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 worked for Blue Cross 30 years, and I approve this message. Started out non-profit, later went for profit and ultimately became nothing but an ATM for executives and stockholders.
If they didn't want to be poor, they would do something worthwhile with their lives like marketing or quantitative finance, but instead they want to be lazy and save lives.
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
Started working in home health 7 years ago? I'm 28 and had a spinal fusion in March, attributed to lifting and transferring patients who should have had more than one person to move them safely.
Would you comment from your perspective? It is my belief that insurance is part of the problem, and the other part is ambulance services have become a separate business from emergency hospital services. Years ago, the EMTS and Paramedics were hospital employees. Now, hospitals are dumping any care that isnt highly profitable.
@@wolfdogg9938 it's more than that you also have places of business usually bars or nightclubs especially in higher end areas where that serve hiring clientele who will specifically work with certain private ambulance companies to take them to the more expensive hospitals in the club gets a kickback from the hospital if you thank you for sending us your rich alcohol poisoned morons. It's even worse in rural areas when you don't have hospitals or public clinics nearby and for many people if there's a serious emergency the best they can hope for is an ambulance to get there within an hour at which point the app not to go to the hospital. So essentially they're using an ambulance and EMTs is their version of an urgent care center just five times the price but what choice do they have. It's the same as most issues in this country where it goes to capitalism and the free market are awesome and most respects but there should be a barrier certain things being privatized so I would say it's more of an issue of a can and can't be privatized in this necessarily just insurance. It's the insurance is probably the fire starts but as it spreads outward a lot of the issues that you'll find are stemming from the fact that so many groups are not engaged only in helping people or their community but primarily are concerned with turning a profit and after that they're living actually matters is image and maybe we'll you know try to help the community... later... If there are cameras or you know we can tweet about it
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.
@@donpark4473 I know it's pretty much worthless, but thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your service. You're underappreciated and overworked, but you also keep civilization going. You're the thread that holds the country together. Underappreciated and underrepresented, but I see you. Thank you, thank you so much for everything you do
*Unfortunately*, under the Reagan administration... The "unfortunately" is important, though now I think about it possibly redundant when talking about the Reagan administration.
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!
She seems to have fallen right where the 1% wanted her! I hope this segment inspires her to fight for ALL workers, not letting them pit us all against each other.
Your mother is either very weird or very wrong. Because the way wages work - if everyone else gets $15 an hour, she can then negotiate her skills, which require schooling and ongoing licensing fees that aren't cheap, for even more. Raising the bottom raises us all. Seattle raising the minimum wage was the catalyst for Seattle EMT's getting a pay raise.
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.
As a Nurse Assistant going on 4yrs who would love to be an EMT, this is disheartening AF. Like I knew shit was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad
I'm sure you don't mean it this way, but it kind of makes me sick to think that medical care is considered an industry (outside of actual supply and equipment manufacture).
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.
Emt does not have healthcare what a freaking joke your country is. Is the usa full of cowards? If this was in my country politicians would be afraid to be out in the streets.. we have full government funded healthcare and we still strike to make it better. You americans dont care about each other that is it .. you only care about your capital. That is why free healthcare will never be a thing in the usa.. what a joke omg.
@@massinakmin8340 Unfortunately a large portion of Americans don't give a shit about each other. Most of us do, but unfortunately the amount of people that think that their personal freedom is more important than everyone else's safety and health is large enough that the rest of us suffer. All of us that actually care are powerless. If we protest or strike, they shut us down and treat us like criminals. And those of us who suffer the most can't leave, because they don't have the money to move away. I'd pack my shit tonight and take the first flight possible out of this country if I could, but I can't and never will be able to.
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.
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.
7 years in ALS. I always frame it to new providers as a stepping stone: get your patient care hours, get into nursing/PA school/anything else, then ride the ambulance for fun. Don't get stuck like we did. 😂
Iv volunteered in a ambulance since I was 17 in Ireland and I cant imagine charging someone for care seems wrong. Even the Emts i know in the health service always agree.
I was in EMS for several years and I never knew we weren’t considered an “essential service”…. The only thing I wish he went into further (perhaps for a future story) was what happened when we get injured…I’ve been fighting with my workers comp since 2012 and it’s a nightmare. I’ll be brief because it doesn’t take much to show how shit those insurers can be; I initially had a spine injury (3 herniated discs in L-spine) had a fusion in 2014…had a disc in my neck finally give out in 2019 and had it replaced with an artificial disk and my insurance’s attitude on that is that I haven’t demonstrated how my neck is connected to my back injury….I mean, I know we’re not anatomists, buuuuut I’m pretty sure that the connection between neck and lumbar is that it’s literally connected (and for further context…I’m in my mid 30s with no history of any musculoskeletal issues prior to my injury. It’s not like I’m now in my 60s and there’s some justification to question whether age was a relevant factor.).
@@thefourshowflip No of course that's due to work the awkward lifts we do on a daily basis are horrible. I've met so many EMS workers with back issues its insane. Plus it just goes to show what the government values by considering fire and police essential while ignoring emergency medicine.
Don't forget, $0.00 cost if you are on social assistance, plus other billing exemptions. (and actual billable calls only go to those with identified home addresses, something medics are notoriously poor at documenting.).
$240 is also pretty close to the cost of a private hospital room. So in Ontario, worst case scenario, you get taken to the hospital by ambulance and it’s deemed not medically necessary. Then you get a private room at the hospital. You have just had the most expensive emergency medical treatment that you can get, and it cost about $500. Compare that to $3000 and you’re not even at the hospital yet 😳
Our daughter was born in our apartment this year. Two ambulances arrived to take my gf and i in one and one for the baby.... they never billed us for either (also from toronto)
@@harshitjain575 I was confused for a bit, then I realized you meant 16 years total. and that you probably meant changing things for only this specific issue.
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.
Speaking as an EMT it sounds as though someone called for her because she was seizing, if someone is actively seizing and has an altered mental status it is our duty to transport them to the hospital. Also she has the right to refuse care and it sounds like they let her go when she regained her level of responsiveness. I don't see anything wrong with that.
As a frequent seizure fan (well not a fan... just fall down a lot ha ha), I would do the same thing. If I did not call them - I would refuse to pay. I would never use an ambulance or a regular hospital. I could always afford to have insurance but could not afford to use it. Luckily I am a disabled vet and get all my care at the veterans hospital. 😎
@@erikmuskett5313 You don't see anything wrong with a system where a person who just had a seizure refuses care because of the cost? Please stop drinking the GOP kool aid.
@@erikmuskett5313 I’m sorry, but your sense of “duty” does not outweigh the importance of someone being able to pay rent that month or put food on the table for their kids. If that woman hadn’t regained consciousness right in the nick of time, you could have put her into dire straights financially, and just the upset of you being on the scene thwarted her immediate recovery with stress. Not saying it’s your fault for what is a large systemic problem, but I’m shocked you see “nothing wrong” with that.
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.
they know how, other countries have been doing it for decades, what they can't figure out is how to do it and keep the middle men insanely rich enough to donate to their campaigns.
- "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."
Europe just found a 50-50 capitalist/socialist way of doing things. Yes, we have capitalism but we also found out that people also need to live and be healthy in order to be able to work, generate wealth, and spend it. Capitalism is unsustainable without a dose of socialism.
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.
Where in the country are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm a brand new EMT. One class that was 2 nights a week for 6 months, I've been in my first job for about a month, and I'm making $14/hour... I do work for a private transport company, though, not actual EMS.
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.
@Jared Lowdermilk, as a former EMT myself I'm sorry to hear that. Have you considered going into medicine? Lot of skills you learn in EMS are applicable in medicine though obviously you have to learn a lot more.
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.
We're collectively headed for doom (all humans) if we don't start realizing that we're the only ones who will be able to prevent us from destroying ourselves. After all... we've already done a WONDERFULLY efficient job of harming one another. For millennia. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
People who say "she should get another job then" better pray they'll never need an ambulance. 😠 We need these workers and they should be treated like heroes by their employers, not just clapping bystanders.
I agree, a mere parade is so much 'flag waving' and of little real value... in Sweden, an EMT earns an average of $4,000 (my estimate equivalent with their Kroner) a month, England around $3K and a paramedic in Germany earns approx $4K.... People who save lives at the 'sharp edge' deserve much more than slave wages. Give her a hug from an old OR nurse who - as a student- chose that path in part due to a taking a shift with the local hospital EMTs. Thanks for sharing
Speaking as a longtime EMT, I think we need to stop making false comparisons between us and McDonald's workers. They work very hard and get injured at work too. We all deserve better.
That hypocritical jagoff DiBlasio laid off EMT's, made sure they are paid less than fire fighters, and even monitored their times using the bathroom. He can go sod off
I'm an RN. I have worked throughout the pandemic. I get paid okay and have decent benefits. I am no hero. I am just someone doing their job. EMS workers...well they are true heroes. They save lives on a daily basis, in the worst of circumstances, with almost no resources. They see things most of us will never understand. Thank you!!!
Thank you for the kind words, we love and appreciate you too. The other day I was bringing a patient in while the ED nurses were bringing a code back from triage. The nurse doing CPR switched out with someone else right before they wheeled the bed in the room, and literally without missing a beat walked into the room next door with the call bell going off and was like “You need a blanket? Sure!” And went and got a blanket. We deal with one patient at a time (usually). Yall juggle so much at once it blows my mind. Keep it up, good luck with this wave of covid
So mickey mouse isnt real and cannot sue. Also Americas constitution gives us protections in free speech. Plus HBO has no sponsors and therefore are not beholden to any money overlords and can say or do whatever is in legal bounds!
@@MikeDyson3k I think you are correct. I also think that if we changed little else but EMS becomes federally funded in those 39 states where it's not, it would be financially abused by the heavily merged private healthcare service orgs more than it would be misused by individuals.
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
Imagine... Insurance companies doing what they're supposed to do. Cheesus. Sorry, bud. You deserve better. As do your... patients? ...clients? I dunno. 🤨 Hope it gets better. ...WAIT WAIT WAIT. You didn't even get hazard pay? Are you forking kidding me?
Ah come on, you all go on strike nationwide, you get medicare for all. Americans are just whipped into thinking they can't have the good things in life. The pandemic was the opportunity to say NO to vaccines until you get M4A, but you blew it. You guys have zero gumption, sorry to say.
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.
Thank you for what you're doing! I'm also from a small town with no hospitals nearby. It's an hour drive to the nearest small one, and 3 hours to a big one if something really serious happens. It's not uncommon for someone to be airlifted and have medics take care of them while in the air. People like you are the ones that continuously save the lives and protect the health of our rural friends and family. Thank you!
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.
Spent 5 or 6 years working privates before I moved stares and found a cluster of not-for-profit third service agencies in NY. Still not paid what I'm worth but there is light at the end of the tunnel if you keep looking. Good luck pal.
- "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."
All of our ambulances are far over 300,000. Unfortunately, we often get warning lights on them and kind of have to just shrug them off. We also only were given 1 N95 for every 3 days and had to use reusable gowns.
@@howisthatgay4275 yeah, I cannot lie though, it is drastically improving for us, but that’s because we were bought by a big company that recognizes the reason everyone is so underemployed is because nobody wants to get paid $11/hr. They’ll never get us new ambulances though 😆
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.
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.
Feel so sorry for you and others like you. I just couldn't think that something that literally has 'Emergency' in the name is not officially considered essential. Moreover, I didn't even know that all those expensive ambulance bills go straight to big corporations rather than add to EMS funding.
