Almost half of Winnipeg ambulance bills went unpaid in 2022, report says
Fire-paramedic service believes poverty playing role; Councillor suggests fee waiver
Close to half the ambulance bills handed out by the City of Winnipeg last year remain unpaid, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service says in a report that examines why people aren't ponying up for medical transport.
Almost 21,000 of the roughly 37,000 ambulance invoices issued by the city in 2022 were paid by March 23 of this year, the fire-paramedic service disclosed in a report to city council's community services committee.
The other 16,000 invoices were not paid by the start of the spring. John Hall, the controller for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, suggests many people who receive ambulance bills are struggling to make ends meet.
"The reasons for invoices remaining unpaid are difficult to ascertain without communication from customers whose invoices remain outstanding," Hall writes in the report, which was published on Monday.
"However, given the financial and health circumstances of many of our customers, it is likely that a lack of available income will be the cause.
"Many customers are balancing the cost of housing and food as well as other essentials, such as medications, against paying unplanned bills like ambulance invoices."
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service does have some data about the reasons people don't pay. Nearly a third of people the service did reach about unpaid bills told them they could not afford the tab.
Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry Coun. Sherri Rollins, whose ward includes several lower-income neighbourhoods, said she is not surprised to hear people are struggling with the cost.
This is in spite of lower ambulance fees instituted by the provincial government during Brian Pallister's time as premier, she said.
"Pallister flattened the fees across the province, taking them down to $250, but it's still a big bill," Rollins said in an interview.
The councillor said she would like to see whether the city and the province could collaborate on some form of income testing, where low-income Winnipeggers could receive a fee waiver or reduced invoice if their inability to pay is documented.