EL SEGUNDO HERALD December 28, 2017 Page 3 Health Care Law from front page 2018 The Jewelry Source 337 Main St. El Segundo. 310-322-7110 www.jewelrysourceUSA.com ©2007 NEW EAR’S RESOLUTION Less whine, more shine Calendar of Events Deadline for Calendar items is the prior Thursday by noon. Calendar items are $1 per word. Email listings to marketing@heraldpublications. com. We take Visa and MasterCard. THURSDAY, DEC. 28 • El Segundo Farmer’s Market, 3:00 PM. – 7:00 PM., located on Main Street, Downtown El Segundo. • Winter Break for All ESUSD Schools – NO SCHOOL FRIDAY, DEC. 29 • Bingo, 1:00 PM. - 3:00 PM., 50 Plus, $3.00 minimum, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call Diane: 310-640-9577. • Winter Break for All ESUSD Schools – NO SCHOOL SATURDAY, DEC. 30 • Saturday Night Dance, 7:00 PM. – 9:45 PM., Cost: $3.00 Per Person, Adults of all Ages Welcome, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call: 310-524-2705. SUNDAY, DEC. 31 • HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE!! MONDAY, JAN. 1 • HAPPY NEW YEAR!! – NO SCHOOL for ESUSD Students • El Segundo Public Library – CLOSED for New Year’s Day TUESDAY, JAN. 2 • BACK TO SCHOOL for all ESUSD Students • Pinochle, 11:30 AM. – 3:30 PM., Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call Pam at: 310-318-2856. • City Council Meeting, 7:00 PM., City Hall, 350 Main Street, Call: 310-524-2306. • El Segundo Kiwanis Club Meeting, 12:10 PM., The Lakes at El Segundo, 400 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Contact: elsegundokiwanis.org. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 3 • Bowling, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, 50 Plus, Senior Club of El Segundo, Gable House Bowl, 22501 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, Cost: $8.25 for 3 games, Call Joyce at: 310-322-7621. • ESHS PTA Meeting, 7:00 PM. – 8:00 PM., ESHS Library, 640 Main Street, Call: 310- 615-2662. THURSDAY, JAN. 4 • El Segundo Farmer’s Market, 3:00 PM. – 7:00 PM., located on Main Street, Downtown El Segundo. • El Segundo Historical Committee Meeting, 7:00 PM. – 8:00 PM., El Segundo Public Library, 111 W. Mariposa Ave., Call: 310- 364-0117. FRIDAY, JAN. 5 • Bingo, 1:00 PM. - 3:00 PM., 50 Plus, $3.00 minimum, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call Diane: 310-640-9577. SATURDAY, JAN. 6 • El Segundo Public Library History Room is OPEN from 1:00 PM. – 3:00 PM., the first Saturday of every month. • Saturday Night Dance, 7:00 PM. – 9:45 PM., Cost: $3.00 Per Person, Adults of all Ages Welcome, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call: 310-524-2705. SUNDAY, JAN. 7 • Bridge & Pinochle Groups, 11:30 AM. – 3:45 PM, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call Pam at: 310-318-2856. MONDAY, JAN. 8 • Canasta Group, 12:00 PM. – 3:00 PM., 50 Plus, Free, Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call Pam at: 310-318-2856. TUESDAY, JAN. 9 • Pinochle, 11:30 AM. – 3:30 PM., Senior Club of El Segundo, 339 Sheldon St., Call Pam at: 310-318-2856. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 10 • Bowling, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, 50 Plus, Senior Happy Holidays Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy, Inc. Davis & DeRosa Physical Therapy, established in 2003, provides a quaint boutique practice located in El Segundo, California. The 4,000 square foot facility is a well known practice offering its patients private, personal treatment by a licensed therapist at every visit. Patients are guaranteed one-on-one attention for their 45-minute treatment. THE PRACTICE SPECIALIZES IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT FOR: Chronic Neck and Back Pain Pre and Post Surgical Rehabilitation Sports Injuries Work Injuries Neurological Disorders Foot and Ankle Disorders (including orthotics) Osteoporosis and other Age Related Disorders Balance and Vestibular Disorders Injury Prevention Troy Davis Owner, PT, DPT • Chris DeRosa Owner, PT, OCS Leo Valenzuela, PT, DPT • Lianne Nakazaki, PT, DPT Garret Wong, PT, DPT, OCS • Tami Chang, PT • Kim Klein, PT William Quibell, PT, DPT • Richelle Mae Milina, PT, DPT, OCS 325 Main Street El Segundo, CA 90245 