Ambulances jack up fees for obese Americans

TOPEKA, Kan.–The memory still bothers Ken Keller. A panicked ambulance crew had a critically ill man but he weighed more than 1,000 pounds and could not fit inside the vehicle. And the stretcher wasn't sturdy enough to hold him.

The crew offered an idea to Keller, an investigator with the Kansas Emergency Medical Services. Could they use a forklift to load the man – bed and all – onto a flatbed truck? Keller agreed: There was no other choice.

"I'm sure it was terribly embarrassing to be in his own bed, riding on the back of a flatbed with straps tying him down, and then have a forklift at the hospital unload him," Keller said.

Amid the U.S. obesity crisis, ambulance crews are trying to improve how they transport extremely heavy patients, who become significantly more difficult to move as they surpass 350 pounds.

Because they require costly equipment and extra workers, some ambulance companies have started charging higher fees.

The companies argue it's time for U.S. insurance providers or patients themselves to begin paying the added costs, which are cutting into their thin profit margins.

Transporting extremely heavy people costs about 2 1/2 times more than normal. It takes more time to move them and requires three to four times more crew members, who often must use expensive specialty equipment.

In Kansas, Keller successfully petitioned the Shawnee County Commission to raise ambulance fees from $629 (U.S.) to $1,172 for people who are 500 pounds or heavier.

In the Nebraska cities of Omaha and Lincoln, the fees are $1,421 for an extremely obese patient, compared with $758 normally.

About 5 per cent of the U.S. population is morbidly obese, or more than 100 pounds overweight.

Some critics say the higher fees are a form of discrimination.

"Ambulance services are a critical public service and should accommodate the needs of all of those who require them at a fair cost," said the Obesity Action Coalition.

Associated Press