Comment on 10 miles to escape a bill
TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 1 day agoHelicopter rescue costs are pretty common even in places with socialized healthcare, especially if they can be labeled as reckless extractions. Standard European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) generally do not cover mountain or helicopter rescue transport. A lot of different Alpine or Mountaineering Clubs offer insurance directly for this purpose as part of their fees.
Which makes sense really. Socialized networks shouldn’t have to absorb the cost of people seeking a dangerous thrill. In the end it comes down to whether you want to treat the cancer of a couple children, or save a rich guy from a mountain and the consequences of his own poor decisions?
Nephew got bit by a tick while on an island in Stockholm’s archipelago. Developed a ring around the bite. Rather than have them wait for 3 hours to take the boat, or even get a taxi boat, a helicopter had him at the hospital and under care within an hour. For that and two nights in the hospital, they got charged nothing.
When he was released, he was on his way back to the helipad to get a ride back to the island and we had to explain to him that we were gonna need to get the bus/boat.
blackbeans@lemmy.zip 4 hours ago
They do cover rescue costs, but only up to a certain limit. You can get a temporary (and affordable) travel insurance for special activities such as thrilling mountain adventures possibly leading to a helicopter rescue. If you don’t have such an insurance the cost will not be as high as in the US, but can still be thousands of euros.