After paying the highest ambulance fees in the country three years ago, the government has gradually lowered the price.
In 2016, ambulance fees were at 500 dollars, then dropped to $425 in 2017, then again to $340 last year.
The new price of 250 dollars is in effect today.
The fees are being reduced to help Manitoba’s ageing population.
Since 2016, the Manitoba government has been working to develop a 24-7 paramedic workforce better equipped to handle daily challenges.
This includes giving the paramedic profession the right to self-regulate under the Regulated Health Professions Act, working to enact recommendations made in the 2013 EMS System Review that, when complete, will ensure response time targets are achieved and paramedics are able to work to their full scope of practice, funding to hire 95 additional full-time rural paramedics to reduce the reliance on on-call staffing positions, and issuing a request for proposals to purchase 65 new ambulances that will represent a refresh of approximately one-third of the province’s overall fleet when the sale is completed.
The government encourages Manitobans to call for a paramedic to access high-quality, reliable health care in an emergency rather than drive themselves to a local hospital.
