hospital's front door would convince me to just stay in bed and hope it blows over.

And if it's any time between October and April in Vancouver, that commute is cold and wet and no fun.

You could do this exact same "How Do I Get To The Hospital" commute scenario in Sydney and London and Manchester and Brisbane and Toronto and Paris and Munich and Stockholm any other number of cities big and small around the world. And it would pan out the same.

But at least in the US, Medicaid/Medicare provides free taxi rides from your front door direct to your doctor's appointments.

View attachment 873845

Where did I say "magic carpet that takes you door to door", I didn't. I said a well funded and perfectly filled out public transit system. Its well known that public transit systems outside the US are FAAAARRRRR superior to the ones inside the US. Not sure why that is even in dispute here.

Also I literally have co-workers that work/live in Vancouver and Montreal and don't drive and make it just fine on public transit to all their medical appointments without much need for transfers or a lot of extra walking that you're alluding to.

So yeah, you coming from a US car centric driving mentality would rather drive. But guess what, not everyone is like you and rather not own a car or have be required to drive just to get to a medical appointment. Some people would rather like the ease of taking public transportation, which again is the WHOLE point of what several posters here are talking about. Welcome to 2025 where not everyone is so focus on the status of owning a car.

 

[TP2000]

This topic is making me miss our old friend @CuriousConstance. There was a whole thread where she was nervous about how to tip her town car driver from John Wayne to the Disneyland Hotel. Tipping can be scary for some folks, although once you know the basics it can be a fun and rewarding way to honor good service and professionalism.

So I asked Google... do you tip your free Uber/taxi driver who is driving you for free to a doctor's appointment courtesy of the United States Medicare/Medicaid health system?

Apparently, you don't. But I'd still probably tip something, if it were me.