DCI Treatment Costs and Insurance

[rjack321]

get the highest level of coverage your provider offers. $500,000 USD is not unreasonable when you are potentially talking about evac costs, chamber costs, and ICU costs.

 

[Kevrumbo]

It’s not the chamber cost you need to be concerned with. It’s the helicopter bill. $5,000 just to start the engine and expect a total chopper bill of near $50,000. Yes 4 zeroes. Been there and got the bill.

For a private service Life Flight, yes it can be that expensive.

For US Coast Guard, and Los Angeles County Government EMS Sheriff/Fire Dept Helicopter Medevac, most of the maintenance & operational costs are US Citizen and/or California Los Angeles County Resident tax-payer supported. . . (And again with the caveat -here in Southern California and only in Southern California).

 

[scubadada]

I have a good friend in Boynton Beach, FL who had a very serious type II DCS hit. He was brought back into Boynton Harbor Marina. I was not there and can't vouch for details. I was told they asked what kind of coverage he had and he said DAN. I was told the response to this was to order the helicopter. The distance from Boynton Beach to West Palm, where the chamber is located, is about 15-20 miles. He was helicoptered to the chamber and waited 3-4 hours for his treatment. He did fine, is back to diving, I did his 1st dive with him post DCS and we did about 10 minutes at 15 feet, he was on oxygen. He dives more typically, though conservatively, today.

 

[KenGordon]

I have a good friend in Boynton Beach, FL who had a very serious type II DCS hit. He was brought back into Boynton Harbor Marina. I was not there and can't vouch for details. I was told they asked what kind of coverage he had and he said DAN. I was told the response to this was to order the helicopter. The distance from Boynton Beach to West Palm, where the chamber is located, is about 15-20 miles. He was helicoptered to the chamber and waited 3-4 hours for his treatment. He did fine, is back to diving, I did his 1st dive with him post DCS and we did about 10 minutes at 15 feet, he was on oxygen. He dives more typically, though conservatively, today.

This is wh6 there exist loss adjusters.

How long would it have taken an ambulance to cover the distance? Was there an alternative chamber which would have dealt with him more quickly?

Sounds a bit poor.

 

[DogDiver]

Closest chamber in north Florida cave country is Albany Georgia. 100+ miles. Chopper only. I ran the two monoplace chambers in one of the outpatient facilities in Gainesville for a year. They are 9-5 Mon-Fri for burns and wound care only.

 

[Nettie-NZ]

Thanks for all the input. It’s definitely helped me with making an informed decision on what level of cover to purchase. It also makes me glad to live in Kiwiland where we are very fortunate not to have to personally pay for medical costs from accidents (including diving) when they happen here!

 

[scubadada]

This is wh6 there exist loss adjusters.

How long would it have taken an ambulance to cover the distance? Was there an alternative chamber which would have dealt with him more quickly?

Sounds a bit poor.

This is the closet chamber, just 20-25 minutes by ambulance. He waited hours for his treatment, the helicopter was not indicated, but got paid by DAN. I'm a physician, this seems like taking advantage of the system.

 

[hammet]

I have a good friend in Boynton Beach, FL who had a very serious type II DCS hit. He was brought back into Boynton Harbor Marina. I was not there and can't vouch for details. I was told they asked what kind of coverage he had and he said DAN. I was told the response to this was to order the helicopter. The distance from Boynton Beach to West Palm, where the chamber is located, is about 15-20 miles. He was helicoptered to the chamber and waited 3-4 hours for his treatment. He did fine, is back to diving, I did his 1st dive with him post DCS and we did about 10 minutes at 15 feet, he was on oxygen. He dives more typically, though conservatively, today.

details of the DCS dive????

 

[tc]

Back when I was on volunteer crew (2006-07) at the Catalina Chamber, a basic Table 6 Treatment cost was around 3k to 4k US Dollars, plus another $10k or so if US Coast Guard or LA County Sheriff's helicopter medevac is required to deliver you to the facility.

Here in Southern California -and only in Southern California- the Catalina Recompression Chamber is run by the local civilian municipal government Emergency Medical Service Department of Los Angeles County, and therefore will always treat any diving casualty 24/7 regardless whether the patient has medical insurance or DAN accident coverage, or even the ability to pay -or not. . .

Home > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Kev, that’s not exactly accurate.

The USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is set up as an independent non-profit corporation under USC auspices, not the county.

We have a contract with the county that provides a significant portion of our funding each year, and we do work and cooperate with all of the local and federal agencies. But, stating that they run our program is simply not true.

See this link- How the Chamber is Funded > USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The chamber facilities are considered an “extension” of the USC emergency room in order to simplify patient transfers and having USC medical staff provide medical direction and staffing for cases.

It’s federal law that any emergency room must treat and minimally stabilize any patient regardless of their ability to pay. I suppose a chambers legal connection to the hospital would determine if they would fall under the same requirement. In a serious DCS case or embolism I would consider chamber treatment to be necessary for stabilization.

For a private service Life Flight, yes it can be that expensive.

For US Coast Guard, and Los Angeles County Government EMS Sheriff/Fire Dept Helicopter Medevac, most of the maintenance & operational costs are US Citizen and/or California Los Angeles County Resident tax-payer supported. . . (And again with the caveat -here in Southern California and only in Southern California).

Not quite sure what you’re saying in this post, Coast Guard covers the entire US and many local and state agencies operate helicopter rescue services. If you’re referring to part about the Los Angeles county services operating only in Southern California then that’s accurate if kind of obvious. But the municipal services operate that way all over the country.

You keep saying “Only in Southern California”, how have you verified that information?

 

[Nettie-NZ]

Actually - it’s a Government insurance scheme - so we pay compulsory premiums for it. No free lunch in this country either Muchacho!