Ambulance Fat Fees coming to an EMS near you…

July 2nd, 2009. By admin

First it was the airlines—for which weight discrimination is still a hot topic of debate. But now, it seems American Medical Response (AMR) of Topeka, KS has been given clearance by the Shawnee County Commission to raise its fees for transporting overweight and critical care patients.

According to a June 30th article on ABC affiliate Nebraska.tv, AMR will now be able to increase what it charges for ambulance costs for critical care patients and overweight people from $629 to $1,172. It doesn’t take a math scholar to figure out that it’ll cost you almost double if you tip the scales at over 350 lbs (the threshold weight for the increase).

The article goes on to state,

AMR director Ken Keller says the higher fees will allow the ambulance company to pay for the extra care technician and medical equipment needed for critical care patients.

And he says the company needed to increase its charges for overweight patients to pay for more manpower and transportation equipment, including extra large and reinforced cots and a winch to help technicians load the patients into the ambulance.

He says, in general, the company will charge more for those weighing over 350 pounds, but each individual patient’s size will be evaluated.

That last part intrigues me—so just how does a patient’s size get evaluated? Is there a weigh in as the EMS team is doing that “1-2-3 Lift!” thing onto the gurney? Having been the one being lifted several times, I don’t think I’d want anyone’s attention on my weight at that moment. Or perhaps the ambulance whizzes through a weigh-in station somewhere like trucks do? Just asking…

The most important thing to ask though is how far is too far when it comes to the rights of above-average-weight individuals?

Tags: weight discrimination

This was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.