This is ridiculously insane. WTF do I pay taxes for?!? For you to be mistreated and underpaid?!? I know it may not mean much, but I thank you for taking time to help people who could not help themselves, but I am sorry that people like me sat by and just let this crap happen. I still can't believe am just hearing about this...
Lucky for you...many LPNS decided to drop out of Nursing all together after feeling the love during the pandemic... I walked away from 40 years as an Lpn....no grandfathering in during the pandrmic it seems to ASN...
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
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.
it is even more shocking to see some people are worried more about Mickey mouse then the real life story that is being told in this comments. People across the world needs people like your husband...they save lives not always doctors an hospitals
@@avikeshbalkissoon2843 you know that person that you're commenting about was not worried about Disney, they were worried about litigation against John, right? Probably not.
Hazard pay is something that all industries have been shirking - including the USPS and grocery stores. Essential and dangerous jobs are considered too numerous to grace with hazard pay. Fun fact: When EMTs, letter carriers and supermarket people get C-19, there are no relief workers that come in. The remaining people have to do all the work. It was so bad in Los Angeles that tens of thousands of people weren't getting their mail for weeks, including life-saving checks! Clerks were sitting behind counters with no barrier for the worst months of the pandemic while scanning/bagging your groceries or sending off your care packages to loved ones in dire straits. The whole pandemic was handled terribly from the city to the national level of government, not to mention the fuckers protecting their bottom line. My son continued working for Amazon and got C-19 from a coworker who caught it from her EMT boyfriend. No hazard pay, no PPE given besides a mask, the temp checks only started when numbers were up, then that practice stopped when it took too long and obviously, it was not enough. Still, I'd rather not go through what my sister did in San Francisco, which was a complete lockdown of the city. The lawbreakers have been ruling the streets ever since while people cower in their homes and pay through the nose for delivered groceries - by workers who receive no hazard pay for C-19, let alone threading through the thugs and drugs of the Mission District to deliver a bag of veggies. Emergency services are constantly running their sirens whenever I talk to her. She's exhausted from the constant stress of it all. It is no wonder people are leaving California in droves. And don't get me started about when the fires made being outside an even greater health risk.
Yet we actually have the same inconsistency in how ambulances are funded and managed and ambulance rides are often not covered by provincial medicare. That said, our costs are closer to an Uber than $3000.
Except in British Columbia, Canada. Paramedics in rural areas make $2/hr. When paged out, you then get paid a minimum of 4hrs pay. You could sit at the station for 24hrs and make $48.
And yet America keeps glorifying capitalism and refuses to install beneficial socialistic systems like medicare for all. *shrugs* You do it to yourself...
@@dv6165 This is the type of comment I can't decide whether up- or down-voting is best. I wanna up-vote because it's correct. I also wanna down-vote because I don't want it to be correct.
Thank you. My husband has been a paramedic for almost 18 years. He gets paid $17 an hour so he planned to work the 20 years needed to retire with his pension. Once he retired he was going to go back to school to become a nurse in the emergency department. Last year the company he works for announced they were doing away with the pension program.
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 .
Spot on! Over thirteen years in the field (EMT>Medic) and finally had to leave just so I could secure a retirement plan somewhere and not get ran into the ground on a weekly basis working 60hr work weeks (the normal schedule).
I spent several years at a private ambulance service. I left with a blown knee, PTSD, and endless nights of suicidal ideations and depression. I went into it happy and excited, I left broken and in debt. It was easy for the company to do this since there was always a stack of applications and young medics wanting the experience. I now tell young adults to never get into that field unless they are absolutely passionate and ready for those type of issues when the company is done with them. I loved what I did for my community but I hate what EMS did to me. In a way, it's almost a sacrifice for strangers who have no clue the struggle of the job and usually, don't care.
@@campingmods496 There are some things you can't explain to people who've never been there. On the PTSD: In my experience, sometimes it's easier to get lost in the bad calls than it is to remember the good. Try to remember the calls that went well or the oddball calls that made you smile. After too long amongst death and dying it helps to look forward and find beauty and joy in life again. I've found music helps sometimes (personal favorites Primavera, Fly, Nuvole Bianchi, or Una Mattina by Ludovico Einaudi). Regular exercise and eliminating caffeine also helps a lot. If you're still dealing with this and haven't sought help already, please strongly consider it. Too many in our profession have come to an early end fighting with PTSD and depression.
@@nicksmith1313 I appreciate the advice. It's been years and it's just hard to shake. I've lived a long life and I'm ready when the day comes for me to depart. Much love and best wishes.
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.
I'm so gratefull to live in Germany, any medical bill is payed for because I pay every month a little, and if I don't need it it's good for the next felllow. Bt I don't have any worries in case I need it. Universal healthcare is really not as bad as it sounds.
Universal health care system is brilliant and it would make a positive difference in America. But it’s commie and then I have to pay for bills medical bills and I fucking hate Bill so, Boooooo Universal sucks.
@@WalkmanYT the 45% covers unempleyment, social insurance, universal healthcare plus taxes for education, infrastructure, army and the costs to run the governtment, and everyone can take part. And I'm volantary take part of this system
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.
@@ASS_ault In some you have to pay an afordable copay, at most. And no copay at all if you're absolutely broke (as in no income and virtually no savings).
This bill you recieved really only covered the hospital bed, and you've been 'overcharged', since 10€ is what they charge for a day in the hospital (they charge per day, not per hour). So you could have stayed 17 hours longer without any extra cost. Believe it or not, the rest like X-rays, meds even surgery and hospital food are FREE. God damn us Germans - we really are a bunch of dangerous socialists ;)
@@blakgumshoo fertility rates is different from pregnancy rates. They're thinking that the fertility rate going down is due to pesticides and other frequently exposed/consumed chemicals. Pregnancy rates dropping is more due to people wanting to wait until they're older to have kids, or not thinking they're financially secure enough to have them.
In 2016, there was a itemized medical bill that included a $40 charge for "skin-to-skin contact" with the baby...literally, a charge of $40 to hold their baby. Now i'm not going to say america lives in a dystopia, but that right there seems to be a dystopian element you could add to the very long list
@@catelynh1020 other than beta-spreading the obvious: what else did your comment controbute? The comment you're referring to probably meant pregnancy rates, not fertility rates, guessing from the context. And they have a valid point. Most people in the US can't cover their basic human needs and even if they can, there's no affordable infrastructure for education and healthcare and that's just scratching the surface
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...
heard that a ambulance was ram off the road last year. all the two EMTs can remember is a semi run up behind them and ramming into them and rolling over in the ditch. the company they work for is shady.
It's actually super common, and not as scary as you'd think. You can't keep an infinite number of ambulances out there, and sometimes a large rush of calls can put at something called "level zero." It's rare for such an issue to really be a problem, it just delays the ambulance by a few minutes, and 99.999% of calls aren't going to be altered by that delay. Most cities have a 10-20 minute max response window as standard. You should be scared for the rural cities that don't have ANY emergency services.
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…
As a nurse who had to have friends call 911 and be transported to hospital yesterday. my god I had no idea. This is absolutely ridiculous that they do not pay paramedics properly. Without you training and expertise thousand would DIE. This is f*cking ridiculous. Btw thank you to the paramedics who helped yesterday.
I’ve seen other comments like yours… please get other EMTs together nationwide and get loud about this. Most (like me) don’t know these issues even exist. I thought EMTs were paid decently and had funding, insurance, etc. This is outrageous
As an EMT, I can confirm this is entirely true and it's more wide spread and extreme than even this episode communicates. I know people who go to college for years only to end up full time at a fire department that pays them sometimes less than $9/hour. And what's going on at TransCare is actually common practice among private EMS everywhere I've seen, and is only the tip of the iceberg of what goes on. I know one place that refuses to provide glucometer strips to their ambulances (for checking blood sugars), telling their medics to just "go find some".
Had an ambulance take over 40 minutes because the only available EMS was a volunteer organization 3 towns over....my town had "run out" of ambulances...meanwhile my 80 year old patient continued to bleed into her brain while I was helpless to get her to the hospital. We need to fix this ESSENTIAL service!! We love you, amazing EMS warriors ❤️
I didn't actually thought that was only an issue in rural areas predominantly because of lack of hospitals and therefore a lack of ambulances and private companies tend not to want to go there because there's no market for them that's profitable enough. But it very much happens in the city as well but for different reasons. It's not at all uncommon for an ambulances take up 20 to 45 minutes to arrive on scene in urban or underdeveloped areas at least not without police escort first.
@@cheerfulsatanist very much an issue in urban areas as well. Urban areas have a high density of Medicaid recipient's, Medicaid reimburses very poorly, therefore, whether a private service or a fire department, someone is taking a financial loss just taking that call. So services struggle to pay well, leading to poor retention, leading to less ambulances, etc.
The best healthcare systems in the world are socialized. It is unfortunate that so many Americans are terrified of that word, that is why the US healthcare system fails.
American conservatives are extremely propaganized and I've given up hope on ever reaching them. They literally think everything is a conspiracy involving communism.
@@ASS_ault you've commented capitalist propaganda on this channel almost 300 times dude. I hope the American gov is paying you for all your hard work, but I doubt it. Ppl like you will suck boots for free lmao
But according to the media all the countries with socialized medicine are completely broke. It costs too much. Edit, I was trying to be sarcastic with my comment. I do love the feedback.
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.
@@bubba3223 oh Canada is a total shitshow too. We're just not AS bad as the US. 2 heatwaves this summer in BC taught us that BC ambulance services are struggling with many of those issues too, understaffing due to poor pay, long ambulance waits etc.
@@bubba3223 YES, I saw something on T.V. about some Canadian who was working with some American Gun lobbyists to get looser gun laws in Canada. From what I've seen over the past few years, it's simple math; more guns equals more gun violence. As far as health care goes, we'd have to be insane to adopt the American system.
There are some things that should be free or basically free in this life. Those things should be Food, Water, Shelter, and Health. These 4 things are life or death. You cant have just one. You need all 4 of these to stay alive.
@@tekbarrier Absolutely. But there's plenty of wealth collectively so that we can at least guarantee those necessities for everyone, isn't there? Now, that of course means we need to tax the wealthiest appropriately...
The hospitals also do things incredibly shady. Almost the entire actual expense to the Hospital is for the Mother. But hospitals know that the mom likely is going to hit their out of pocket insurance max. So they start upcharging everything for the infant. The infant ends up with as large a bill as the mom due to insurance deals to screw over families. The United States is a dystopian society. I have decent insurance and a baby cost me $10,000 of debt. My wife hit her out of pocket deductible at $2,000 so they charge insane prices for the infant which requires actually extremely minimal resources and cost the hospital almost nothing in the case of uncomplicated delivery.
@@Fatikis42 I do medical billing. Can you clarify what you meant? Once you hit your out of pocket max for the family, that means you don't have to pay for anything for the calendar/contract year for any member under the plan. Did your plan also both an individual OOP max and a family OOP max?
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.
@@Arltratlo huh It is not the 1930s or 40s anymore lol and nazism is strongly looked down upon in Germany now….atleast from what I know and unless you’re using sarcasm
Man, you really can look at everything in the American system and be able to say "There was a program that helped with (put whatever here), it was popular and effective, then Regan gutted it like a fish and let it bleed out in the street while he shoved some money into a corporation's pocket".
