[jfim]

The article argues the exact opposite:

> The standard answer is greed: rapacious ambulance operators, owned by villainous private equity firms, exploit patients at their most helpless. But I don’t think that’s actually what’s going on. Ambulance providers are chronically unprofitable businesses; margins are thin, crews are underpaid, and operators exit the industry every year.

[deathanatos]

That paragraph is somewhat incoherent at that point in the article: margins are razor thin — at a price tag of $12,000 per 6 miles or $2,000 per mile.

(Yes, there is some other stuff, much, much, much later that maybe cuts into that …)

[jfim]

The cost isn't about the actual mileage though, it's having two paramedics each earning about 100k/yr per ambulance, while having coverage 24x7x365. So fully loaded, the labor for one ambulance might be in the high six figures to seven figures.

[deathanatos]

Even if we assume we need to cover their downtime between rides, at a conservative estimate of "we're the only call today" that's $2400 of labor at your rate (≈$400/d, 2 paramedics, 3 shifts). TFA suggests they're not paid well.

[jjk166]

Except the paramedics are actually making mcdonalds wages.