Why does it cost so much to go in an ambulance?

Question

If someone has been injured and they call an Ambulance, Then why does it cost so much?

Answer 1

I was a former medic & I can tell you why. Ambulances cost between $80K to $150K. Depending on model. Training to be a medic takes 1 1/2 years. Very costly. Insurance for the city or private services are through the roof. That's why. It's the killer overhead.

Answer 2

Ambulance Cost

Answer 3

I live in the country, everything is Volunteer here. So, Using loose figures. An Ambulance is $180,000 so is a fire truck. EMT's and Paramedics volunteer there time same as firemen. I haven't seen the Insurance quotes but I would bet money the Fire Dept. has a higher premium. They go into burning buildings. It does get much riskier than that. We'll go extreme and you have a structure fire and hurt your leg getting out. The Ambulance and 2 crew members take you to the hospital for around $250. Mean while the Fire Department here anyways has 5 trucks 10+ members spending hrs of grueling work, going inside an inferno to save your house and all for an encouraged $25 donation. I love both groups, We would be in some deep water without either one. But I still don't understand why an Ambulance cost so dang much.

Answer 4

There's only one kind of ambulance. So they have EMTs and equipment prepared to deal with anything, because they don't know what they'll find when they get there. They can take any kind of patient, stabilize themm and keep them alive while they weave through traffic.

Smart people who can do that don't come cheap. You have to pay EMTs more than they could make database programming, otherwise they'd go do that.

And because they know the way to the hospital, lol! That's worth $1000 right there!

It's not that they're ripping you off, it's just that remedial medicine (as AMA-sanctioned and practiced in the United States) is very expensive by nature. There are other systems of medicine that are much cheaper, but they are mostly preventative.

Answer 5

I was recently in a car accident and l have just received a bill from the hospital for $295, but if it were deemed necessary by the ambulance attendants that you have to go the hospital, then, here in Ontario, the government pay $250 and l have to just pay $45
Let me tell you l was so happy to see the ambulance, l would have paid any thing, and the attendants were so gentle and kind, God bless them.

Answer 6

The cost to cities to buy, equip, and staff an ambulance is enormous...... that vehicle has to be staffed by 2 trained professionals 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year whether it responds to a call or not......so even though you only required the use of it for an hour...that crew still has to be paid even when not on a response........ in other words mulltiply $20/hr (conservative number) x two people x 24 hrs = $1000 per day just to staff it.


Then you add fuel, drugs, oxygen, equipment, Dispatchers, on duty mechanics, tires, radios, radio system, training, pay a MD to be your medical director, supervisors, lawsuits, vehicle repairs, firehouse, health benifits, vacation, sick days, injury pay, etc, etc, that piece of equipment costs the city in the neighborhood of $1, 000,000 (and that is a conservative number) per year to have available at your beckon call 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every holliday, every weekend, bad weather, doesnt matter, its available. ....$1,000,000/ 365 days= $2739 per day.

So a few years back cities started trying to recoup the costs be charging fees for use.... In my city and many others the intent is to recoup that cost from insurers.... we charge $750.00 for a transport, bill your insurance company, if they only pay $500 we by law have to bill you the $250....but if you dont pay it....we just write it off.

Answer 7

The cost in training of our well qualified paramedics and the equipment required is enormous. The cost of the vehicle alone plus the cost of fuel pushes upward the cost. This can be overcome in most circumstances by joining your local ambulance subscription service.

Answer 8

in australia, if u havent got cover you pay for the trip, which depends on how far you have to travel to the hospital, it can be $200 or $500 and if u need an ambulance helicopter i guess it would cost over $1000 xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Answer 9

Because it cost a fortune to run just one Ambulance!!
the Equipment ALONE is so expensive SO the public have to pay for it!

Because the GOVERNMENTS dont do enough !
But thats one good thing PETER Beatie did right in Queensland ...
every house owner has to pay a fee once a year & then that's all it costs !!....................................

Answer 10

It costs a lot of money to purchase an ambulance, outfit it, insure it and staff it with trained EMT's. It's not a taxi, you know.