So there is no insurance footprint I paid with cash and told them I have no insurance, since my airline pays part of my insurance they certainly would have access to that had I not paid in cash. I told them before I left I would gladly pay the reduced cash rate upfront immediately. They happily accepted my offer and that was that. This wasn't an admission to a hospital I was evaluated and released so as far as I can tell I can report this as a visit to a medical professional to be evaluated. His report that I was good to go should be good enough. So this thread blew up while I was out on a trip. I have a few final thoughts.
So I got real curious about the true story of your medical records footprint. Turns out that in order for you to pay cash
and require that the provider NOT notify your insurance company, you must formally request a "Right to Restrict Disclosure". This was added to the HIPPA in 2013. If you did not sign such a form at the ER then it is not obligated to keep your visit from your insurance company. If you DID sign it,
OR you didn't give them your insurance information, then your visit may still be revealed. All that restriction covers is your insurance, it does not cover other providers. In other words, as long as you used your true identity, that visit can be told to any other doctor or hospital that ever treats you. And once another doctor or provider including pharmacies, hospitals, counselors, physical therapists, chiropractors, etc., then
their notes to the insurance company may contain reference to that event.
In any case if it never leaves that hospital's records and never makes it to your insurance company, it will still be there in that hospital's records and the treating physician's records and the disclosure restriction does not apply to the FAA. If you report the visit at your next medical, the FAA knows you were there and can request the record. If you don't report it, maybe they won't find out about the visit but now you've committed a pretty egregious lie which if you ever do get in hot water will make everything far worse, especially for your estate after the crash which is when they'll get REAL interested in your history.
Here's the link to the info:
https://www.worldprivacyforum.org/2014/01/wpf-report-paying-out-of-pocket-to-protect-health-privacy/
as far as I can tell I can report this as a visit to a medical professional to be evaluated. His report that I was good to go should be good enough.
Which is why in my first post I advised you get a copy of
all the records, not just the discharge summary. I seriously doubt there is no mention anywhere of your BAC, the fact that you were confused and, because they had to sedate you, likely combative, and the EMT gave them the history of possible LOC while driving as your reason for hitting the tree. That stuff is there somewhere even if they don't upload it to your "print it out yourself" portal. (The latest in provider no-service these days...)
You can do this two ways; go for it and maybe it'll never come back to bite you. Keep having your two beers on work nights and 3 or 4 at other times and fly for a living, but you'll never be 100% sure you're in the clear. If you go this route I advise getting enough personal liability insurance to leave your estate untouched for your family, and I'd appreciate you letting me know what commercial flights you're working so I can avoid them.
Or you can take the high road and come clean. It's not about whether anyone here thinks you have a "problem". It's about the true facts; and the true fact is you had a DUI in reality, if it didn't stick legally. Anything other than coming clean to your employer and the FAA is to attempt to cover the reality of that event.
