Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 55 of total 55 in this topic |
snakefoot
climber
Nor Cal
|
|
crazy cheap. give me the check and i can give it to them this september, ha.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
I’m having the same problem trying to buy a linear actuator from a large firm there.
They’re like in the 1980’s there.
“Have you people heard of credit cards?”
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
Our healthcare system sucks.
No, it doesn't suck, it's actually a criminal system masqueraded as healthcare .....
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there say, werner... well said...
ps:
*should also put a edit here:
i have so many older folks, hurt through the years, by it...
and of recent, more-so...
(as we well-know, there are families, as well)
:(
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there say, del cross...
i know two folks that might know how to do that...
however, that is 'might' and, they are older folks from
europe, so, whatever they 'used to do' may have changed...
you most likely will find out what to do before i get hold of them...
but, just wanted to say:
we're trying to help, :)
no at a bank, knows what to tell you, or,
who to advise you to go to?
it'll get solved, hang in there... :)
hope her leg is doing good... :)
say, does, paypal turns payments into euros?
oh, and, what about the credit card option,
like the one poster, shared???
|
|
SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
|
|
Werner's got it right.
|
|
stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
|
|
As someone who works in healthcare, it's hard to see things like this, as it does really indicate how broken the system is.
Similarly I hate to see all the GoFundMe requests. While I've contributed to a few, it's not something we should have to do for relatively standard care.
|
|
Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
|
|
Take your check/cheque. Cross out the $ symbol and write the amount. Label it EUROS next to the written amount and put the € in front of the numeric amount.
Not hard.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there say, del cross...
also, say, since, someone here helped me learned what euros, was...
well, can you also ask ?banks? or, the folks you owe:
isn't there a euro exchange, in italy, or ANY other country, as well...
like if you sent in US money, couldn't they 'turn it into euros'
for you to have it paid then???
ooops:
or, does only work the opposite? --you send the euros, and
then, italy, gets their OWN money, that way ... etc...
just curious if anyone knows if this exist??
*my german friend, just went to bed...
so can't ask her what she does... tonight... :(
oh big edit here:
just saw this... what you share, on your bill:
by wire...
say, folks MUST do this all time...
they 'wire' system would know what to do, wouldn't it...
:)
|
|
clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
|
|
In the USA, hop to a bank and bring a mask.
|
|
phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
|
|
Two options I can imagine: Traveler’s cheques are probably considered bank checks? Go to your bank and see if they will sell you whatever the minimum amount is in euros. Make it out to the payee , mail. You may need to buy more than 100 euros worth but with the temainder. Save for later use or just change back to dollars. You’ll lose some on fees and exchange rate.
Or call the payees bank and get the proper string info for the wire transfer. Wire transfer fee for international could be 1/3 your bill!
|
|
Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
|
|
You should be able to walk into any bank and buy a bank check for the amount in Euro's. You'll probably want to talk to someone at a desk, the teller might not be able to initiate the exchange.
My brother lives in France and I handle his US banking for him. I do it all the time. Wire transfers are expensive.
Edit. I should have said your bank. I've only done this at a bank where we have our accounts. Another might be fine too, but that I haven't done.
|
|
John M
climber
|
|
Del.. it might not be called an international check. It might be called an international bank draft on their website. I would go into your bank and skip the teller. I would stand around near the desks until someone there asks you what you need. That works for me. They usually find someone to help me. But I mostly deal with small town banks.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there say, ksolem... good info...
wow, and that you have gone through it, sure helps...
oh my-- whewwwww, did not know wire, was expensive... :O
oops, that doesn't sound good then...
say, i wondered about travelers checks, but had
heard much about them, anymore, either...
good to learn more about that...
thanks, at some points, others may need this info...
good thread, del cross...
say, let us know how it turns out...
:)
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
Who uses them?
Uh, nobody. Pretty sure you can’t even get them anymore.
BITD (when they were commonly used) , in bumphuk Gaspé, Canada, I filled up at a petrol
station and the 18 yr old rube had no clue what American Express or travelers’ cheques
were. I told him (in French) to ask his boss. His boss came out and looked at the doofus
and actually gave him a dope slap! HaHaHa!
|
|
DonC
climber
CA
|
|
In Nov I had a LifeFlight from Lone Pine to Loma Linda. About a one hour flight in a Cessna with pilot and one paramedic. Bill was $67k.
|
|
zBrown
Ice climber
|
|
It took them two years to get an invoice out?