Perhaps , but realize they've had Plenty of Time to Rectify or Resuscitate these Popular programs. Yet, We want to complain about the people who set us on this course. Some of whom, have long since left this World. ✌
Both big parties are paid by the same big companies and lobbies after all. The only differences are their talking points but in the end they are the same.
My paranoid schizophrenic great uncle was kicked out on the streets when reagan closed the federal mental hospitals. Horrible cruel person. Now the federal mental hospitals are back, they're just called prisons now.
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.
I am German-American, as a Kid Like 10 or so i was wanting to live in the US, to an extent i'd still want to but when i got older and learned about Things yeah all i can do is laugh, because No way in hell will i give away Basic human rights, Sure the EU isnt Perfect, but Beats the US in so many ways
My wife faced a similar grilling when she came to visit me before I graduated form university. Immigration went so far as to call and ask if she was my wife, and what we had planned for living arrangements, implying we were going to try to game the system. I laughed and said, "as soon as I graduate, I'm moving to Japan and we're going to live there, we have no intention of staying in America." When they asked why I said, "because the party of NO! sucks, end of story." Nothing I've seen in the last ten years has made me regret my decision to live in Japan, nor changed my opinion of the GOP for the better. BTW, ambulance rides are free in Japan, hospital bills are a fraction of what they are in the states, and the food is better as well.
@@Bagledog5000 Did the Olympics change your mind at least a little bit? I think that could have been handled better (e.g. don't do it during a worldwide pandemic, just a thought)
“A friend of mine was in Scotland recently. He got very, very sick. They took him by ambulance and he was there for four days. He was really in trouble, and they released him and he said, ‘Where do I pay?’ And they said, ‘There’s no charge.’ Not only that, he said it was like great doctors, great care. I mean we could have a great system in this country.” ― The Donald @ The David Letterman Show, January 2015 “If you can’t take care of your sick in the country, forget it, it’s all over. I mean, it’s no good. So I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better.” ― The Donald @ Larry King Live, October 1999 “We’re going to have insurance for everybody. We’re going to have a healthcare that is far less expensive and far better.” ― The Donald @ interview with The Washington Post, January 2017
I was having heart palpitations a couple of weekends ago. Freaked out, I considered calling 911 but after thinking of the costs (even with health ins) I decided to drive myself to the ER. I sat in my car in front of the hospital for a while (again...considering the costs of going in), and eventually I started feeling better, so I drove back home. It sucks that health decisions have to be made from a financial standpoint. But yeah...that's where things are in the US.
An ER trip for heart palpitations is how I found out I have hypothyroidism. A regular office visit to talk to your doctor about possible causes should be relatively affordable.
@@lovemusicbandchorus that ... Is double what i pay for a month in insurance in canada ... Where i xan go to the hospital for free and doctor for free too
This happened to me last month so I went to the ER in my own car and luckily I have health insurance and this hospital was in network. Sweet. This should be easy. I get in and wait for an hour before seeing a nurse practitioner who assesses me for a couple minutes and determines I have a pinched nerve. I'm relieved it's not heart stuff. She sends me back out to wait in the ER before I get a prescription after another hour of waiting then I go home. My bill WITH insurance for speaking with an NP for maybe 5 minutes and that's it was $600. I was fucking livid and still trying to get through to billing to dispute this bill. I fucking give up on our system.
There are people who get in a car accident and have a headache but self diagnosse because they are more frightened of the cost of the ambulance and hospital rather than a concussion.
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."
Yes covid has simply highlighted and underscored these problems that already existed. in that way covid might actually be a goods thing. ITS FINALLY forced people that did not want to face the reality of how FUCKED our system is to face it.
A few days ago there were less than 40 open ICU beds for the city of Houston. Hope you don't need to be into intensive care because a bunch of morons refuse to get vaccinated.
Comparatively, yes likely - but compared to many countries in the EU the NHS is not quite the role model, it has many faults and a lot of these faults are copy-paste from the USA.
I became an EMT 3 years ago. It’s one of those careers I am thankful to have and proud to do. It certainly has changed my life for the better in terms of quality of life and purpose. I’m happy John pointed out how absurd the system can be. If you are risking your life everyday, you should not be making anything other than a living wage if not much more than that.
Living wage? No. Way more. Also free therapy hours, if anything happens. Which propably happens often enough. Respect to your choice of profession. And i wish you much humor and strength while getting a huge raise in pay.
I'm a medical assistant. I 100% agree. I love my job, I genuinely help people, but I need a living wage too. CNAs, MAs, EMTs, sanitation, and maintenance staff, ALL helathcare staff NEED a living wage with good Healthcare benefits. Everyone who works in patient care deserves nothing less. We are all suffering from a broken healthcare system.
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 $1800 for 8 minutes ride
It's really every "essential worker". The fact that we called everybody heroes but no one wanted to give them a raise. And no one wanted to make sure their quality of life was decent.
Giving them a raise costs money - and we need that money for penis-rockets so mentally 7year old billionaires can go to space and come up with amazing ideas like shooting garbage up there... And that is way more important, because corporate-Jesus said those with money are the better people and true heroes are happy being heroes and don't need food or healthcare. So fck essential workers, fck veterans, fck everybody!!11! MURICA!!!111
I'm a janitor at a college. I got no hazard pay while I was cleaning collage dorms from people all over the world. The secretaries in the office got a 1000$ bonus and hazard pay.
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.
Thank you for that insight. I was wondering how it was there. Does it get covered by your insurance or the state? I live in Germany and it is not even an issue here because we pay for it all in taxes so you will never get a bill unless you misuse the service.
It's also weird that I lived in the US and always feared ordering an ambulance but whenever I visited any other country, russia being one of them, the thought of not ordering an ambulance didn't even occurred to me.
@@MrLawalker we have private EMS here where you have to pay the bill but if you call 112 you always get service covered by special non-budget federal fund. This fund is mostly sponsored with money from people's salaries but there are some federal budget transfers too, about 10%. So people in Russia mostly pay for their ambulances themselves, with a help of government.
Shout out to the artist who had to convince their family they were drawing and animating Mickey getting fucked on a laundry machine "for work". You the real MVP. 🙌
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.
@@funveeable good question. I’ve seen many many people go on about how cheap medical is in Canada. But I’ve also seen people say that comes at a price, waiting long periods of time to get treated. For example, I screw up my arm and need surgery in the coming weeks. That could take months in Canada. I don’t know this too be the gospel. We all know how arguments work here on TH-cam and Facebook.
@@firewalker1372 Anecdotal story, but my mother damaged her knee in rural Ontario. Took 2 weeks for a non-emergency surgery to attempt to fix her knee, it failed, but they waived her for an experimental surgery for her which did the best it could. Rural Manitoba or out in the Maritimes might be a wildly different story though. People often forget how absurdly spaced out the populations are here. Some of the horror stories can come from people who live in the middle of the Praires. Edit: Ontario, Alberta and BC also have a tendency to attract a core amount of the specialists.
@@firewalker1372 I live in Alberta and have been to the ER for non-life threatening injuries so I was lower on the list for triage. Big city hospital, very crowded most times, but life-threatening, like a car accident and the like, you get seen to right away. It's not that bad of a wait to wait to see if your thumb is broken (4 hrs for me) when there's a constant flow of car crash victims and shootings. Never had to wait longer than 4 hrs for something, and never had to pay a dime either. Surgery dates can take a little longer yes, but never more than a couple of weeks, and we have the option for you to go get private care if you can afford/want to do so, so I still don't mind it either (again, life-threatening issues that need immediate surgery have almost no wait time).
and it's not like there aren't topic regarding which the US fares well. but healthcare seems by far the worst in the West European/American comparison (I mean, that's probably even valid if you simply compared the United States with Canada).
What! You can't be serious!! Republicans and FOX News pundits have been telling us for years that every other country is jealous of our healthcare system and to change it would be socialism/communism and leave everyone to die. Seriously, I am amazed how people have been convinced to vote and take stands against their own best interest. A lot of people who need a single payer system the most and don't have ready access to medical care are against a single payer system.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 It flips the joke. Mickey and Minnie are in divorce court. The judge says to Minnie, "You wish to divorce your husband on the grounds of mental instability?" Minnie replies, "Oh no, your honor. I just said he was fucking Goofy."
To be fair, an Uber doesn't have any medical equipment or people knowing how to use it onboard. So it is obvious that an ambulance has to costs more than an Uber.
One of my favorite tumblr posts goes “if I get into a serious accident call an Uber because I’m not paying $5000 for a trip in the wee-woo wagon” and as funny as that is, it’s also a sad sign of our correct state of affairs
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.
I had my EMT-B license and could only get a $11.00/hr job, I chose instead to be a Biochemistry tutor which paid me $20/hr. The only EMTs that get paid good are the Firedepartment which is unionized.
(Retired EMT-P here.) Years ago the head of a large EMS agency told me "A fire department is a budget in search of a mission and an EMS system is a mission in search of a budget".
I'm a computer science student in Germany and I've been doing Corona tests since march with no medical training. I get 15€ an hour, and people who work in vaccination centres get 25 for jobs like checking ID and crowd control. 11$ sounds almost like they're trying to self sabotage
Reagan is the only Republican that made Americans work hard for their lives and because John Oliver is a socialist, he hates Reagan more than anyone and will find every opportunity to rag on him while defending the socialist FDR and Obama for the rest of his life.
Regan was a horrible human being…cutting essential programs so the rich get richer. He caused the homeless situation we have nation wide. He was a sick human being that put citizens at more risk. He wanted to put us back in the dark ages with no safety nets. Sick
@@cmr053 yeah and Obama made all his friends and himself richer. Why else did he just buy multimillion dollar beach front property? Why do you Democrats trust the government to take care of you when they can't run the DMV properly? Do you want every industry to become one giant DMV?
@@cmr053 apparently you people think money comes out of nowhere. Rich people need a customer base and if all the poor people lose money, who is gonna buy their stuff? Reagan made everyone work so everyone makes money. You're evil for thinking people shouldn't go to work to have a good life.
@@avianjones4886 It's important to understand the cause so we can fix it. I had no idea EMS wasn't considered 'essential' in legal terms. Now you have these fly by night Venture Capitalists paying off Congress to keep the status quo.
@Zack Smith "You guys" (paraphrasing because I can't stand shorthand)? It isn't US... we suffer under our government's health care system... even the ones who THINK they don't. I HATE that what our retarded government does reflects on ALL OF US. It isn't accurate.
@@avianjones4886 Is that what you say to every horrible thing? "This woman was raped last night and we think this man did it" "Let's not blame the man and instead focus on fixing the issue" It's not an impossible task to try to fix our country while also placing accountability squarely where it belongs so it doesn't happen again
@@quarkonium3795 to be fair if that man from your example was that commenters friend or someone they looked up to, then yeah they'd probably have that same reaction
it's interstin' that "Emergency Medical Services" aren't "essential": one might be mistaken in thinking the word "Emergency" had some kind of meaning where "essential" would be its corollary...
@@cchoi108 that's...horrific....I just don't understand how it's not a priority on the state or federal level to fund this lifesaving ESSENTIAL service...it's disheartening, tbh...😿
@@JeanLucCaptain Because for the most part it could be purchased online with ease, and already had a robust internet commerce infrastructure around it. So although clothing stores were "not essential" you could still freely buy clothes and have them delivered to you.
@@MetallicAddict15 indeed the fact that ambulances or surgery are not free is incredible. It seems the EU is some sort of magical place... I mean we have issues, but nothing compared to what is seen in these LWT videos. Cheers from Italy.
