A $3000 per ride ambulance, driven by a minimum wage slave without health insurance for himself is the perfect sad metaphor for the clusterfuck which is US health care. That's what you get if you promote greed and selfishness as a virtue while at the same time demonizing socialised medicine.

I'd really like to see a website with all the problems that have been pointed out by John Oliver's show and what's their current status: solved, in progress, still f'ed.

In Ontario, an ambulance costs 45$ "if medically necessary" and 240$ "if deemed medically unnecessary," and that fee is seen as too much.

“It didn’t have to be this way. Under the Reagan administration...” Ah, fuck.

- "Socialism doesn't work!" - "But the Western European and Nordic countries are doing great with it." - "That's not real socialism! They're basically capitalist." - "Okay, let's adopt their policies then." - "No, that's socialism."

“The frustrating thing is, it didn’t have to be this way.” Should be the country’s official motto.

At one point I wondered: why is it the police and fire department get decent/good funding but ems doesn't? Later on it dawned on me why. The police and fd are in place to protect assets, but ems protects people. America's priorities have always been to protect assets rather than human lives.

everyone: that sounds like an old cartoony ghost John Oliver: I'm about to end these people's childhoods

the phrase "unfortunately, under the Reagan administration..." seems to pop out a lot

Let me get this straight: EMS has to ask for donations and Police can buy tanks? Love the prioritisation.

“Unfortunately, under the Raegan admin-“ Me: _Audible groan_

y'all remember that EMT last year who lost her job and got blasted all over the internet for also having an onlyfans because she needed to make ends meet? pepperidge farm remembers.

15:50 A baby getting a bill for being born is about the most American thing I've ever heard.

Mickey getting his ass brutalized by goofy is not something I thought I'd see today.

As an EMT in the US I’ve had patients literally break down in front of me because of the amount of stupidly high medical bills that they are about to receive. Healthcare in the US Is a fucking joke. Can’t even use insurance without the insurance companies bitching that they have to shell out any sort of money and then saddling the rest on you

As an EMT I appreciate this man. I appreciate this message. And I appreciate all of you for watching this.

"Remember that baby who got a bill for being born" is probably the most USA sentence I've heard.

My friend had a seizure at a crosswalk in Atlanta, she regained her composure as she was being put into an Ambulance and started screaming "I didn't call you! I'm not paying for this!" Over and over until they let her go. I have never considered this a funny story.

Please tell me I’m not the only grown man that immediately started crying when I heard about the woman begging people not to call an ambulance. I know exactly how that feels and it’s terrifying…

Being a nurse I’ve never understood the underfunding for the EMS system and how underpaid EMTs are, many making less than a fast food worker. It makes no sense. Thanks for bringing light to this big issue. I really hope some big change can start happening .

The confidence of this show's lawyers that allow John make those jokes about Mickey Mouse

As a father of a daughter who is an EMT, I loved this piece, but wish John had talked more about the abhorrent conditions EMTs work under. For saving people's lives, she's paid literally less than she would be at McDonald's. Oh, and she gets to work 12-hour shifts in brutal, sometimes dangerous conditions, and has gotten injured multiple times on the job. Not to mention the equipment and vehicles they have, which sometimes don't even have working air-conditioners, despite the brutal heat of summer. And to those who might say "Well, she should get another job", I can't disagree, but these people are *dedicated* to their jobs. They just want to be treated like human beings, paid a living wage, and given the tools they need to save lives. A fucking parade is insulting on so many levels.

Former EMT here, (active 2013-2018) I made $9.25ish for a 12 hour shift when I started and around 13-14.50 when I left. The reason it was raised to that level by the time I left was because the minimum wage had gone up to 13-14.50 (I can’t remember exactly what it was at the time) and in LA that’s starvation wages. Try to imagine getting paid minimum wage to risk your life, health, and mental well being. From the perspective of EMS it’s tragically clear that we live in a failed state and that healthcare in this country is modern day highway robbery. These ambulance companies are money grabbing hucksters who try to short change their staff, their patients, and even the equally evil hospital systems they serve. I’m only 4 minutes into the above video (don’t worry I’ll force myself to watch the rest despite how triggered I am by the subject matter) but I’m going to guess the Jon will likely talk about these private ambulance company’s ties and relation to crime and even the mob in some cases. It was very common to hear about a shady ambulance company getting raided by FBI for Medicare fraud. I know people who had FBI SWAT teams point guns at them because that was the level of crime that was going on there. A company by the name APT used to pick up people from skid row and make up some BS on their assessment saying the patient needed things they really didn’t. Hospitals would go through the whole nine yards and would test this, monitor that, and then bill for it all. Obviously since they were from the row, bills weren’t going to patients (directly) but instead going to Medicare and Medi-Cal. The vermin at the top made money hand over fist and flaunted it. EMTs were occasionally involved and would sometimes get kick backs for fraudulent activities. More often then not, there would be situations where we were expected to drop off patients in places that clearly could not take care of them and it was expected of us that we would comply no questions asked. You only rocked the boat once or twice before they started looking for reasons to cut you loose. Due to a philosophy of enforced apathy the sentiment of “it’s not my problem anymore” was rampant amongst management and staff and because of the money factor patients pleas to be taken elsewhere or to be provided contact with social services fell on deaf ears. Try to imagine your in the back of an ambulance and you want to go somewhere to get the help you need- but oh no- there are no options here. You go where we take you. Let’s say we get there and it’s just a no-go all around.. like for whatever reason the drop off just doesn’t suit the patient’s NEEDS not WANTS. So the patient says “no take me back to the hospital”, and we say “yeah no sorry you should probably call 911 if you want to do that”. Healthcare for profit is an evil system and if you disagree I dare you to step out onto the front lines and into the streets and try saying that to your heart of hearts. Deep down you’ll know. Helping people is not supposed to be like this...