Or
They got it to you timely and you've been sitting on it for two years?
Sit tight
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
DonC,
That plane wasn’t worth much more than that probably. What a ripoff. Let’s see:
$75/hr for the para
$35/hr for the time-builder/pilot
$250/hr (to be generous) for the plane
x2 for the return = $700 + 100 profit = $800
Offer ‘em a G note or pound dirt.
|
|
DonC
climber
CA
|
|
I have good insurance and it didn't cost me a dime, but was shocked to see the bill. My entire 5 day episode was around $350k
|
|
zBrown
Ice climber
|
|
And. ... they've told you they're going to drop you?
|
|
tom woods
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
|
|
$700 per stitch at Mammoth Hospital. Werner is right.
AS for the OP, call them with a credit card. They'll figure it out.
|
|
DonC
climber
CA
|
|
no, I'm good
|
|
Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
|
|
So if they said wire transfer was one of the options, just ask them for their wire transfer account info and take it to your bank. They'll be able to do it no problem -- although they'll probably charge you ten bucks for it.
|
|
JC Marin
Trad climber
CA
|
|
man I was in the ER a couple of months ago for about 6 hours (turned out to be nothing major) and the bill (with my awesome insurance plan) was only $4,325.67
|
|
healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
|
|
I did an ambulance ride to the ER and an overnight stay in a hospital room - all that was done was an IV and tests. Bill: $20k (the hospital I was taken to was out-of-network for the room and most of the doctors and tests).
|
|
Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
|
|
They'll be able to do it no problem -- although they'll probably charge you ten bucks for it.
The last wire transfer I sent to France was $40.00 US. Did I say last?
|
|
kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
|
|
^^ you have to have a PayPal account to use that service. Neither of us have one and neither of us want one.
Reading a bit more, it seems that Paypal charges a hidden fee of about 2.5% on the exchange rate.
See if Western Union will work for you here:
https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/send-money/app/start
There's a $10 fee for sending 100 Euros, and you can pay using a credit card.
|
|
JimT
climber
Munich
|
|
I run a business in Germany and get payment from all over the world so....
Some foreign banks still think the world uses the SWIFT system to identify banks (obviously yours does) but on the invoice it is probably called a BIC
(Bank Identity Code). The two are the same thing so on my invoices I write BIC(SWIFT) PBNKDEFF and you´ll probably find it´s just BIC on their´s. The account should be a long IBAN number (mine is DE86 7001 0080 0902 5818 xx). You´ll normally also need the name of the bank and maybe the adress if your bank isn´t used to international transfers.
The alternative is naturally to just change your dollars into €100 note and post it but I guess that´s a bit simplistic!!!
And yes, Italy has universal health care like most of Europe but don´t be suprised if there is a certain element of do-it-yourself, I´ve been stitched back together for free but the tetanus injection I had to buy and do myself.
|
|
justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
|
|
Can you imagine this going the other way? Euro visiting the US trips and breaks a ...toe. They go to Emergency - who wrap a little tape on it and call it bueno. Months later after they get home they get a bill for $38,000.00.
|
|
Hoser
climber
Vancouver,Rome
|
|
You can make a bonifico at your bank in euros for a fee, and then there will be a fee for the Italian bank as well - so its twice. So if you pay the 50 and only send 100 euros, they will only get 70 euros...so you need to make it for a bit more.
Nothing is easy or straight forward here.
You need
SWIFT CODE
Bank Code
IBAN
Bank Account Number
Emergency care here is free so I am not sure where the charge is coming from. But good on you for paying.
IF you have a website post it, I dont mind making the call for you if you like.
|
|
Hoser
climber
Vancouver,Rome
|
|
I run a business in Germany and get payment from all over the world so....
Some foreign banks still think the world uses the SWIFT system to identify banks (obviously yours does) but on the invoice it is probably called a BIC
(Bank Identity Code). The two are the same thing so on my invoices I write BIC(SWIFT) PBNKDEFF and you´ll probably find it´s just BIC on their´s. The account should be a long IBAN number (mine is DE86 7001 0080 0902 5818 xx). You´ll normally also need the name of the bank and maybe the adress if your bank isn´t used to international transfers.
The alternative is naturally to just change your dollars into €100 note and post it but I guess that´s a bit simplistic!!!
And yes, Italy has universal health care like most of Europe but don´t be suprised if there is a certain element of do-it-yourself, I´ve been stitched back together for free but the tetanus injection I had to buy and do myself.