@@AndreaLazzarotto In Europe you get affordable healthcare, education and payed holidays. In the US you get the American dream, you can dream about becoming rich and affording the things a European gets.
@@O-plaat The American Dream, and the land of opportunity is a scam. At least in this day and age. And I figure that it always was. Whether it is true or not, I don't know. But I have always imagined that the phrase originated during the period of migration from Europe. Encouraging new settlers to travel to the new world made of milk and honey. In the same way, as the Norse calling a cold and barren Island Greenland. To be fair though. Europeans don't get anything for free. We avoid the fear of getting financially ruined by illness or job loss, by paying higher taxes then in the US. But no system is perfect, each country have their own problems. I'm a Dane, and I gladly pay one of the highest tax rates in the world for the peace of mind that our society provides. Allowing even poor kids to get a decent education, is just icing on the cake for me. But not everyone agrees with that notion, so we are slowly moving in the direction of the US. Because god forbid someone "not worthy" should reap some of our benefits.
This is the first time I've seen this discussed in public, and it's appreciated. My dad was very lucky to have a good second job while he worked as an EMT.
He shouldn't have a 2nd job to begin with.... Revolution is inevitable. We need the army to get rid of the monsters, meaning the billionaires, millionaires and their puppet politicians.
@@MrDadutch sadly that will never happen, the army benefits from having those monsters in place. If anything is going to change, the people need to change it.
A former co-workers husband was an EMS and did pretty well financially. However, he took on many extra jobs, like transporting medical equipment and/or organs. My co-worker was very bitter that she hardly ever saw him and then he died early of cancer.
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.
**takes notes**
Go on. Do I extort the newborn? I mean bill the newborn or the parents?
@@stylis666 Every newborn should be in debt for life, makes all the sense.
I can only have pity for the poor US citizens at this point
I worked for Blue Cross 30 years, and I approve this message. Started out non-profit, later went for profit and ultimately became nothing but an ATM for executives and stockholders.
If they didn't want to be poor, they would do something worthwhile with their lives like marketing or quantitative finance, but instead they want to be lazy and save lives.
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
Thank you for your work!
Started working in home health 7 years ago? I'm 28 and had a spinal fusion in March, attributed to lifting and transferring patients who should have had more than one person to move them safely.
Dude i did the emt class and did only 2 ride alongs and knew this isnt for anyone. I hope you get what you deserve
Would you comment from your perspective? It is my belief that insurance is part of the problem, and the other part is ambulance services have become a separate business from emergency hospital services. Years ago, the EMTS and Paramedics were hospital employees. Now, hospitals are dumping any care that isnt highly profitable.
@@wolfdogg9938 it's more than that you also have places of business usually bars or nightclubs especially in higher end areas where that serve hiring clientele who will specifically work with certain private ambulance companies to take them to the more expensive hospitals in the club gets a kickback from the hospital if you thank you for sending us your rich alcohol poisoned morons. It's even worse in rural areas when you don't have hospitals or public clinics nearby and for many people if there's a serious emergency the best they can hope for is an ambulance to get there within an hour at which point the app not to go to the hospital. So essentially they're using an ambulance and EMTs is their version of an urgent care center just five times the price but what choice do they have. It's the same as most issues in this country where it goes to capitalism and the free market are awesome and most respects but there should be a barrier certain things being privatized so I would say it's more of an issue of a can and can't be privatized in this necessarily just insurance. It's the insurance is probably the fire starts but as it spreads outward a lot of the issues that you'll find are stemming from the fact that so many groups are not engaged only in helping people or their community but primarily are concerned with turning a profit and after that they're living actually matters is image and maybe we'll you know try to help the community... later... If there are cameras or you know we can tweet about it
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.
+
If it doesn't exist and you want it then make it. Maybe you could be on the show. Idk.
@Laplace disappointingly accurate, especially considering he points out not only the problem, but the solution as well
EMS is underfunded. I’m an EMT volunteer. Not worth the cost of training to work and get paid as an EMT.
@@donpark4473 I know it's pretty much worthless, but thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your service. You're underappreciated and overworked, but you also keep civilization going. You're the thread that holds the country together. Underappreciated and underrepresented, but I see you. Thank you, thank you so much for everything you do
“It didn’t have to be this way. Under the Reagan administration...”
Ah, fuck.
Fucking Reagan!!!!
*Unfortunately*, under the Reagan administration... The "unfortunately" is important, though now I think about it possibly redundant when talking about the Reagan administration.
@@DJK5364 (shakes fist at the sky) *REAAAAAGAAAAAAN!!*
Nothing good ever follows those words XD
This is why I now only call that man Ronald "Perpetual Enemy of History" Reagan
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!
She seems to have fallen right where the 1% wanted her! I hope this segment inspires her to fight for ALL workers, not letting them pit us all against each other.
EMS are always the first to want everyone else to make lower wages. It's nuts.
Your mother is either very weird or very wrong. Because the way wages work - if everyone else gets $15 an hour, she can then negotiate her skills, which require schooling and ongoing licensing fees that aren't cheap, for even more.
Raising the bottom raises us all. Seattle raising the minimum wage was the catalyst for Seattle EMT's getting a pay raise.
@@ASS_ault I'm a medic and I can't think of a single coworker that isn't either also in school or works a second job or even has a third side hustle.
That’s how they always get people on board with not raising the wage, instead of getting people to realize that all sorts of labor are undervalued.
Let me get this straight: EMS has to ask for donations and Police can buy tanks?
Love the prioritisation.
They need a union. Like the police have. That’s why they literally get away with murder
Union, what an un-American, anticapitalistic and communist idea... Unless it is police union that's is all fine and republican supported.
Not only tanks, robotic dogs like Black Mirror
"This is America..."
@@RHCole ya I'm ashamed to say I live in america
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.
Thank you for saving people's lives, not all heroes wear capes
Well you have to be crazy to do that for longer than a couple of moths or even years.
😥 Can't imagine how it must be like for you, living in Belgium where at least this doesn't happen!
As a Nurse Assistant going on 4yrs who would love to be an EMT, this is disheartening AF. Like I knew shit was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad
I'm sure you don't mean it this way, but it kind of makes me sick to think that medical care is considered an industry (outside of actual supply and equipment manufacture).
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.
💯
Emt does not have healthcare what a freaking joke your country is. Is the usa full of cowards? If this was in my country politicians would be afraid to be out in the streets.. we have full government funded healthcare and we still strike to make it better. You americans dont care about each other that is it .. you only care about your capital. That is why free healthcare will never be a thing in the usa.. what a joke omg.
@@massinakmin8340 Unfortunately a large portion of Americans don't give a shit about each other. Most of us do, but unfortunately the amount of people that think that their personal freedom is more important than everyone else's safety and health is large enough that the rest of us suffer. All of us that actually care are powerless. If we protest or strike, they shut us down and treat us like criminals. And those of us who suffer the most can't leave, because they don't have the money to move away. I'd pack my shit tonight and take the first flight possible out of this country if I could, but I can't and never will be able to.
Also, that funding is still more like poor to fair (PD/FD)
@@beadybaby I disagree. The US spends more on their PD than most countries do on their military
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.
Our system effectively charges for the privilege of doing a worthwhile job. If I didn’t need money, I’d do this job for free. But rent isn’t free,
From a former volunteer ambulance driver, thank you for your time and effort. You deserve appreciation, for a start.
Ever considered moving to Germany? We need EMS workers and you even get health insurance with it!
Well Republicans would say work harder or get a better job
As a progressive, thanks and hang on
Bless you for your years of service.
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.
7 years in ALS. I always frame it to new providers as a stepping stone: get your patient care hours, get into nursing/PA school/anything else, then ride the ambulance for fun. Don't get stuck like we did. 😂
I was shocked to find out what EMS are paid. It’s criminal.
I am sorry our system has failed such wonderful workers. I hope you find satisfaction ultimately.
3 years paramedic. The “you call, we haul” is such a frustrating issue. I wish I could tell my Pts to drive themself but I could lose my job.
Iv volunteered in a ambulance since I was 17 in Ireland and I cant imagine charging someone for care seems wrong. Even the Emts i know in the health service always agree.
As an EMT myself, thank you for this piece. More people need to be made aware about this.
stair chair...?
@@FartMeltonProductions burrito swaddle the oriented ×0 patient?
I was in EMS for several years and I never knew we weren’t considered an “essential service”….
The only thing I wish he went into further (perhaps for a future story) was what happened when we get injured…I’ve been fighting with my workers comp since 2012 and it’s a nightmare. I’ll be brief because it doesn’t take much to show how shit those insurers can be; I initially had a spine injury (3 herniated discs in L-spine) had a fusion in 2014…had a disc in my neck finally give out in 2019 and had it replaced with an artificial disk and my insurance’s attitude on that is that I haven’t demonstrated how my neck is connected to my back injury….I mean, I know we’re not anatomists, buuuuut I’m pretty sure that the connection between neck and lumbar is that it’s literally connected (and for further context…I’m in my mid 30s with no history of any musculoskeletal issues prior to my injury. It’s not like I’m now in my 60s and there’s some justification to question whether age was a relevant factor.).
Can I interest you in some pizza 🍕?
@@thefourshowflip No of course that's due to work the awkward lifts we do on a daily basis are horrible. I've met so many EMS workers with back issues its insane. Plus it just goes to show what the government values by considering fire and police essential while ignoring emergency medicine.
In Ontario, an ambulance costs 45$ "if medically necessary" and 240$ "if deemed medically unnecessary," and that fee is seen as too much.
Don't forget, $0.00 cost if you are on social assistance, plus other billing exemptions. (and actual billable calls only go to those with identified home addresses, something medics are notoriously poor at documenting.).
To clarify for Americans, that’s Ontario, Canada not Ontario, California. I can’t even imagine $3000 for an ambulance!
$240 is also pretty close to the cost of a private hospital room. So in Ontario, worst case scenario, you get taken to the hospital by ambulance and it’s deemed not medically necessary. Then you get a private room at the hospital. You have just had the most expensive emergency medical treatment that you can get, and it cost about $500.
Compare that to $3000 and you’re not even at the hospital yet 😳
Our daughter was born in our apartment this year. Two ambulances arrived to take my gf and i in one and one for the baby.... they never billed us for either (also from toronto)
@@michaelwywiorski2008 what is an f2f?
the phrase "unfortunately, under the Reagan administration..." seems to pop out a lot
Just, whatever you do, don't build a drinking game around it. That way lies alcohol poisoning.
Well I think it was around that time -they found out they could get away with a lot of BS
There has been 16 years of rule by democrats after that. Didn't see them changing anything. It's not a party problem but a policy problem.
Why they didn't change it all these years?
@@harshitjain575 I was confused for a bit, then I realized you meant 16 years total. and that you probably meant changing things for only this specific issue.
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.
Speaking as an EMT it sounds as though someone called for her because she was seizing, if someone is actively seizing and has an altered mental status it is our duty to transport them to the hospital. Also she has the right to refuse care and it sounds like they let her go when she regained her level of responsiveness. I don't see anything wrong with that.
As a frequent seizure fan (well not a fan... just fall down a lot ha ha), I would do the same thing. If I did not call them - I would refuse to pay. I would never use an ambulance or a regular hospital. I could always afford to have insurance but could not afford to use it. Luckily I am a disabled vet and get all my care at the veterans hospital. 😎
A dystopian story
@@erikmuskett5313 You don't see anything wrong with a system where a person who just had a seizure refuses care because of the cost? Please stop drinking the GOP kool aid.