"Under the Reagan Administration..." Ahh shit, here we go again

My mom is a paramedic and frequently bemoans how people want to make $15 an hour when she barely makes more. My argument is always that she should be paid more, not that other people should have to work three jobs Thank you for tackling this!

Lawyer: So, you want a divorce because you said Mickey was...being a bit silly? Minnie: No, I said he was f*cking Goofy.

Every story I hear about US healthcare astounds me. Incredibly expensive, and yet not including healthcare for Ambulance services. Not even a living wage . Unique among industrialized democracies.

Whenever I feel a bit depressed, I watch John Oliver. Then I realize I live in Scandinavia, and I feel just fine again :D At least my country works.

"Under the Reagan administration-" god dammit it's always fucking Reagan

Watching this show as an European is a real rollercoaster.

When i was in new york my cousin got sick we called an ambulance they were shocked that he only was feeling sick they took us to the hospital and on the way they said “we must be rich” i was like wtf we finished everything we left they charged us $1800 for the ambulance ride!! We were extremely shocked because where we came from”saudi arabia” have %100 free health care and never crossed my mind that we will pay $1800 for 8 minutes ride

So glad I was born in “socialist” Canada. Not perfect, but at least I know I won’t be bankrupted when I get sick.

I’m an EMT, I’ve literally brought people back to life, helped moms deliver children, talked people down form the ledge and tackled naked people trying to Swan dive off a 20 story building. And my company used a loophole to pay us less then minimum wage in my first year in a specific area. Been at it 5 years here now and I love my job but I hate my career prospects.

The irony of throwing a parade for EMS is that it actively makes their job harder - parades make routing around a city really difficult.

Me: Expecting George Clooney to make an joke related to the show ER George Clooney: Summons Kermit the Frog

I fainted in a Bar, when I came to an ambulance had been called. They kept trying to transport me, I was on an Island and I knew being transported would likely cost thousands. However all I had to tell them to get them to leave me alone was I have no money, no job and I own nothing! The scary thing is, they didn't stop trying to transport me until I said the words I own nothing! Very telling.

"And if you're thinking how could this possibly get worse" For Profit companies: Allow us to introduce ourselves

Former EMT here, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The attrition rate, wages, protocols, call volume, compliance, etc, etc, etc. It's a great way to get your foot in the door of the medical industry. But not at all to make a living. A Paramedic can go into nursing and get 10x more money. Many do. It's just crazy. I do miss it sometimes. Being in the shit, in the trenches. EMS deserves better. Lot's of good folks in EMS, kinda crazy, but down to earth.

Any time John talks about american healthcare, I always wondering if he is thinking "I miss the NHS"

Here in Ontario EMS is provided by the municipal government and mostly funded by provincial health insurance. The cost of an ambulance is fixed at $240, all but $45 is paid by the province. These amounts have been unchanged since at least 1997.

I've been a paramedic for just under 15 years. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this piece. There's not many people who get to 7 years without a chronic injury. In any city you will hear that EMS is the red headed step child of emergency services so it is so incredibly nice to have national coverage on this

I have been a paramedic for 10 years and usually have to tell everyone I meet most of these facts. I actively discourage most people who are interested in being EMTs from doing it professionally, because it is a great job and a terrible career.

"Big ouchie trucks that go 'whoop, whoop'." Literally made me spit out my water 😂

It's pretty nuts that EMS workers make $36k/year while ambulance trips are $3k/trip. They are probably bringing-in $2 million in revenue, but they hardly get the thinnest sliver of it.

As someone who worked state-level EMS management for nearly 12 years, thank you for bringing this to light. On top of the outrageously low pay our medics receive for their work, they also have to pay for continuing education and licensing, none of which are cheap. They are subject to lawsuits like you wouldn’t believe. And there is a terrible lack of resources for some of the PTSD the job can cause. There needs to be reform, but nobody seems to know where to start.