My Canadian account uses SWIFT.
I do not have BIC on my Italian account.
You do need the name and the address
In addition to universal health care, all emergency care is free for all, but not outpatient costs - however the costs are significantly less than Canada and US.
|
|
10b4me
Social climber
Janie's
|
|
In Nov I had a LifeFlight from Lone Pine to Loma Linda. About a one hour flight in a Cessna with pilot and one paramedic. Bill was $67k.
ridiculous
|
|
beaner
Social climber
Maine
|
|
Can you imagine this going the other way? Euro visiting the US trips and breaks a ...toe. They go to Emergency - who wrap a little tape on it and call it bueno. Months later after they get home they get a bill for $38,000.00.
I'm on a volunteer SAR team. We had a patient from Quebec with an open leg fracture and other trauma resulting from a pretty significant fall. He left with a >$80K hospital bill (LifeFlight ride, some surgeries, 3 days in the hospital) before he could return to Quebec for the rest of his treatment.
He had no insurance for the US healthcare system.
|
|
JLP
Social climber
The internet
|
|
This is EZ - call the clinic with your credit card in hand. Chances are nearly singular someone in health care there speaks English. Done.
Next option is to find an e-mail to the clinic and communicate that way.
In either case, Visa/Mastercard takes care of all the transfer details, happens everywhere a billion times a day.
Your other option is to ignore the letter. They have no way to collect. Bad karma, but an option. I do this with foreign traffic tickets, haven't been to a hospital.
EDIT - FWIW - I just got a bill from an anesthesiologist for $195k - works out to about $100k / hour. It's the most impressive bill to my insurance company yet. Between the docs, hospitals and insurance companies - they're all greedy fuks and I dislike all of them equally.
|
|
Barbarian
climber
|
|
Our healthcare system sucks.
We don't have a healthcare system. We have an insurance industry pretending to be a healthcare system.
|
|
JimT
climber
Munich
|
|
The SWIFT Code or SWIFT-BIC or BIC are all the same thing.
SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication and they issue a Bank Identifier Code (BIC).
Depending on the bank or country it´s got various names but it´s always the same thing.
The IBAN number actually identifies the bank as well with the first two letters identifying the country, the next two digits are the proof total, the next group bank and branch and the rest the account number. It was a system promoted by the USA but never put in use there, it´s standard in Europe and a lot of the world.
Out-of-date banking systems always ask for the physical adress of the bank (my brothers in England does) but this is a problem in the modern age, my bank doesn´t have a physical adress for a start!
You tell your bank to transfer €100 to the account, that way the charges fall your end and they will recieve the correct amount.
The idea above that you call an Italian hospital with your credit card ready is laughable!
If the bill is unpaid standard practice is to sell the debt to a collection agency in your own country, an expensive procedure. Parking tickets are the same (I know this!). Or on entry to Italy anytime in the future you will be pulled over and made to pay (plus costs).
|
|
JLP
Social climber
The internet
|
|
The idea above that you call an Italian hospital with your credit card ready is laughable!
Italy does not live in the 70's, nor do we.
Here's a hospital near the Dolomites with online bill pay.
http://www.aulss8.veneto.it/nodo.php/2235
I'd call, speak to a human being. It's nearly certain someone near the front desk knows English.
|
|
zBrown
Ice climber
|
|
Suppose you just sit tight like I suggested
Let them come after the money
They'll accept it then
I bet
|
|
mcreel
climber
Barcelona
|
|
We don't have a healthcare system. We have an insurance industry pretending to be a healthcare system.
No, it's a mafia pretending to be an insurance industry pretending to be a healthcare system.
My son cut his thumb at City of Rocks, preparing a stick to roast a weenie, and we went to the hospital in Burley. The bill was $600 or so, for several stitches. Did see several owls on the drive, though.
By the way, we got reimbursed for the expenses by the Spanish socialist health care system.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there say, barbarian... nice to see you...
happy good eve...
|
|
Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
|
|
$250 for one leg
$400 and I do both for you
|
|
Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
|
|
I use Western Union to send money to Nepal. Surely it would work in Italy too?
You could calculate the exchange rate between dollars and euros, add a percentage and send a cashier's check with a note saying you'll make up the difference when they tell you what it was.
Banks, and train stations can exchange money there.
|
|
monolith
climber
state of being
|
|
When you wire money at a bank can you include a message with pertinent details?
