•The Royal Flying Doctor is funded by government (opex) and charity (capex). They cover the vast majority of the sparsely populated Australian continent which is out of reach of road or helicopter ambulances in any reasonable time frame.
They will land basically anywhere - a dirt strip lit by flaming toilet rolls if they need to, or a highway.
•No charge to any patient, no matter who they are, or where they are from. International tourists included.
•They have a fleet of 80 turboprops and small jets and land on roads, dirt strips etc etc, day and night, as needed.
•Some state road and helicopter ambulances charge for services, but insurance is very cheap, the poor don’t have to pay, and social/political pressure makes it impossible for them to collect the debt aggressively regardless:
I fell down the stairs in my house and needed an ambulance to the ER. It was $2,000 to dispatch the ambulance and $30 per mile for transport. Then I couldn’t tell you how much for the actual medical care once at the hospital.
USA here, my girlfriend spent 8 hours in the ER last year. The bill was $24000. Insurance paid most of it. Still can't wrap my head around US healthcare system.
Rd28T on November 9th, 2024 at 23:11 UTC »
To answer all the inevitable questions:
•The Royal Flying Doctor is funded by government (opex) and charity (capex). They cover the vast majority of the sparsely populated Australian continent which is out of reach of road or helicopter ambulances in any reasonable time frame.
They will land basically anywhere - a dirt strip lit by flaming toilet rolls if they need to, or a highway.•No charge to any patient, no matter who they are, or where they are from. International tourists included.
•They have a fleet of 80 turboprops and small jets and land on roads, dirt strips etc etc, day and night, as needed.
•Some state road and helicopter ambulances charge for services, but insurance is very cheap, the poor don’t have to pay, and social/political pressure makes it impossible for them to collect the debt aggressively regardless:
https://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/ambulance-victoria-ceases-debt-collection-practice/
AbysmalMoose on November 9th, 2024 at 23:24 UTC »
I fell down the stairs in my house and needed an ambulance to the ER. It was $2,000 to dispatch the ambulance and $30 per mile for transport. Then I couldn’t tell you how much for the actual medical care once at the hospital.
watchman_2500 on November 10th, 2024 at 00:41 UTC »
USA here, my girlfriend spent 8 hours in the ER last year. The bill was $24000. Insurance paid most of it. Still can't wrap my head around US healthcare system.