any - Medical costs after accident

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Tue 26 Jul 2016 08:45
any - Medical costs after accident - oldroverboy.
I am looking for points of interest to put forward a suggestion to my MP that

"All costs incurred by the nhs following a motor vehicle accident should be covered by the guilty parties insurance"

naturally once fault has been apportioned.

I have 2 friends who have been hospitalized after accidents and the costs are probably
in the hundreds of thousands between operations/intensive care and rehabilitation.
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Tue 26 Jul 2016 10:00
any - Medical costs after accident - NARU
To do that, the NHS would have to start tracking costs and routinely present bills. That's not something it is set up to do.

Is the cost of the bureaucracy worth it? Would it just lead to increased NHS costs and increased motor insurance premiums?
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Tue 26 Jul 2016 10:36
any - Medical costs after accident - Wackyracer
I think this is a trivial matter in comparison to the numbers of health tourists the NHS treats every year and recent migrants who have never paid in a penny in NI contributions and taxes.

The NHS wastes much more money than these car accidents cost. Henry Marsh (one of the worlds best brain surgeons) often talked about the total disorganisation and money wasting of the NHS and he worked for them for most of his life.

When Mr Marsh worked abroad with his friend in Ukraine they used a Bosch cordless drill and the same skull perforator (drill bit) for 15 years, here in the UK they use 1 perforator per operation and throw it away @ £80 a go.

He also states that he spent more time towards the end of his career laying on a sofa in the surgeons room waiting for a decision on if they would operate on another patient that day rather just getting on with it.

If we start charging per patient, we could be looking at the end of the NHS, although I think that is going to be happening at some point.

Edited by Wackyracer on 26/07/2016 at 10:38

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Tue 26 Jul 2016 13:13
any - Medical costs after accident - RT

There's a flawed principle here - it may seem reasonable that the "at fault" party is responsible for health charges - but should that also apply to self-inflicted injury or injury whilst drunk - what about ignoring health guidelines, would that make people liable for their own health costs?

The other issue here is that few accidents are 100:0 - and the cost of lawyers arguing whether an accident is 80:20 or 75:25 would just go through the roof.

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Tue 26 Jul 2016 13:54
any - Medical costs after accident - Cyd

I presume this idea was inspired by the American system? (If indeed it can be called a 'system')

Whilst on the one hand it kinda sounds logical, this suggestion ignores several practicalities (as outlined above) as well as one of the founding principles of the NHS. Namely that medical care is available to all citizens (and most visitors, but not all) based on medical need and free of charge at the point of use.

Whilst I would agree the NHS is not a paragon of financial virtue, it is one of the most cost effective health systems in the world. As a user of the NHS (after a serious mountain biking accident) I fully appreciate the NHS despite its faults and wouldn’t give it up for all the tea in China.

I also oppose the growth of the “compensation culture”. The only winners are the lawyers.

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Tue 26 Jul 2016 16:09
any - Medical costs after accident - slkfanboy
I can think of 116bn reasons cost should be recovered with the UK getting in debt to pay for the worlds ills
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Tue 26 Jul 2016 16:30
any - Medical costs after accident - John F
"All costs incurred by the nhs following a motor vehicle accident should be covered by the guilty parties insurance" naturally once fault has been apportioned

This is an old chestnut, often revisited. All the points against it made here so far continue to be valid. The only people in favour would be lawyers and those who work in the insurance industry.

The American 'system' of health care is a superb example of how not to do it. They spend twice the percentage of GNP than we do on it and have a life expectancy 2yrs less than us, with millions underinsured plus unquantifiable financial uncertainty and worry when illness strikes a family.

Edited by John F on 26/07/2016 at 16:31

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Tue 26 Jul 2016 17:02
any - Medical costs after accident - daveyjp
Why only car accidents?

There are 100s of accidents every day where negligence plays a part, shouldn't all those guilty parties also have to have insurance to pay medical bills?

You can guarantee claims would be much higher than the cost of the treatment and that ends up in the insurance cost.

Look how much it costs to have a car repaired via insurance, rather than at a bodyshop, all to pay for the system.

Go to a vet and they will ask if you have insurance. If you haven't the bill can be far far less.

The idea is the thin end of a very thick wedge.
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Fri 29 Jul 2016 10:48
any - Medical costs after accident - grumpyscot
In Scotland, St Andrew's Ambulance sometimes send a bill after an RTA. Certainly did in my neighbour's case and the other party's insurers paid.
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Fri 29 Jul 2016 12:01
any - Medical costs after accident - Wackyracer
In Scotland, St Andrew's Ambulance sometimes send a bill after an RTA. Certainly did in my neighbour's case and the other party's insurers paid.

I seem to remember my uncle having to pay for an ambulance after he was involved in a motorcycle accident in London in the 1970's
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Fri 29 Jul 2016 12:56
any - Medical costs after accident - brum
OP needs to wake up It already exists in law and has since 1988 and revised in the
road traffic (nhs charges) act 1999

When I was involved in an accident several years ago, the hospital invoiced me £175 per person iirc who was checked over in a&e (no injuries). This was paid by the insurance company who normally recover it from the guilty party's insurance.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1519272.stm

Edited by brum on 29/07/2016 at 12:58

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Fri 29 Jul 2016 14:21
any - Medical costs after accident - alan1302
I am looking for points of interest to put forward a suggestion to my MP that "All costs incurred by the nhs following a motor vehicle accident should be covered by the guilty parties insurance" naturally once fault has been apportioned. I have 2 friends who have been hospitalized after accidents and the costs are probably in the hundreds of thousands between operations/intensive care and rehabilitation.

Where do you stop though? If they afreed this then should you be charged if you hurt yourself? If you play football should you be insured against injury? If you smoke should you pay your way?

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Fri 29 Jul 2016 15:24
any - Medical costs after accident - Dwight Van Driver
I have always understood that the first person giving medical attention to a motorist involved in an accident can make a claim on that persons insurance for the cost.

When I was involved in the set up of Basic in N Yorks the participating Doctors agreed that when called to an RTA they would waive this claim in order that the Casualty Dept could make this claim and benefit.

dvd
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Fri 29 Jul 2016 23:19
any - Medical costs after accident - brum
"Each time there is an accident, a motor insurer is legally obliged to inform the NHS, which will determine if it is liable for any costs.

Under the old system, the NHS could claim a flat-rate fee of £21.30 for emergency treatment, but under the new system it can claim much more - £354.

The NHS can also recover the costs of hospital admissions. Insurers are charged £435 per day with a maximum charge of £10,000 in any one case."

Edited by brum on 29/07/2016 at 23:21

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