"We are out of ambulances" is something one would expect to hear at the start of a zombie movie, as a shorthand for "society is crumbling".

Just found this video and it hits so hard atm, my partner lives in the states and recently had a medical emergency but she had to refuse an ambulance cause it would have cost $4,000 not to mention the nearly $2,000 for the hospital treatment even with insurance We later worked out that in my country, even without insurance everything (ambulance, hospital stay, meds, etc…) would have cost a total of around $300… Yet some people still seem to think anything other than the American system will cost them more??? It makes absolutely no sense to me

You're george Kermit skit got me in tears. Thank you Mr Oliver. And thank you to your writers and your team altogether. Love you guys.

my heart goes out to the artist who thought getting steady employment at HBO meant their days of drawing furry porn for a living were over

4 years in EMS. I love my job and I can't imagine doing anything else, but I've never had any less than 2 jobs and I usually have 3. And honestly, even with all of us working like maniacs, the understaffing issues that were there before the pandemic have only gotten worse. I agree with other comments. This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the problems in EMS right now. But this is the first time I've seen someone outside of EMS draw attention to the problems and that is a step in the right direction.

How to tell if anything is broken beyond repair -It involves private company -Reagan's antic

As an AEMT in NC thank you for shedding light on this subject! I love this field of work and I hope EMS can continue to grow!

Allow me to correct the statement, "Absolute hell these workers went through last year." What John meant to say was, "Absolute hell these workers continue to go through."

EMT-B certified for 7 years and had to get out of EMS due to the poor pay and work conditions. I now work in an ER as a Physician Assistant and have said several times: EMS needs a federal mandate to be an essential service, paid by taxpayers.

I'm so blessed to be living in Goa, India. We have a free ambulance service from the Government and a choice for private ambulance service too, costing no more than $30.

Thank you John Oliver and your entire crew for producing this episode.

George being able to summon Kermit with a clap is really filling in the lore for the Oliverse.

It's really every "essential worker". The fact that we called everybody heroes but no one wanted to give them a raise. And no one wanted to make sure their quality of life was decent.

I'm Korean. A few days ago, I called an ambulance and went to Emergency room (bcs urinary stone). In the emergency room, I went through all the processes such as blood tests, X-ray, urine tests, CT, and got 5 days' of medicine. In Korea, emergency rooms are twice as expensive. But all of this(with ambulance,) cost about $200. Oh. You know, Americans hardly don't go the hospital even if they are sick because of the burden of medical bill. so they often go to the hospital after the disease is already seriously advanced. This doesn't help with medical development either. Recently, A lot of Americans who study medicine are going to study abroad to intern and residency in other countries.

Watching this from the UK, this is mad!

Are we not gonna talk about DeBlasio's translator? He was amazing

We live in a day where people take Ubers to go to the hospital since it is much cheaper than an ambulance.

Whenever I see things like this, with all our faults and there are many, I am so glad to live in Canada.

As an EMT who recently quit, the few months I worked at a busy urban EMS service in central VA almost burned me out. I'd wanted to go to med school for literally like 5/6 years at that point and 3 months into that service made me question all of my life decisions. After I joined, they had recently upped the pay to $17/hr, and we had benefits as well, so I'm considering myself incredibly lucky pay wise. However, the entire time I worked there, I kept thinking that I would gladly take a $2/hr pay cut to work at Target. My service was and is the ONLY paid EMT only service in a 50 mile radius at least, and the stuff I saw was scarring AF to this day.

“Unfortunately, during the Reagan Administration…” is modern America’s tag line.

As an EMT currently working a 48 hour shift, I feel both seen and triggered by this video lol thank you for shedding light on what we are all dealing with though

So many of these amazing videos by John Oliver always makes me say one simple thing: God Blass Canada 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

Thank you for making aware of the poorly treated, forgotten profession.

As an EMT myself, thank you for this piece. More people need to be made aware about this.

"Let's honor our medics with a big parade, which will cost a ton of money, and where a lot of medics will need to work hard to provide safety to the people honoring those medics, instead of just giving them a pay raise."

I imagine most of us Americans have a "we drove dying instead of calling an ambulance" story.

I worked for M***x, a private ambulance company in Chicago about 15 years ago. I REALLY relate to “ER shopping”. We had to do that ALL-THE-TIME. At some ERs you had to use a vending machine-like cabinet to get supplies, but in doing so you had to type in the patients name so that they would be billed for it. Not only were we encouraged to replace things that where used by that patient, but also things that were used by others that hadn’t been replaced. On top of that, often times, the patient just brought in wouldn’t be entered into the system before we got another call, so we would have to pick a random patient’s name to bill it towards or nothing would come out. (If you typed the first letter names would auto populate.) And it was “ok” to do that when we “had to” because patients could always get it taken off their bill when they questioned it.

