Veteran taken to civilian hospital

Question:

I was taken to a nearby hospital ER as a result of a seizure I had while on the job. Apparently the people in authority who called the the ambulance did not tell EMS of my veteran status and I was unconscious. By the time I came to,  I had been admitted to the facility. I do not know and my wife cannot remember whether she was notified before this happened. Now they are trying to stick me a $19,000 bill. Is there anything the VA can do about this?

Jim's Reply:

Probably not. Although there are rules, the VA doesn't always follow them. Outrageous hospital bills are fairly common complaints of people who are delivered there by ambulance or when they're unconscious, as with this story.  You can file claims with VA seeking some help but with the way VA has handled similar claims recently, I can't vouch for how much help you'll receive. The best thing we can do to protect ourselves from these situations is to make sure our loved ones and our coworkers understand what we would want in case of an emergency.