Cities with Uber Have Lower Rates of Ambulance Usage
I injured myself and needed to go to the ER. The injury wasn&#x27;t life threatening, but I definitely needed to go to the hospital immediately.<p>I called an Uber.<p>I don&#x27;t have the time or expertise to do the months of legalese and calculus it would take me to understand my insurance policy, so I have no idea how much an ambulance ride would have cost me. $0? $400? $15000? None of those numbers would surprise me. As best I can tell, insurance companies throw a dart to decide whether you&#x27;re covered or not, and then the healthcare provider makes up some insane number if you aren&#x27;t.<p>The Uber got me to the hospital faster than an ambulance would have, for less than $10, and I knew it would cost less than $10.<p>The injury, though extremely gruesome and painful, only warranted an x-ray, some tylenol, and an ace bandage.<p>I&#x27;m insured. They sent me a bill for over $900. For taking a picture, and giving me tylenol and an ace bandage.<p>I view insurance as a tax my employers pay to the American healthcare system to be compliant. When I have my end-of-life event, whatever that is, I fully expect a choice between death, and living a little longer in bankruptcy. I&#x27;ll probably get treated outside the US or choose death.<p>The system works if your net worth is somewhere above $5 million. For everyone else it&#x27;s just the mechanism that sends everything you earned back to rich people right before you die.<p>Or maybe I&#x27;m wrong! I hope I&#x27;m wrong. The stack of papers is 4 inches high so I&#x27;ll never know, but I sure hope so.