Hi follow expats. Yesterday they were talking about our fine country in the Canadian news (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2015 … 82991.html). A pregnant woman travels to Punta Cana. Once there, she unexpectedly needs to deliver by d-section. The ambulance supposedly requested payment of $20,000 US before even moving. They were transported in an unidentified hospital in Santo Domingo that, apparently, looked very shady. It's not mentioned in the article, but according to an interview given to TVA by the father, they were asked even more money in large chunks at the hospital.
I'm asking the question to those of you who have been living here for a while: does that not sound fishy?
- What ambulance company in the DR would request 20,000 US$ upfront before even moving, for a 3-4 hour drive? Would they have any clients at all?
- How does one withdraw 20,000 US$ (880,000 RD$!) from a Dominican bank in one day, in a state of emergency? Last time I checked, BanReservas wouldn't let me withdraw more than 75,000 RD$ in one day, even at the counter.
- Or, do ambulance companies take non-certified checks from foreigners? (For that amount, I highly doubt it)
- If you stay in Punta Cana, why would you need to have a c-section in Santo Domingo knowing there are 2 full-service, private hospitals in Punta Cana / Bavaro?
- If the couple was sent to a public hospital in Santo Domingo, then why would a public hospital ask for so much money? In the interview the father says, about the hospital (my translation): "They were always, always asking us for money. That was the complicated part. At some point they asked for a 60,000 US$ deposit for one month". Do public hospitals typically ask for money, and that much? And if this was a private hospital, why not going to those in Bavaro?
- Why would ambulance companies and hospitals request payments in US$ instead of RD$?
Does that sound like a legit story according to your knowledge of the healthcare system here on the island?