Yes. No need to go to a bank as well, most allow it online.
|
|
Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Glenwood Springs, CO
|
|
My Wife cracked her ankle pretty good BASE jumping off the coast of Greece. A mainland Greece hospital visit, 3 x-ray's and a splint w/crutches was 22euros..
|
|
blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
|
|
I suppose that countries that don't pay much if anything for defense (relying on the US instead) can afford to subsidize health care more than we can.
Sounds like a great deal (for them). Hopefully Trump can fix this in some small part at least and get our health care costs down a bit.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
hey there, say, del cross... thanks for the update...
hope to hear that get some success...
:)
|
|
Jorroh
climber
|
|
"I suppose that countries that don't pay much if anything for defense (relying on the US instead) can afford to subsidize health care more than we can."
No, they have constructed functioning health care systems whose per capita cost is a fraction of the cost of our marginally functional health care system.
Blah, Blah, Blah....always wrong...about everything...all the time.
|
|
blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
|
|
^ ^ ^
Foreign countries may be a little more economical when patching you up when you sprain your ankle or whatever, but if anything weird happens you'll be happy to be in the good ol' U S of A.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/01/26/canadian-couple-forced-to-travel-to-u-s-to-treat-parasitic-worms_a_23344710/
Canadian Couple Forced To Travel To U.S. To Treat Parasitic Worms
Anyway, so what if our health care system is a little more expensive? We get better care, and the money goes to doctors, nurses, office workers who handle the claims, etc. Just think of it as a little Keynesian economics, remember that unemployment is the great scourge of modern societies, and you'll see our way, while a little weird, actually works pretty well.
|
|
mcreel
climber
Barcelona
|
|
|
Mar 10, 2018 - 02:45am PT
|
I think that the quality of care is certainly not better in the U.S. than in Italy, Spain, etc, supposing you're in a situation to actually receive care in the U.S., instead of dying under a bridge. If they see that you're covered, then you're likely to get unnecessary tests and operations, all of which run up the bill, but which actually increase your risk of dying or getting post-operative infections, etc. Now, there may be places where quality of care is an issue, but Western Europe is not one of them.
The U.S. system is broken very badly. But taking on the health care mafia is like taking on the NRA: good luck with that!
|
|
healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
|
|
|
Mar 10, 2018 - 04:18am PT
|
I suppose that countries that don't pay much if anything for defense (relying on the US instead) can afford to subsidize health care more than we can.
Ensuring American families are healthy, educated, and not one medical event from financial ruin should be considered a front-line form of defense of the realm - putting any other form of defense, including the military, is a case of some seriously f*#ked up national priorities.
P.S. Ivermectin is more a tropical and veterinary medicine so it's not particularly surprising that it's not licensed for sale in Canada's healthcare system for human use even if it should be available for travelers returning from tropical locales. Still, it's an edge case hardly indicative of any serious problem with Canada's healthcare system and it doesn't say anything significant about ours either.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Mar 10, 2018 - 07:59am PT
|
Although I don't want to move to Italy it appears that overall they have a superior health care system there.
Cheaper doesn’t equate to better ‘care’. As with Canada and Britain I aver that you will have
a long wait for anything non-emergent. And you have seen how inefficient things are in Italy.
I love it there but the inefficiencies drive me crazy.
|
|
JimT
climber
Munich
|
|
|
Mar 10, 2018 - 09:17am PT
|
I´m not sure anyone said cheaper means better care, the comment was that overall they have a better health care system.
I´ve lived in a fair few countries and undoubtedly for the rich the USA has one of the best care available but for the poor you are down in the third world level. The typical European model gives far better general health care for ALL, irrespective of income and good to excellent for those willing to pay more. The main difference to the US system being those who can afford private health care still have to support the general health care system, in the UK you can be privately insured BUT you cannot opt out of contributing to the National Health Service. I am privately insured in Germany which means I receive treatment comparable to the top-tier in the USA (in fact my health insurance policy allows me any treatment in any country in the world) but I still have to contribute to the health care for the unemployed, homeless and other disadvantaged groups and this is the way universal health care should work in a civilised country.
The only advantages for me being privately insured are I get treated by a doctor higher in the ranks, I can have a single room and get treated sooner for non-urgent stuff, the food is the same, the guy who cuts me open is the same and the nurses are just as attractive.
My wife is a doctor by the way, her public and private patients are all the same when it comes to treatment, just the private ones you can "sell" optional extras to!
|
|
| Messages 1 - 55 of total 55 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!