310.648.3167 www.davisandderosa.com Club of El Segundo, Gable House Bowl, 22501 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, Cost: $8.25 for 3 games, Call Joyce at: 310-322-7621. • Eagles Nest PTO Meeting, 6:15 PM., 641 Sheldon Street, Call: 310-615-2650. THURSDAY, JAN. 11 • El Segundo Farmer’s Market, 3:00 PM. – 7:00 PM., located on Main Street, Downtown El Segundo. • dollars for a single trip--even when the trip starts at an in-network hospital,” the news division of Kaiser said. Ambulance charges that Kaiser reviewed ranged from $3,600 to $8,400. Patients and their families who call 911 are vulnerable because it’s an emergency and they don’t get to choose which ambulance company responds. The Kaiser team said its review of complaints about ambulance company bills found two common scenarios. In the first scenario. a patient is taken by ambulance to the hospital after a 911 call. The second and less common occurrence happens when an ambulance service transfers a patient between hospitals. “In both scenarios, patients later learn the fee is much higher because the ambulance was out-of-network, and after their insurer pays what it deems fair, they get a surprise bill for the balance,” Kaiser’s team said. City fire departments also provide emergency ambulance service, including El Segundo that bills $1,850 to respond to a 911 call and transport to the hospital. El Segundo residents have complained in letters to the Herald about the paramedic-ambulance charge being too high, especially to older residents who live on fixed incomes. The transport fee issue in El Segundo was raised by several residents who wrote letters ahead of the 2016 City Council election. The City has three emergency ambulances in service, including two new vehicles that cost $406,000. They replaced two older emergency vehicles because of rising maintenance and repair costs. The gap in “balance billing” protection for consumers is sizable, the Kaiser Foundation found. Sixty-one percent of privately insured employees are covered by self-funded employer-sponsored plans, it reported. Unless the Legislature expands the consumer protection for all health plans, ambulance company complaints will continue. Kaiser’s team reported that ambulance companies can charge by the mile and add on costs for oxygen and other services during the ride to the hospital. If paramedics staff the ambulance rather than emergency medical technicians, then that will hike up the bill charge. Kaiser added, “Even if the patient didn’t need paramedic-level services…” The 26 ambulance companies found online that serve the South Bay don’t discuss fees on their websites, making it difficult to view local pricing even for the most basic emergency call. The California Department of Managed Health Care welcomed the patient protection measure in July. The department said AB 72 took the consumer out of the middle of billing disputes between a health care facility and insurance plans for out-of-network charges. Consumer groups had complained the billing practice was unfair. Ambulances and diagnostic labs are both covered under the consumer protection law, yet they’re so different, said the Kaiser foundation that studied 350 billing complaints from 32 states. The patient and families have little control over who provides the emergency service, unless it’s in a city like El Segundo. “Patients usually choose to go to the doctor, but they are vulnerable when they call 911, or get into an ambulance,” Kaiser’s team found. “The dispatcher picks the ambulance crew, which, in turn, often picks the hospital.” Patients who show up at an out-of-network hospital might be facing expensive medical bills, even if they are later transferred to their health plan’s hospital of choice. Some of the patients who asked the Kaiser foundation to intervene in their billing disputes wanted the charges lowered. Others thought they should be charged nothing. An expectation of free medical emergency The six-month-old law didn’t stop surprise medical bills for ambulance services. See Health Care Law, page 4 “The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” – Melody Beattie
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