@@erikmuskett5313 I’m sorry, but your sense of “duty” does not outweigh the importance of someone being able to pay rent that month or put food on the table for their kids. If that woman hadn’t regained consciousness right in the nick of time, you could have put her into dire straights financially, and just the upset of you being on the scene thwarted her immediate recovery with stress. Not saying it’s your fault for what is a large systemic problem, but I’m shocked you see “nothing wrong” with that.
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.
they know how, other countries have been doing it for decades, what they can't figure out is how to do it and keep the middle men insanely rich enough to donate to their campaigns.
Unions.
@@jacobschindler2513 social healthcare. Like everybody fucking else.
America is sick. You charge thousands of dollars for an ambulance ride and don't even pay the EMTs. Sociopathic culture.
Start with the pay. The best people are walking away because they can't afford to put themselves last. Quality staffing is always a good investment.
As an EMT I appreciate this man. I appreciate this message. And I appreciate all of you for watching this.
- "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."
🤣 Exactly!!
Small, ethnically homogenous countries with centuries-old tradition of centralized government. You really think that’s comparable to the US?
Europe just found a 50-50 capitalist/socialist way of doing things.
Yes, we have capitalism but we also found out that people also need to live and be healthy in order to be able to work, generate wealth, and spend it.
Capitalism is unsustainable without a dose of socialism.
@@bmac161 "ethnically homogenous" is code for "I'm a white supremacist".
Western Europe is not socialist tf u on about
Mickey getting his ass brutalized by goofy is not something I thought I'd see today.
Currently, he is with Scarlett Johansson suing.
The furriest are having a field day.
That’s exactly what I thought I’d see today. What kind of life are you living?
Disney's gonna be upset. 😬
“A brand new woooorld…”
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.
I am shock to learn paramedic dont make money it seems so insane
+
You shouldn't. Thank you that you did.
Where in the country are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm a brand new EMT. One class that was 2 nights a week for 6 months, I've been in my first job for about a month, and I'm making $14/hour... I do work for a private transport company, though, not actual EMS.
@@carolynfox704 where I live in RI Baristas can have a base pay of 14-16 an hour plus tips.. EMS works deserve more.
“Unfortunately, under the Raegan admin-“
Me: _Audible groan_
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.
TYFYS
Look into PA homie
Look into hospital work. I left EMS because of pay
@Jared Lowdermilk, as a former EMT myself I'm sorry to hear that. Have you considered going into medicine? Lot of skills you learn in EMS are applicable in medicine though obviously you have to learn a lot more.
Legit thanks for your service.
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.
We're collectively headed for doom (all humans) if we don't start realizing that we're the only ones who will be able to prevent us from destroying ourselves.
After all... we've already done a WONDERFULLY efficient job of harming one another.
For millennia. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
People who say "she should get another job then" better pray they'll never need an ambulance. 😠 We need these workers and they should be treated like heroes by their employers, not just clapping bystanders.
I agree, a mere parade is so much 'flag waving' and of little real value... in Sweden, an EMT earns an average of $4,000 (my estimate equivalent with their Kroner) a month, England around $3K and a paramedic in Germany earns approx $4K.... People who save lives at the 'sharp edge' deserve much more than slave wages. Give her a hug from an old OR nurse who - as a student- chose that path in part due to a taking a shift with the local hospital EMTs. Thanks for sharing
th-cam.com/video/FYpZgRF05rs/w-d-xo.html ?
Speaking as a longtime EMT, I think we need to stop making false comparisons between us and McDonald's workers. They work very hard and get injured at work too. We all deserve better.
The irony of throwing a parade for EMS is that it actively makes their job harder - parades make routing around a city really difficult.
they could've taken the money it cost to throw that parade and used it to give bonuses to all the EMTs in the city instead, but nah
Also, it will cause more covid cases which will make their jobs harder again......
That hypocritical jagoff DiBlasio laid off EMT's, made sure they are paid less than fire fighters, and even monitored their times using the bathroom. He can go sod off
@SEIU @Teamsters @AFL-CIO this is stunning and horrible. Thank you #JohnOliver for bringing this up!
I don't think the parade was really for health professionals. I think the parade was for the mayor so he could say he values the health professionals.
everyone: that sounds like an old cartoony ghost
John Oliver: I'm about to end these people's childhoods
I did think it sounded like that
you are going to be hearing from Disney - and not in a good way.
I was thinking it just sounded like a theremin, or a ghostly opera singer, if you ask me. :P
The most cursed LastWeekTonight graphic so far.
@@andrewmathewson341 whats worse is it was a gif, just a picture wouldve been 10 times more withstandable
I'm an RN. I have worked throughout the pandemic. I get paid okay and have decent benefits. I am no hero. I am just someone doing their job. EMS workers...well they are true heroes. They save lives on a daily basis, in the worst of circumstances, with almost no resources. They see things most of us will never understand. Thank you!!!
You're welcome, and thank YOU for being a nurse. We have to have you, or how can we turn over our patients? Lol
Thank you for the kind words, we love and appreciate you too. The other day I was bringing a patient in while the ED nurses were bringing a code back from triage. The nurse doing CPR switched out with someone else right before they wheeled the bed in the room, and literally without missing a beat walked into the room next door with the call bell going off and was like “You need a blanket? Sure!” And went and got a blanket.
We deal with one patient at a time (usually). Yall juggle so much at once it blows my mind. Keep it up, good luck with this wave of covid
@@jendelaney9571 Thanks
@@SouthernCompetition Appreciate the kind words.
The confidence of this show's lawyers that allow John make those jokes about Mickey Mouse
Parody and satire is explicitly protected by law.
So mickey mouse isnt real and cannot sue. Also Americas constitution gives us protections in free speech. Plus HBO has no sponsors and therefore are not beholden to any money overlords and can say or do whatever is in legal bounds!
Disney illegally extended Mickey's copy right. It is about expire again in 2024
@@robsmith5526 that number is so low that is non issue and most likely a mental health issue, but this country doesn't want to fix that either.
@@MikeDyson3k I think you are correct. I also think that if we changed little else but EMS becomes federally funded in those 39 states where it's not, it would be financially abused by the heavily merged private healthcare service orgs more than it would be misused by individuals.
“The frustrating thing is, it didn’t have to be this way.” Should be the country’s official motto.
World's
We can't have progress because the untaxed rich need another yacht.
To quote Winston Churchill, "you can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else"
Word!!
@@chiefsilverback Technically, that quote isn't exactly Churchill's, but that doesn't make it any less true
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
Imagine... Insurance companies doing what they're supposed to do. Cheesus.
Sorry, bud. You deserve better. As do your... patients? ...clients? I dunno. 🤨 Hope it gets better.
...WAIT WAIT WAIT. You didn't even get hazard pay? Are you forking kidding me?
Insurance and government money since why the healthcare cost so much. The hospital needs to have its own prices and they need to be available.
Ah come on, you all go on strike nationwide, you get medicare for all. Americans are just whipped into thinking they can't have the good things in life. The pandemic was the opportunity to say NO to vaccines until you get M4A, but you blew it. You guys have zero gumption, sorry to say.
@@Acidfunkish Lol we got 300 dollar bonus as our hazard pay and that was taxed
@@normansimpson1594 As if denying the vaccines would help healthcare workers in any way.
As a 20 plus year paramedic, thank you for bringing this to the attention or more people.
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.
People like you are what makes this world a better place! ❤️
god bless you
This is amazing and warms my heart!!
Thank you for what you're doing! I'm also from a small town with no hospitals nearby. It's an hour drive to the nearest small one, and 3 hours to a big one if something really serious happens. It's not uncommon for someone to be airlifted and have medics take care of them while in the air.
People like you are the ones that continuously save the lives and protect the health of our rural friends and family. Thank you!
People like you freaking rule!!
What town??
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.
Spent 5 or 6 years working privates before I moved stares and found a cluster of not-for-profit third service agencies in NY. Still not paid what I'm worth but there is light at the end of the tunnel if you keep looking. Good luck pal.
- "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."
All of our ambulances are far over 300,000. Unfortunately, we often get warning lights on them and kind of have to just shrug them off. We also only were given 1 N95 for every 3 days and had to use reusable gowns.
Private? Man that’s a good shape ambulance for HFD (Houston) lmao
@@howisthatgay4275 yeah, I cannot lie though, it is drastically improving for us, but that’s because we were bought by a big company that recognizes the reason everyone is so underemployed is because nobody wants to get paid $11/hr.
They’ll never get us new ambulances though 😆
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.
@@sydneyklabnik5231 Ah ok.Now i
see the potential issue
It’s ridiculous how judgmental people can be. Also ridiculous: wage disparities
winter is coming
@@sydneyklabnik5231 Thanks for the information.
What're her superiors afraid of? People going to start fucking themselves up so they can watch her rub her clam in person?
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.
Feel so sorry for you and others like you. I just couldn't think that something that literally has 'Emergency' in the name is not officially considered essential. Moreover, I didn't even know that all those expensive ambulance bills go straight to big corporations rather than add to EMS funding.
This is ridiculously insane. WTF do I pay taxes for?!?
For you to be mistreated and underpaid?!?
I know it may not mean much, but I thank you for taking time to help people who could not help themselves, but I am sorry that people like me sat by and just let this crap happen.
I still can't believe am just hearing about this...
40 year LPN did NOT renew her license...no thanks and NO, not a dime of retirement folks!!
Lucky for you...many LPNS decided to drop out of
Nursing all together after feeling the love during the pandemic... I walked away from 40 years as an Lpn....no grandfathering in during the pandrmic it seems to ASN...
In Finland, EMS nurses have a higher pay than other nurses.
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
Long shifts suck. Hopefully dispatch leaves you alone for 5 minutes later. Stay safe.
From a former volunteer ambulance driver, thank you for your time and effort. You deserve appreciation, for a start.
@@nicksmith1313 long ones do... From the sounds of it hes eorjing 2 days straight
48 hour shift, that's horrific! Here in Finland Its 24 hours on 72 off!
@@ilenastarbreeze4978 Yes. Shifts like this are another problem in EMS.
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.
Absolutely shameful that people who literally do nothing but save lives are paid so poorly.
it is even more shocking to see some people are worried more about Mickey mouse then the real life story that is being told in this comments. People across the world needs people like your husband...they save lives not always doctors an hospitals
@@avikeshbalkissoon2843 you know that person that you're commenting about was not worried about Disney, they were worried about litigation against John, right? Probably not.
@@avikeshbalkissoon2843 and apparently you have no idea how litigious Disney is in regards to the use of their characters.
Hazard pay is something that all industries have been shirking - including the USPS and grocery stores. Essential and dangerous jobs are considered too numerous to grace with hazard pay. Fun fact: When EMTs, letter carriers and supermarket people get C-19, there are no relief workers that come in. The remaining people have to do all the work. It was so bad in Los Angeles that tens of thousands of people weren't getting their mail for weeks, including life-saving checks! Clerks were sitting behind counters with no barrier for the worst months of the pandemic while scanning/bagging your groceries or sending off your care packages to loved ones in dire straits. The whole pandemic was handled terribly from the city to the national level of government, not to mention the fuckers protecting their bottom line. My son continued working for Amazon and got C-19 from a coworker who caught it from her EMT boyfriend. No hazard pay, no PPE given besides a mask, the temp checks only started when numbers were up, then that practice stopped when it took too long and obviously, it was not enough.
