The Desert Sun just released an in-depth analysis of looking at the various emergency response operations in the Coachella Valley. Entitled, “A matter of life and death: Depending on your valley residence, emergency response time and prices vary,” the study reported that Cathedral City processed 9-1-1 calls comparable to other cities but had the fastest response time for ambulance service than any other city in the Coachella Valley. In addition, Cathedral City’s ambulance service charged the second lowest price for 9-1-1 ambulance calls and the second lowest per mile add-on cost for ambulance transport. By law, public ambulance services like the City of Cathedral City can only charge a fee equal to amount of the cost to provide the service. Private providers, such as AMR, can charge fees greater than the cost to provide the emergency medical service in order to make a profit for their investors.
The City of Cathedral City has authorization from Riverside County to provide its own local ambulance service as does the cities of Indio, Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, whereas other cities throughout the Coachella Valley rely on private (for-profit) ambulance provider AMR.
To read more information about the in-depth study, go to: https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/13/ambulance-services-vary-widely-cost-and-response-time-throughout-coachella-valley/3588046002/
