Cost transparency with Emergency24.eu
The private rescue service (emergency rescue, ambulance service as well as mobile medical services) on the Canary Islands is based on the fee statute, which was last amended in 2022.
What effort is required for a rescue mission?
Depending on the reported emergency and the corresponding medical specifications, the following are involved in the care and transport of an emergency patient: an ambulance (manned by a Tecnico Emergencia, Tecnico Sanitario and an Enfermero) and – if required in the individual case – an emergency ambulance (manned by an emergency doctor and a Paramedic) and/or an additional emergency doctor.
How do the tariffs (prices) for these rescue operations arise?
The private ambulance service can disclose and prove all its costs to the health insurers who bear these costs. Only necessary and economic costs are accepted by the health insurance companies.
And these are the following costs:
Personnel costs for Tecnico Emergencia, Tecnico Sanitario and Enfermero, Enfermera, education and training, quality management and more.
training, quality management and more.
In the local private rescue service area (Canary Islands), various rescue stations are set up so that all people in our rescue service area can be cared for as quickly as possible in every emergency. As a result, a large number of doctors, paramedics and nurses are permanently on standby (365 days a year, 24 hours a day) at these stations (day and night) and are thus on shift duty.
These expenses for the entire staff, called “supply costs”, are incurred whether there is an operation or not.
Material costs: Emergency vehicles, medical equipment, medical material, protective equipment of the staff, maintenance of the rescue stations including all operating costs such as heating costs, repairs, maintenance, etc.
Administration/management/organisation: The rescue service must be organised, managed and administered. Personnel must be found, trained and regularly educated. This list could also be continued.
A total budget is formed from all the above-mentioned rescue service costs. This total budget is divided by the number of missions and this results in a tariff (price) per rescue mission.
This means: If an ambulance and an emergency ambulance with an emergency doctor are involved in the operation, the total price results from the tariffs of the ambulance, NEF and NA. Since in the entire ambulance service area the RTW, NEF and NA as “365/24” provision is very costly, these total budgets arise.
And since in the Canary Islands region (compared to larger cities) the frequency of
Since the frequency of deployment is relatively low in the Canary Islands (compared to larger cities), the total budget is divided by the relatively few deployments, which results in the relatively high rates/prices for the individual deployments in our region.
Why are the costs relatively high, even if the intervention sometimes only lasts a short time or the transport to a clinic is not far at all?
The tariffs/prices arise as explained above. They are completely independent of the duration of the assignment and the transport time. This means that a short assignment and transport cost exactly the same as a long assignment and transport. This tariff calculation is also prescribed by national regulations in Germany, England, Sweden, Norway and many other countries.
Does my statutory health insurance pay for the ambulance service?
The statutory health insurance also pays for emergency services within Europe. In this case, the statutory health insurance covers the costs up to the amount that would have been incurred by the statutory health insurance for the same mission, for example in Germany. Since the fees here are roughly equivalent to those for rural rescue in Germany or other Countries, it can be assumed that the costs will be covered.
Incidentally, health travel insurance abroad will cover the difference between the costs covered by the statutory health insurance and the invoice amount, if applicable.