Still, I'd rather not go through what my sister did in San Francisco, which was a complete lockdown of the city. The lawbreakers have been ruling the streets ever since while people cower in their homes and pay through the nose for delivered groceries - by workers who receive no hazard pay for C-19, let alone threading through the thugs and drugs of the Mission District to deliver a bag of veggies. Emergency services are constantly running their sirens whenever I talk to her. She's exhausted from the constant stress of it all. It is no wonder people are leaving California in droves. And don't get me started about when the fires made being outside an even greater health risk.
So glad I was born in “socialist” Canada. Not perfect, but at least I know I won’t be bankrupted when I get sick.
🙌🏾
Yet we actually have the same inconsistency in how ambulances are funded and managed and ambulance rides are often not covered by provincial medicare. That said, our costs are closer to an Uber than $3000.
I'm tired of hearing how socialism is communism
Except in British Columbia, Canada. Paramedics in rural areas make $2/hr. When paged out, you then get paid a minimum of 4hrs pay. You could sit at the station for 24hrs and make $48.
@@andrewzeedyk3095 don't you mean "social democracy"?
Because thank god we never needed to experience the horrors of socialism/communism
"And if you're thinking how could this possibly get worse"
For Profit companies: Allow us to introduce ourselves
th-cam.com/video/x8INQu6TBKM/w-d-xo.html
This sounds like the most accurate description of the USA...
@@vanbusto8870 You know no one is following your random spam link, right?
And yet America keeps glorifying capitalism and refuses to install beneficial socialistic systems like medicare for all. *shrugs* You do it to yourself...
@@dv6165 This is the type of comment I can't decide whether up- or down-voting is best.
I wanna up-vote because it's correct. I also wanna down-vote because I don't want it to be correct.
Thank you so much John and everyone at Last Week Tonight.
We're not accustomed to someone advocating for us.
Thank you. My husband has been a paramedic for almost 18 years. He gets paid $17 an hour so he planned to work the 20 years needed to retire with his pension. Once he retired he was going to go back to school to become a nurse in the emergency department. Last year the company he works for announced they were doing away with the pension program.
Oh no that sucks butt
O.I.A. only in America. I love America but your system is so fked
That's crap. I am, as a contract worker, getting paid $18 a hour just to tell people how their insurance works.
I'm a medic.... I make 16 an hr. As an emt I made 12-13.
@Miranda Wait, so if they get rid of the Pension program, what happens to the money he accumulated over the years?
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 .
Spot on! Over thirteen years in the field (EMT>Medic) and finally had to leave just so I could secure a retirement plan somewhere and not get ran into the ground on a weekly basis working 60hr work weeks (the normal schedule).
I spent several years at a private ambulance service. I left with a blown knee, PTSD, and endless nights of suicidal ideations and depression. I went into it happy and excited, I left broken and in debt. It was easy for the company to do this since there was always a stack of applications and young medics wanting the experience. I now tell young adults to never get into that field unless they are absolutely passionate and ready for those type of issues when the company is done with them. I loved what I did for my community but I hate what EMS did to me. In a way, it's almost a sacrifice for strangers who have no clue the struggle of the job and usually, don't care.
@@campingmods496 There are some things you can't explain to people who've never been there.
On the PTSD: In my experience, sometimes it's easier to get lost in the bad calls than it is to remember the good. Try to remember the calls that went well or the oddball calls that made you smile. After too long amongst death and dying it helps to look forward and find beauty and joy in life again. I've found music helps sometimes (personal favorites Primavera, Fly, Nuvole Bianchi, or Una Mattina by Ludovico Einaudi). Regular exercise and eliminating caffeine also helps a lot. If you're still dealing with this and haven't sought help already, please strongly consider it. Too many in our profession have come to an early end fighting with PTSD and depression.
BSI scene safety
@@lasergabe BSI for my friend and I
@@nicksmith1313 I appreciate the advice. It's been years and it's just hard to shake. I've lived a long life and I'm ready when the day comes for me to depart. Much love and best wishes.
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.
I think that co-pay it tipped out at €140
Wow.
In America it wud hundreds of thousands... I spent 9 days in the hospital with pneumonia... 95k... Luckily i had insurance and had to pay 2500
I cannot even imagine what that would cost in the US, even with many insurances.
Dude,
That's the ideal system, isn't it.
George being able to summon Kermit with a clap is really filling in the lore for the Oliverse.
@Jon Thor ]]
...spoilers :[
This is the first comment when pulling up the video for me right now.
@@MD-bf2ce read comments after the video? Comments have never been spoiler free.
@@davidc1373 I get that. On mobile and when in vertical mode it always shows the first comment.
I'm dead. The Oliverse... brilliant!
"Under the Reagan Administration..."
Ahh shit, here we go again
I'm so gratefull to live in Germany, any medical bill is payed for because I pay every month a little, and if I don't need it it's good for the next felllow. Bt I don't have any worries in case I need it. Universal healthcare is really not as bad as it sounds.
It... It doesn't sound bad at all? You know what sounds bad? Being one hospital stay away from being bankrupt
I'd prefer paying medical bills over a 45% tax
Universal health care system is brilliant and it would make a positive difference in America. But it’s commie and then I have to pay for bills medical bills and I fucking hate Bill so, Boooooo Universal sucks.
@@WalkmanYT you won't say that when you'll have a disease that will put you 200k in debt.
@@WalkmanYT the 45% covers unempleyment, social insurance, universal healthcare plus taxes for education, infrastructure, army and the costs to run the governtment, and everyone can take part. And I'm volantary take part of this system
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.
@@ASS_ault And this is why my intention is to leave this country 😐
@@ASS_ault In some you have to pay an afordable copay, at most. And no copay at all if you're absolutely broke (as in no income and virtually no savings).
This bill you recieved really only covered the hospital bed, and you've been 'overcharged', since 10€ is what they charge for a day in the hospital (they charge per day, not per hour). So you could have stayed 17 hours longer without any extra cost.
Believe it or not, the rest like X-rays, meds even surgery and hospital food are FREE. God damn us Germans - we really are a bunch of dangerous socialists ;)
Welp. Germany it is. Gluten tag!
Plus last I check tuition is affordable meaning if I have children they'll be able to EAT.
One stay at a hospital is the same cost as many months rent for me, which takes so long to save up. Hospitals are forbidden, only for the rich
"Remember that baby who got a bill for being born" is probably the most USA sentence I've heard.
And they wonder why fertility rates have gone down in the US, even before covid hit.
Ameeeericaaaa fuck yeaaaahhhh
@@blakgumshoo fertility rates is different from pregnancy rates. They're thinking that the fertility rate going down is due to pesticides and other frequently exposed/consumed chemicals.
Pregnancy rates dropping is more due to people wanting to wait until they're older to have kids, or not thinking they're financially secure enough to have them.
In 2016, there was a itemized medical bill that included a $40 charge for "skin-to-skin contact" with the baby...literally, a charge of $40 to hold their baby.
Now i'm not going to say america lives in a dystopia, but that right there seems to be a dystopian element you could add to the very long list
@@catelynh1020 other than beta-spreading the obvious: what else did your comment controbute? The comment you're referring to probably meant pregnancy rates, not fertility rates, guessing from the context. And they have a valid point. Most people in the US can't cover their basic human needs and even if they can, there's no affordable infrastructure for education and healthcare and that's just scratching the surface
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...
heard that a ambulance was ram off the road last year. all the two EMTs can remember is a semi run up behind them and ramming into them and rolling over in the ditch. the company they work for is shady.
Holy fuck. You've articulated this idea really well, thanks for writing this comment!
Meanwhile in the Modern Developed World, working at McDonalds STARTS at $23
Are we not gonna talk about DeBlasio's translator? He was amazing
Right! I saw him and was memorized. Went back to watch again...lol
I always wonder if they're translating what they really say
John has really let me down on this issue.
🤣😅
No, this was about a far more important issue
"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".
Instead, it's something we're hearing in reality as shorthand for "society is crumbling".
Something you'd expect to hear around 10:30 PM in Las Vegas, NV on October 1st, 2017
Well to be fair it is a shorthand for “society is crumbling” in this real instance too
It's actually super common, and not as scary as you'd think.
You can't keep an infinite number of ambulances out there, and sometimes a large rush of calls can put at something called "level zero." It's rare for such an issue to really be a problem, it just delays the ambulance by a few minutes, and 99.999% of calls aren't going to be altered by that delay. Most cities have a 10-20 minute max response window as standard.
You should be scared for the rural cities that don't have ANY emergency services.
It happens all the time ... ALL THE TIME.
EMS has needed someone with a platform to say this for a longtime. It’s sad, thank you Johnny
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…
Thanks for seeing us, John!
-A frustrated and struggling medic
As a nurse who had to have friends call 911 and be transported to hospital yesterday. my god I had no idea. This is absolutely ridiculous that they do not pay paramedics properly. Without you training and expertise thousand would DIE. This is f*cking ridiculous. Btw thank you to the paramedics who helped yesterday.
I’ve seen other comments like yours… please get other EMTs together nationwide and get loud about this. Most (like me) don’t know these issues even exist. I thought EMTs were paid decently and had funding, insurance, etc. This is outrageous
As an EMT, I can confirm this is entirely true and it's more wide spread and extreme than even this episode communicates. I know people who go to college for years only to end up full time at a fire department that pays them sometimes less than $9/hour. And what's going on at TransCare is actually common practice among private EMS everywhere I've seen, and is only the tip of the iceberg of what goes on. I know one place that refuses to provide glucometer strips to their ambulances (for checking blood sugars), telling their medics to just "go find some".
th-cam.com/video/x8INQu6TBKM/w-d-xo.html
EMT here as well. If you can find my comment please read it and tell me if my experiences match yours.
This is the kind of thing the "defund" people were trying to change with their unfortunate mantra. It's restructuring emergency services.
Had an ambulance take over 40 minutes because the only available EMS was a volunteer organization 3 towns over....my town had "run out" of ambulances...meanwhile my 80 year old patient continued to bleed into her brain while I was helpless to get her to the hospital. We need to fix this ESSENTIAL service!! We love you, amazing EMS warriors ❤️
I didn't actually thought that was only an issue in rural areas predominantly because of lack of hospitals and therefore a lack of ambulances and private companies tend not to want to go there because there's no market for them that's profitable enough. But it very much happens in the city as well but for different reasons. It's not at all uncommon for an ambulances take up 20 to 45 minutes to arrive on scene in urban or underdeveloped areas at least not without police escort first.
@@cheerfulsatanist very much an issue in urban areas as well. Urban areas have a high density of Medicaid recipient's, Medicaid reimburses very poorly, therefore, whether a private service or a fire department, someone is taking a financial loss just taking that call. So services struggle to pay well, leading to poor retention, leading to less ambulances, etc.
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!
Thank you for what you do.
The best healthcare systems in the world are socialized. It is unfortunate that so many Americans are terrified of that word, that is why the US healthcare system fails.
American conservatives are extremely propaganized and I've given up hope on ever reaching them. They literally think everything is a conspiracy involving communism.
@@leifanderson3487 basically. McCarthyism still runs strong
@@ASS_ault you've commented capitalist propaganda on this channel almost 300 times dude. I hope the American gov is paying you for all your hard work, but I doubt it. Ppl like you will suck boots for free lmao
@@ASS_ault Is that bad sarcasm or pure idiocy?
But according to the media all the countries with socialized medicine are completely broke. It costs too much.
Edit, I was trying to be sarcastic with my comment. I do love the feedback.
