re: #50 Captain Magic

That’s the trick I learned up here: if you need to go to ER, come in via an ambulance and you go right to the top of the queue. Walk in to an ER and wait, wait and wait…

Yeah, I learned that when I went through a period of not dealing at all with my gastric issues. I ended up in the ER twice. The first time I walked in, the second I called an ambulance. I got seen faster from the ambulance ride. Both times it was acid reflux. But I can tell you why people drive themselves over to the ER if they can—because the cost of an ambulance ride is completely out of this world. At the beginning of 2021, the statutory cost of an ambulance ride in Maricopa County was $997.05. Don’t get sick up in the high country or you might end up paying twice that.

ETA: my mom lives less than 2 miles from the local ER and the heart hospital. He is going to bundle her up into the car and drive her over and not call an ambulance for a $1,000 ride, because there ain’t nobody who can afford that.