Here’s one we don’t think about too often. When we do, it’s usually too late.

A local consumer told me he had fallen in his home and broke his shoulder. His wife called 911 and they immediately sent an ambulance. (By the way, we have a great EMS system here). EMS quickly came and safely transported him to the emergency room. He was not asked to stop at the reception desk and fill out a bunch of forms. Believe me, I can vouch, from personal experience, the pain of a broken shoulder makes you think of nothing except stopping the excruciating pain.

Once they gave him some heavy-duty pain meds, they treated him for the broken shoulder. He’s now home resting comfortably and recuperating. The problem is, he got a nasty surprise in the mail — a bill for more than $600 for the ride home.

Upon looking into the matter, I found that while in the emergency room, and perhaps after he had been injected with pain meds, he was asked to make a choice on how he wanted to get home. I’m sure in the fine print, the EMS form fully discloses the patient’s right to choose a mode of transportation other than the ambulance. Unfortunately, while under the influence of the administered drugs and the residual pain, the consumer missed the part about how expensive it would be and how insurance very likely wouldn’t cover the trip home.

Fortunately, a friend of mine is a heavy hitter for one of our local great first responders’ teams. He advised me the consumer could file a written appeal to the people who do EMS billing and it would be considered.

I sent the consumer the form. I hope he follows through and EMS approves his request not to charge him for the ride home.

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CLAWBACK: Even the word has a nasty, threating tone to it. Unfortunately, the act and its repercussions are even uglier.

Many elderly use Medicare. Once these benefits run out or are insufficient to pay for things like nursing homes or in-home nursing care, the program Medicaid takes over. The problem is Medicaid has a 60-month “look back” period. “Look Back” has such a nice ring to it. In fact it allows the government, once the person passes on, to seize or place a lien against any assets, including real estate or bank accounts.

A consumer and his wife contacted me when they got a bill from the government for more than $500,000 — a half a million dollars for Medicaid payments made on behalf of the elderly parent they were caring for. The consumer and his wife had been the sole caregivers of the parent, for many years, with the understanding they would inherit the assets of the parents’ estate free and clear.

There is nothing I could do to help them. I referred them to U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo’s office. Hopefully he and his staff will be able to intercede for them.

The lesson here is to consult with an attorney who specializes in Elder Law and Estate Law. Do it now, BEFORE you have a crisis on your hands. Ideally this needs to be done at least five years before an individual dies. DON’T WAIT! If you do, it will probably be too late to protect assets.

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QUICK TIP: Microsoft NEVER will call you to warn you about a virus on your computer. Microsoft will NOT cause a pop-up to warn you about a virus on your computer. These are ALWAYS scams. Don’t EVER call the number on a pop-up or talk to anyone who calls you, claiming to offer virus protection services. NEVER EVER!

Call me if you have a question. That’s what I do.

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SCARE the SCAMMERS: In Idaho it’s perfectly legal to record a telephone conversation without informing the other party. Idaho is a “one party” state. What this means is that only one party to a telephone conversation needs to consent to the call being recorded. Some states like Oregon require that both parties give their consent.

You may not want to go to the expense and trouble of recording calls, but you can usually and quickly get rid of any crooked callers by politely informing them, at the beginning of the call, that you are recording the call. They almost always hang up. An additional benefit of this tactic: it almost always gets your telephone number removed from their call list — immediately!

If you do decide to record conversations, I suggest you use a small digital recorder like the Sony Model ICD-PX333. When the phone rings, turn on the recorder to “record” and put the call on speakerphone. You will get a crystal clear recording. If you catch a good scam caller and record them, please call me and let’s post it on my blog at cdapressconsumerguy.com for all to hear!

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CASH SALE SAFTEY TIP: “I’m super distrustful of people and usually have a counterfeit detector pen if I’m collecting a few hundred dollars or more from an in-person sale, like Craigslist. They’re under $10 and you can find them at Staples or other office stores. The odds of someone handing you fake cash are pretty low, and you might get a weird look when using it, but why not eliminate another potential way of getting scammed?” — Chris Welch, editor, “The Verge”

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BUYING OR SELLING A HOME: Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, always know with whom you are dealing. NEVER sign a quitclaim deed without checking with YOUR local attorney. My advice: 1. Use a local Realtor; 2. Use a local title company; 3. Use a local bank for all lending services. When you use local, you can always go to their office and ask questions face-to-face.

Also, one more great tip: Read Kim Cooper’s column every Sunday in the real estate section of the Coeur d’Alene Press.

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TELL ME WHO THE GOOD GUYS ARE: In the spirit of being positive, please call me when you have an exceptionally great experience with a company or individual selling goods or services. Also, if a government agency, city, county, state or federal employee has helped you, please let me know and I’ll let our readers know.

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REMEMBER: I’m in your corner!

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I have many more interesting cases that I’m working on as The CDA Press Consumer Guy. Call me at (208) 699-0506, email me at CDAPressConsumerGuy @gmail.com or fax me at (866) 362-9266. Also include your full name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups.

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Bill Brooks is the CDA Press Consumer Guy and an active Associate Real Estate Associate Broker for Tomlinson-Sotheby’s International Realty in Coeur d’Alene.