"Under the Reagan administration-" god dammit it's always fucking Reagan
Ron Reagan and Ron Ahmee are behind all the current clusterfrack America has become. If it's not due to Ron Reagan it's due to Ron Ahmee.
@@dleet86 facts
@@dleet86 There is only one solution, eliminate all Ron’s. Except Ron Swanson
And nobody bothered to fix it. Regan is dead & gone.
10 or 20 years from now it will be always Bush.
I would watch a whole 30-minute segment of John reviewing the ambulance sounds of different countries and I'm not kidding
same
There are videos of people reacting to emergency alert sirens around the world, if you're interested. They range from funny to heckin creepy.
Preach!
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.
"Now unfortunately, under the Reagan administration-" Honestly, at this point, just rename the show "Thanks Ron! with John Oliver".
@@notabene7381 promises made before he realized that he'd be messing with a very lucrative system. "drain the swamp" hahahaha, they believed that BS.
That would be good for shorts. Just a minute of John going on a tirade about awful Reagan Era laws.
Is it me or every depressing topic has the sentence "under the Reagan administration..." 🙄🙄🙄
Right yo?😂😂😂 It’s not you yo.
There are reoccurring jokes about this, but that makes an example in the wild all the more frustrating. It really do be that way.
Like when he shut down mental health facilities and tossed them onto the streets with no medication and no follow-up care in the 80's
Yes I was thinking the same thing.
Or "after the Russians left"
As an EMT for 15 years, thank you very much for bringing a spotlight to this!
👏🏼🧐
He touched on AMR, most private services are scummy enough to deserve a deep dive of their own
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.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 that’s fantastic lmfao
I'm in Canada and feel the same but worry some times being so close to U.S. We do get infected from time to time by American ideology.
@@bubba3223 oh Canada is a total shitshow too. We're just not AS bad as the US.
2 heatwaves this summer in BC taught us that BC ambulance services are struggling with many of those issues too, understaffing due to poor pay, long ambulance waits etc.
@@bubba3223 YES, I saw something on T.V. about some Canadian who was working with some American Gun lobbyists to get looser gun laws in Canada. From what I've seen over the past few years, it's simple math; more guns equals more gun violence. As far as health care goes, we'd have to be insane to adopt the American system.
There are some things that should be free or basically free in this life. Those things should be Food, Water, Shelter, and Health. These 4 things are life or death. You cant have just one. You need all 4 of these to stay alive.
but muh communism
And Education. Without it, you're stuck.
While they are necessities, keep in mind that they have to be paid for somehow
@@tekbarrier ...defund the comically oversized military complex? Then you don't even have to pay more taxes.
@@tekbarrier Absolutely. But there's plenty of wealth collectively so that we can at least guarantee those necessities for everyone, isn't there? Now, that of course means we need to tax the wealthiest appropriately...
Lawyer: So, you want a divorce because you said Mickey was...being a bit silly?
Minnie: No, I said he was f*cking Goofy.
Mmm more like goofy fucking micky silly
Some gold here
i needed this punny joke, thank you
Some nice wordplay there. You just earned a cookie.
Here is an Internet
You've won it
15:50 A baby getting a bill for being born is about the most American thing I've ever heard.
Americans also get bills for dying.
The hospitals also do things incredibly shady. Almost the entire actual expense to the Hospital is for the Mother. But hospitals know that the mom likely is going to hit their out of pocket insurance max. So they start upcharging everything for the infant. The infant ends up with as large a bill as the mom due to insurance deals to screw over families.
The United States is a dystopian society. I have decent insurance and a baby cost me $10,000 of debt. My wife hit her out of pocket deductible at $2,000 so they charge insane prices for the infant which requires actually extremely minimal resources and cost the hospital almost nothing in the case of uncomplicated delivery.
Happy birthday, Baby! Here's your first birthday gift. $1,700 of debt.
Just think, if the baby was still inside of the women, there only would have been one bill. The whole think is ridiculous.
@@Fatikis42 I do medical billing. Can you clarify what you meant?
Once you hit your out of pocket max for the family, that means you don't have to pay for anything for the calendar/contract year for any member under the plan.
Did your plan also both an individual OOP max and a family OOP max?
"Big ouchie trucks that go 'whoop, whoop'." Literally made me spit out my water 😂
We do call them wee woo wagons in the biz
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.
It can be done !! Now here is a $10 Amazon gift card and don't tell anyone this again. /s
so, you like communist countries...?
@@Arltratlo I think you don't understand what communism is, or that it's not present in germany.
@@Darca1n funny, but most times people call Germans Nazis??
@@Arltratlo huh It is not the 1930s or 40s anymore lol and nazism is strongly looked down upon in Germany now….atleast from what I know and unless you’re using sarcasm
Man, you really can look at everything in the American system and be able to say "There was a program that helped with (put whatever here), it was popular and effective, then Regan gutted it like a fish and let it bleed out in the street while he shoved some money into a corporation's pocket".
Perhaps , but realize they've had Plenty of Time to Rectify or Resuscitate these Popular programs.
Yet, We want to complain about the people who set us on this course. Some of whom, have long since left this World. ✌
Both big parties are paid by the same big companies and lobbies after all. The only differences are their talking points but in the end they are the same.
My paranoid schizophrenic great uncle was kicked out on the streets when reagan closed the federal mental hospitals. Horrible cruel person. Now the federal mental hospitals are back, they're just called prisons now.
@Matt1147 democrats do not want to privatize everything... there are some things private industry should not be trusted with.
@@johnsonnosnm1516 well, there’s been plenty of time but our elected officials are bought by lobbyists. Welcome to end-stage capitalism 🤗
My younger daughter is an EMT and what John Oliver talks about is so true and accurate. Our health care system sucks.
Me: Expecting George Clooney to make an joke related to the show ER
George Clooney: Summons Kermit the Frog
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.
@@ASS_ault Why not? I would ...
I am German-American, as a Kid Like 10 or so i was wanting to live in the US, to an extent i'd still want to but when i got older and learned about Things yeah all i can do is laugh, because No way in hell will i give away Basic human rights, Sure the EU isnt Perfect, but Beats the US in so many ways
My wife faced a similar grilling when she came to visit me before I graduated form university. Immigration went so far as to call and ask if she was my wife, and what we had planned for living arrangements, implying we were going to try to game the system. I laughed and said, "as soon as I graduate, I'm moving to Japan and we're going to live there, we have no intention of staying in America." When they asked why I said, "because the party of NO! sucks, end of story." Nothing I've seen in the last ten years has made me regret my decision to live in Japan, nor changed my opinion of the GOP for the better.
BTW, ambulance rides are free in Japan, hospital bills are a fraction of what they are in the states, and the food is better as well.
@@Bagledog5000 Did the Olympics change your mind at least a little bit? I think that could have been handled better (e.g. don't do it during a worldwide pandemic, just a thought)
“A friend of mine was in Scotland recently. He got very, very sick. They took him by ambulance and he was there for four days. He was really in trouble, and they released him and he said, ‘Where do I pay?’ And they said, ‘There’s no charge.’ Not only that, he said it was like great doctors, great care. I mean we could have a great system in this country.”
― The Donald @ The David Letterman Show, January 2015
“If you can’t take care of your sick in the country, forget it, it’s all over. I mean, it’s no good. So I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better.”
― The Donald @ Larry King Live, October 1999
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody. We’re going to have a healthcare that is far less expensive and far better.”
― The Donald @ interview with The Washington Post, January 2017
I was having heart palpitations a couple of weekends ago. Freaked out, I considered calling 911 but after thinking of the costs (even with health ins) I decided to drive myself to the ER. I sat in my car in front of the hospital for a while (again...considering the costs of going in), and eventually I started feeling better, so I drove back home.
It sucks that health decisions have to be made from a financial standpoint. But yeah...that's where things are in the US.
An ER trip for heart palpitations is how I found out I have hypothyroidism. A regular office visit to talk to your doctor about possible causes should be relatively affordable.
@@beth8775 last time I had a "regular office visit" it was $300 after insurance. This system is a joke
@@lovemusicbandchorus that ... Is double what i pay for a month in insurance in canada ... Where i xan go to the hospital for free and doctor for free too
This happened to me last month so I went to the ER in my own car and luckily I have health insurance and this hospital was in network. Sweet. This should be easy. I get in and wait for an hour before seeing a nurse practitioner who assesses me for a couple minutes and determines I have a pinched nerve. I'm relieved it's not heart stuff. She sends me back out to wait in the ER before I get a prescription after another hour of waiting then I go home. My bill WITH insurance for speaking with an NP for maybe 5 minutes and that's it was $600. I was fucking livid and still trying to get through to billing to dispute this bill. I fucking give up on our system.
There are people who get in a car accident and have a headache but self diagnosse because they are more frightened of the cost of the ambulance and hospital rather than a concussion.
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."
Spot on Dirt!!🥲😛
Yes covid has simply highlighted and underscored these problems that already existed. in that way covid might actually be a goods thing. ITS FINALLY forced people that did not want to face the reality of how FUCKED our system is to face it.
A few days ago there were less than 40 open ICU beds for the city of Houston. Hope you don't need to be into intensive care because a bunch of morons refuse to get vaccinated.
Are you referring specifically to choreographing the Tik Tok videos?
@@JeanLucCaptain why don't you ask the Canadian or UK healthcare system and see how they feel about Covid.
Any time John talks about american healthcare, I always wondering if he is thinking "I miss the NHS"
Comparatively, yes likely - but compared to many countries in the EU the NHS is not quite the role model, it has many faults and a lot of these faults are copy-paste from the USA.
@@velianlodestone1249 And I believe often self inflicted in an attempt by conservative politicians to privatize the NHS?
Living in Brussels, the sirens threw me off for a second. I thought my window was open
th-cam.com/video/x8INQu6TBKM/w-d-xo.html
I became an EMT 3 years ago. It’s one of those careers I am thankful to have and proud to do. It certainly has changed my life for the better in terms of quality of life and purpose. I’m happy John pointed out how absurd the system can be. If you are risking your life everyday, you should not be making anything other than a living wage if not much more than that.
Living wage? No. Way more.
Also free therapy hours, if anything happens. Which propably happens often enough.
Respect to your choice of profession. And i wish you much humor and strength while getting a huge raise in pay.
It may not mean much coming from a stranger, but thank you for your dedication and service to your community.
I left EMS because of the pay
I'm a medical assistant. I 100% agree. I love my job, I genuinely help people, but I need a living wage too. CNAs, MAs, EMTs, sanitation, and maintenance staff, ALL helathcare staff NEED a living wage with good Healthcare benefits. Everyone who works in patient care deserves nothing less. We are all suffering from a broken healthcare system.
This was really interesting watch as a volunteer EMT. I’m glad he’s reporting on this. Let’s repair the system
Repair implies it worked once
Start speaking out too, get EMTs together and get loud… attention is the only way this will be fixed
Maybe get a different job?
@@vintagedot8350 good point
be prepared for incredible misbehavior from GOP though. They will test your humanity
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 $1800 for 8 minutes ride
It's really every "essential worker". The fact that we called everybody heroes but no one wanted to give them a raise. And no one wanted to make sure their quality of life was decent.
Because that takes money away from the real heroes... Politicians
Um, we bought them pizza and put up some nice signs, though. It's almost the same as a living wage and hazard pay.
And they continue to vote this pple
Giving them a raise costs money - and we need that money for penis-rockets so mentally 7year old billionaires can go to space and come up with amazing ideas like shooting garbage up there...
