> So, part of that is that even when an ambulance gets there, what happens next? […] Out in the boondocks, the golden hour is laughable.
In the province in Ontario, where we have a few density populated communities often surrounded by large stretches of wilderness, folks are transported by helicopter in emergencies:
We have air ambulances in the US. With it being the US and the community being largely rural and poor, it's more economic to die than be flown to help. Most families can't swing a $40,000 cost for a life flight, and insurance in some cases won't cover it.
Weird, the article talks about air ambulances being billed as out of network. I thought that after Obamacare passed insurance companies were required to treat all emergency care as if it were in-network. Does that not apply to transportation? Or are helicopters being used in situations that insurance doesn't think are emergencies?
In Ontario (and Canada) the majority of healthcare costs are done via taxes through our single-payer systems (health is provincial jurisdiction, hence plural; though there are federal equalization payments).
In the province in Ontario, where we have a few density populated communities often surrounded by large stretches of wilderness, folks are transported by helicopter in emergencies:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_ambulance
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_medical_services
* https://sunnybrook.ca/content/?page=rooftop-helipad
If you look at the list of heliports in the province, you'll see quite a number of them are at hospitals:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Heliports_in_Ontario
Including ones, like St. Mike's and Sick Kids, in high density areas where they're often at the top of high-rise towers:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OtDwkg-jGI
There are also non-emergency patient transportation services:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornge