Tootlepootle

After my recent jaunt in a BC ambulance i can concur its $80 with MSP!

sharkus

I remember when my son had a seizure in the middle of the night. called 911, went to the hospital. When we were discharged it was mentioned we'd need to pay for the EMS trip. This was news to me and I was somewhat disgusted. Seems if someone calls it for you then you don't pay, but if you call it, you're on the hook. hmm.

It seems OHIP covers part of the cost, but there is still a portion you have to pay. I believe the health benefit plan covered it, or so I was told. Even still, not impressed.

BristolUK

I called one for my wife when, already disabled and unwell, she fell and cracked ribs.

She was okay to be discharged after x-rays and additional painkillers but there was no way she'd have managed the steps back into the house, particularly with all the snow and ice. So they said they'd get the ambulance crew to take her back and get her up.

We had two bills @ $130, so even the hospital calling doesn't necessarily mean there's no charge.

The major puzzle for me is that since we've been here, with each change of government one party has scrapped charges and the other re-introduced them.

I know there's not that much difference between the two main parties - so little I wouldn't even describe it as ideology - but I really would have expected their respective stances on ambulance charges to be reversed. Conservative in favour, Liberal against.

But maybe the Libs work on the basis that the poorest would be exempt anyway, so no real harm done by having them.

caretaker

Basic ambulance fee in Sk. is $245 to $325 plus mileage and extra fees for doing their job. Fees are capped at $275 for those over 65 apparently, which I didn't know, and those on social assistance can get some coverage or even complete coverage.. Occasionally there are local news stories about someone walking many blocks with stab wounds to get to emergency; it's because they know they can't afford the ride.
Parking at hospitals and SIAST where I go for dental is $2/hr or portion thereof. SIAST has no other parking options nearby other than taking the bus but the hospitals are easy - drive around and find a spot in a 2 hr. residential street a block (or 2 or 3) away and park free. Workers who won't pay for employee parking and run out on their breaks to move their cars complicate the problem so it can take a few circuits of the neighbourhood to find a spot. In Vancouver my friends do the same when going to Chinatown; there's a park (can't remember the name but it's where the old Italians are always playing bocce) a couple of blocks away and there's almost always a 2hr free spot around it.
Sometimes I have to bite the bullet when putting someone on a plane or picking them up and pay $2 for 15 min in the airport lot but that won't kill me and it isn't often.

SchnookoLoly

I am completely guessing, but I think part of the ambulance fee is to deter people from calling the ambulance for every little thing, when an ambulance may not otherwise be needed. If it were fully covered, I can see people calling for literally anything. "I have a hangnail, send an ambulance!"

BristolUK

You guess well.

Ẁhenever the topic comes up in the media here, that's exactly what is said. I think they use the word inappropriate.

Pizzawheel

I used to do a lot of healthcare work- which meant parking in hospital carparks- and confirm they're hugely expensive across the board- thankfully it was expensible. $20-$25 max per day typical.

Royal Marsden in UK was also pay to park but there was a half hour free drop of spot. When I got the radiotherapy down to an art I could be in and out in 20 mins- their timekeeping was generally excellent.

scrubbedexpat091

BC at one point had distance based fees, a number of years back went to a flat rate for BC residents, visitors from other provinces/countries don't get the subsidized rate though.

There are also some exemptions, those on social assistance, disability or low income and on premium assistance have the fees waived currently.

Depending on where you are in BC, you might be better off calling a cab or having someone drive you if you can since not all regions have 24/7 active paramedic coverage and wait times can be unacceptably long everywhere in the province. Late at night/early morning here no unusual to wait 20 minutes for an ambulance, hospital is a 5-8 min drive from most of the town.

Like everything in healthcare, the BC government under funds and doesn't run the service like it should be run.

Tootlepootle

Having a husband who doesn't drive and a small child in the house, i was glad of the ambulance service. They were at the door within 10 minutes and didn't mess around getting me to ER.
Weirdly I don't mind the fee, i have friends in both countries who tell far too many stories of the time wasters who get in the way real emergencies. The cost may well make folks hesitate before calling

nativenewyorker

Friends of ours recently had a garbled message from their daughter. When they went to her apartment she had sadly passed away. They called an ambulance and were charged for it. Seems a bit mean, what were they supposed to do, put her in the back of a car and drive to the mortuary. I think they should be able to use their discretion when billing people!

scrubbedexpat091

If your in Metro Vancouver they have 24/7 coverage, elsewhere in the province is not the case so wait times can get to unacceptable levels.

Not the fault of the paramedics they do a fine job, the fault lies with the government and their insistence to not properly fund the healthcare system.

plasticcanuck

I'm sorry but your post doesn't make much sense to me. Why would they call for an ambulance for someone already deceased. Surely an undertaker would have been more appropriate. And where were the police in this situation? Wouldn't such a sudden death have precipitated action by them such as calling in a coroner and arrangement of a postmortem?

nativenewyorker

They tried to resuscitate her as it hadn't been long since she called them. As a parent you find your daughter like that you instinctively call the paramedic. The police were called by the emergency services. Post mortem took a few weeks!

Aviator

Unless they had medical training there is perhaps no certainty a person is deceased, it may not have been obvious. One also hopes there is a chance to revive the person.

The ambulance is the first instinctive thought, not the police or anyone else. You don't go into a room see someone lying on floor the still, perhaps appearing not to be breathing and think, oh shit they must be dead, let's cut out the middleman and call an undertaker!

caretaker

Always call EMS even if they're dead otherwise you have the cops camped in the house and they have to wait for the coroner to release the body. Hey, there's always a chance....

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