And that is way more important, because corporate-Jesus said those with money are the better people and true heroes are happy being heroes and don't need food or healthcare. So fck essential workers, fck veterans, fck everybody!!11! MURICA!!!111
I'm a janitor at a college. I got no hazard pay while I was cleaning collage dorms from people all over the world. The secretaries in the office got a 1000$ bonus and hazard pay.
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.
Thank you for that insight. I was wondering how it was there. Does it get covered by your insurance or the state? I live in Germany and it is not even an issue here because we pay for it all in taxes so you will never get a bill unless you misuse the service.
It's also weird that I lived in the US and always feared ordering an ambulance but whenever I visited any other country, russia being one of them, the thought of not ordering an ambulance didn't even occurred to me.
@@MrLawalker we have private EMS here where you have to pay the bill but if you call 112 you always get service covered by special non-budget federal fund. This fund is mostly sponsored with money from people's salaries but there are some federal budget transfers too, about 10%. So people in Russia mostly pay for their ambulances themselves, with a help of government.
In Post-Soviet Russia, emergency service you!
@@cl8804 I came looking for this, I was not disappointed 😂
The mickey bit was funny, but the George bit was just freaking awesome. I love that he is willing to keep the bit going. Just pure gold.
Agree but, Why is Mickey getting fucked and not Minnie? Is it a Me Too thing?
@@MikeMaduxx No, it's more like a Why Not? thing.
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.
The George / Kermit shtick was one of the best bits I’ve seen in weeks.
Shout out to the artist who had to convince their family they were drawing and animating Mickey getting fucked on a laundry machine "for work". You the real MVP. 🙌
The best part was not knowing it was goofy...but knowing it was goofy.
@@hailmammonmoments7568 You don't need to hear the "GAWRSH!" to know it was 100% Goofy
Their family? Why that?
@@hailmammonmoments7568 He Fyuhks.
Minnie's not gonna be happy that he fucked goofy
Today's episode of "American Capitalist Apocalypse": "EMS is not considered an essential service".
This show should be called "Last Week in Predatory Capitalist America."
@@NittanyTiger1 because capitalism is so evil!!
@@donovanlocust1106 this but unironically
@@donovanlocust1106 it's not capitalism thats inherently evil. nobody here said that. but look at the US and yeah, that fucking shits stupid as fuck.
@@clartigue10 capitalism isn't evil. Sure it's not the best but every other economic system has failed.
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 don’t know who comes into yes, but I definitely agree to Canada
Whats the wait time for crushing your leg with a subway car?
@@funveeable good question. I’ve seen many many people go on about how cheap medical is in Canada. But I’ve also seen people say that comes at a price, waiting long periods of time to get treated. For example, I screw up my arm and need surgery in the coming weeks. That could take months in Canada. I don’t know this too be the gospel. We all know how arguments work here on TH-cam and Facebook.
@@firewalker1372 Anecdotal story, but my mother damaged her knee in rural Ontario.
Took 2 weeks for a non-emergency surgery to attempt to fix her knee, it failed, but they waived her for an experimental surgery for her which did the best it could.
Rural Manitoba or out in the Maritimes might be a wildly different story though.
People often forget how absurdly spaced out the populations are here. Some of the horror stories can come from people who live in the middle of the Praires.
Edit: Ontario, Alberta and BC also have a tendency to attract a core amount of the specialists.
@@firewalker1372 I live in Alberta and have been to the ER for non-life threatening injuries so I was lower on the list for triage. Big city hospital, very crowded most times, but life-threatening, like a car accident and the like, you get seen to right away. It's not that bad of a wait to wait to see if your thumb is broken (4 hrs for me) when there's a constant flow of car crash victims and shootings. Never had to wait longer than 4 hrs for something, and never had to pay a dime either. Surgery dates can take a little longer yes, but never more than a couple of weeks, and we have the option for you to go get private care if you can afford/want to do so, so I still don't mind it either (again, life-threatening issues that need immediate surgery have almost no wait time).
Ah, an episode on the american health care system. Always a fun topic. Makes me appreciate living in Europe even more.
What country on Europe ? Makes a bit of a difference
and it's not like there aren't topic regarding which the US fares well. but healthcare seems by far the worst in the West European/American comparison (I mean, that's probably even valid if you simply compared the United States with Canada).
Health care system? More like health services industry.
What! You can't be serious!! Republicans and FOX News pundits have been telling us for years that every other country is jealous of our healthcare system and to change it would be socialism/communism and leave everyone to die. Seriously, I am amazed how people have been convinced to vote and take stands against their own best interest. A lot of people who need a single payer system the most and don't have ready access to medical care are against a single payer system.
@@xxxaragon well now democrats are in charge, I don’t see any change lol
Brussel's ambulance siren sounds like a halloween ghost that starts wobbling when you walk in front of it.
My thoughts too, but now I can’t get the image of Goofy railing Mickey out of my head.
I know what you’re talking about.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 It flips the joke. Mickey and Minnie are in divorce court. The judge says to Minnie, "You wish to divorce your husband on the grounds of mental instability?" Minnie replies, "Oh no, your honor. I just said he was fucking Goofy."
I don't care what John says, that Belgian siren is creepy AF.
th-cam.com/video/FYpZgRF05rs/w-d-xo.html ?
We live in a day where people take Ubers to go to the hospital since it is much cheaper than an ambulance.
$4,500 last time I went in an ambulance. That's not including the ER costs 2.
You pay for ambulance services?
Where do you live?
To be fair, an Uber doesn't have any medical equipment or people knowing how to use it onboard. So it is obvious that an ambulance has to costs more than an Uber.
One of my favorite tumblr posts goes “if I get into a serious accident call an Uber because I’m not paying $5000 for a trip in the wee-woo wagon” and as funny as that is, it’s also a sad sign of our correct state of affairs
@@rochester212 America
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.
I had my EMT-B license and could only get a $11.00/hr job, I chose instead to be a Biochemistry tutor which paid me $20/hr. The only EMTs that get paid good are the Firedepartment which is unionized.
Ah well, could be worse I guess.
**sets fire to pregnant wife** It's cheaper, honey.
(Retired EMT-P here.) Years ago the head of a large EMS agency told me "A fire department is a budget in search of a mission and an EMS system is a mission in search of a budget".
Weird how the union members are the only ones making a decent wage. Purely coincidental, I'm sure, right?
That's sad. Medicare for All
I'm a computer science student in Germany and I've been doing Corona tests since march with no medical training. I get 15€ an hour, and people who work in vaccination centres get 25 for jobs like checking ID and crowd control. 11$ sounds almost like they're trying to self sabotage
"Now unfortunately under the Reagan administration" can be used to sum up the state of the entire country
Reagan is the only Republican that made Americans work hard for their lives and because John Oliver is a socialist, he hates Reagan more than anyone and will find every opportunity to rag on him while defending the socialist FDR and Obama for the rest of his life.
@@funveeable what
Regan was a horrible human being…cutting essential programs so the rich get richer. He caused the homeless situation we have nation wide. He was a sick human being that put citizens at more risk. He wanted to put us back in the dark ages with no safety nets. Sick
@@cmr053 yeah and Obama made all his friends and himself richer. Why else did he just buy multimillion dollar beach front property? Why do you Democrats trust the government to take care of you when they can't run the DMV properly? Do you want every industry to become one giant DMV?
@@cmr053 apparently you people think money comes out of nowhere. Rich people need a customer base and if all the poor people lose money, who is gonna buy their stuff? Reagan made everyone work so everyone makes money. You're evil for thinking people shouldn't go to work to have a good life.
“Unfortunately, during the Reagan Administration…” is modern America’s tag line.
Its so weird. Like blame everyone else instead of fixing the issues.
@@avianjones4886 It's important to understand the cause so we can fix it. I had no idea EMS wasn't considered 'essential' in legal terms. Now you have these fly by night Venture Capitalists paying off Congress to keep the status quo.
@Zack Smith "You guys" (paraphrasing because I can't stand shorthand)?
It isn't US... we suffer under our government's health care system... even the ones who THINK they don't.
I HATE that what our retarded government does reflects on ALL OF US.
It isn't accurate.
@@avianjones4886 Is that what you say to every horrible thing?
"This woman was raped last night and we think this man did it"
"Let's not blame the man and instead focus on fixing the issue"
It's not an impossible task to try to fix our country while also placing accountability squarely where it belongs so it doesn't happen again
@@quarkonium3795 to be fair if that man from your example was that commenters friend or someone they looked up to, then yeah they'd probably have that same reaction
Thank you John Oliver and your entire crew for producing this episode.
it's interstin' that "Emergency Medical Services" aren't "essential": one might be mistaken in thinking the word "Emergency" had some kind of meaning where "essential" would be its corollary...
My friend is a volunteer EMS. There's no paid EMS in her not so rural area. They work with the fire department.
@@cchoi108 that's...horrific....I just don't understand how it's not a priority on the state or federal level to fund this lifesaving ESSENTIAL service...it's disheartening, tbh...😿
Meanwhile in Ontario clothing was declared NON ESSENTIAL i shit you not.
Recall that "essential" means "local governments are required to provide it to their residents."
@@JeanLucCaptain Because for the most part it could be purchased online with ease, and already had a robust internet commerce infrastructure around it.
So although clothing stores were "not essential" you could still freely buy clothes and have them delivered to you.
As someone living in Brussels, I will never be able to hear that siren the same way again lmao
Also: please, USA, take care of your own. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars for an emergency ambulance
Capitalist society Is killing the United states I truly feel progressivism is our only hope
@@MetallicAddict15 indeed the fact that ambulances or surgery are not free is incredible.
It seems the EU is some sort of magical place... I mean we have issues, but nothing compared to what is seen in these LWT videos.
Cheers from Italy.
@@AndreaLazzarotto In Europe you get affordable healthcare, education and payed holidays. In the US you get the American dream, you can dream about becoming rich and affording the things a European gets.
@@O-plaat The American Dream, and the land of opportunity is a scam. At least in this day and age. And I figure that it always was.
Whether it is true or not, I don't know. But I have always imagined that the phrase originated during the period of migration from Europe. Encouraging new settlers to travel to the new world made of milk and honey. In the same way, as the Norse calling a cold and barren Island Greenland.
To be fair though. Europeans don't get anything for free. We avoid the fear of getting financially ruined by illness or job loss, by paying higher taxes then in the US. But no system is perfect, each country have their own problems.
I'm a Dane, and I gladly pay one of the highest tax rates in the world for the peace of mind that our society provides. Allowing even poor kids to get a decent education, is just icing on the cake for me. But not everyone agrees with that notion, so we are slowly moving in the direction of the US. Because god forbid someone "not worthy" should reap some of our benefits.
This is the first time I've seen this discussed in public, and it's appreciated.
My dad was very lucky to have a good second job while he worked as an EMT.
He shouldn't have a 2nd job to begin with.... Revolution is inevitable. We need the army to get rid of the monsters, meaning the billionaires, millionaires and their puppet politicians.
@@MrDadutch sadly that will never happen, the army benefits from having those monsters in place. If anything is going to change, the people need to change it.
A former co-workers husband was an EMS and did pretty well financially. However, he took on many extra jobs, like transporting medical equipment and/or organs. My co-worker was very bitter that she hardly ever saw him and then he died early of cancer.
th-cam.com/video/FYpZgRF05rs/w-d-xo.html ?
@James Mason Stealing? Who does the stealing here? You have no clue.
This is an incredibly eye opening video. Thanks for uploading it.