I used to be a paramedic. I went to school for two years to learn how to be one. To make 11 bucks an hour. I got out of that job field because the stress, the potential for injury, and the lack of pay is frankly mind boggling. I enjoyed that job. I loved helping people. I will not risk my life for pennies on the dollar, however.

Is it me or every depressing topic has the sentence "under the Reagan administration..." 🙄🙄🙄

So glad your taken on the plight of these essential workers I hope you can help them get what they deserve

I would love it if you would do a segment on FOR-PROFIT Child Protective Services

Today's episode of "American Capitalist Apocalypse": "EMS is not considered an essential service".

I once broke my spine while cliffdiving in a little canyon in germany near the austrian boarder. I called an "ambulance" and in 15 min a first responder litterly run towards me for assitence. After around 30 to 45 minutes i got picked up by an austrian helicopter because all the german ones where ocupiet. They then flew me around half an hour towards, not the most close hospital but rather the best equipt for my broken bones. Then they picked my up with a ambulance to get me from the helicopter to the hospital. Then i got a 4 hour operation and to this day i only paid 110 bucks because you pay 10€ a day for the hospital stay.

1:13 This interpreter is really not getting enough credit for the level of sarcasm they are able to portray. Kudos.

I still remember my parents telling me that my our insurance, provided by the fire department, did not cover an ambulance and we were NEVER to enter one if we were involved in an accident at school

My husband is an EMT, has been for 10+ years, and seeing how tragically underpaid he and his colleagues are for all that they do is just sad. They deserve so much better for all they do.

In America, you’re taught to fear bankruptcy more than death.

This is an incredibly eye opening video. Thanks for uploading it.

As a German, I sometimes feel bad about the things in my country. Then I watch another one of these and suddently I'm feeling pretty good again

I live in Russia and we have our own issues with EMS too. But I couldn't even imagine that EMS would be treated not as an essential service by law. That's some new level of terror for me.

you know things are fucked up when a health care worker cant afford his own service

Kermit must go crazy every time George Clooney applauds in a concert.

I’ve been a victim of this multiple times. Even times where I needed no medical care, paranoid family members call, then they charge me the thousands of dollars. Thanks Dan! ❤️ You John Oliver.

A friend of mine (German) visited the US for a couple of weeks in 2019 and the immigration officer at the airport grilled her, thinking she wanted to live there (as she was traveling alone). She literally burst out laughing at the idea. This is why.

when i was in germany last year i woke with severe abdominal pain. ambulance showed up within 5 minutes, the emt asked me a few questions and correctly diagnosed it as a kidney stone, and 2 weeks later when i walked out of the hospital i got a surprise too: they gave me no bill and told me to go home.

Thanks John everytime I watch your show, I feel more lucky to live in Denmark

In Queensland, Australia.. our ambulance is covered by a 2$ levy on electricity bills per quarter. Thank goodness.

I was a student living abroad in Germany. I had an injury to my lower back which made it impossible for me to walk, and I had to call an ambulance to deal with it. Afterwards when I was home and fine and was telling my mom about how it all went, she hesitatingly asked me how much was I gonna have to pay. Her friend's daughter had once called an ambulance while studying in the US and few days after she was sent a bill amounting to over 2000USD. Her only treatment at the hospital had been a bed for the night and some saline solution. I told mom that I pay health insurance every month and I don't think I have to pay anything. A few days later, I did get a bill for my emergency hospital visit and it was 10 euros, which included the ambulance, my 7 hours in a hospital bed, an X-ray and the few different pain medications I had received in the night.

I've watched this twice immediately after returning home from an ambulance call. More proud than ever to volunteer for an organization which offers FREE service to our community. We're in a rural area, and routinely transport patients to the nearest Hospital which is an hour away. Doesn't cost them a dime.

0:29 is brought to you by "Prostitute Mickey"

You hurt we squirt 😂😂🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣😅😅😅😅😅. I know this a serious video and issue - but that line was phenomenal

The more I watch John Oliver, the less I understand his decision to become an US citizen xD

I'm a paramedic and I would never have expected John Oliver to bring this all to light. Most of us don't get into this field for the pay, but it sure would be nice if we had the same benefits that police and fire have to take care of us, and our families, when we retire. For those of you who didn't know this stuff, welcome to private EMS. The company I work for also had PPE shortages during COVID-19 and we were asked to recycle N95's. Not to mention most of our ambulances have well over 200,000 miles on them. I hope this inspires change for my fellow coworkers in this field.

Honestly I already have a clause in my Living Will - I would rather be left to die, than call an ambulance.

I live in Queensland, Australia. Our ambulance service is fully funded by the state government. Free for residents.