Province announces ambulance fee reduction

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This article was published 02/04/2018 (2208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Health minister Kelvin Goertzen was joined by Premier Brian Pallister on Tuesday to announce further reductions to ambulance fees in the province.

The fee reduction, announced in last month’s budget, took effect on April 1. The new price, down from $425, is a 20 percent reduction in the bill Manitobans receive for ambulance service, with customers paying either $340 or the pre-existing base fee established by the service provider, whichever is lower.

This is an average total decrease of $182 since 2016, when the average ambulance fee was $522.

“Manitobans deserve to have predictable, reliable ambulance services right across the province,” said Goertzen. “As we move forward with the implementation of the recommendations of the 2013 EMS Review, we’ll be able to better locate the services and match resources to get an ambulance where you need it when you need it.”

Fees are used to offset the cost of operations, with the remainder of costs subsidized by the province and other organizations.

Certain ambulance fees are completely subsidized by the province including inter-facility transfers between health care facilities and helicopter transportation to patients requiring critical and emergent care within a 250-kilometre radius of Winnipeg.