Ontario and Alberta split air ambulance tab for woman who went into early labour

TORONTO – The governments of Ontario and Alberta have agreed to split the cost of an air ambulance bill for a woman who went into labour two months early while she was on vacation.

Alberta’s Ministry of Health confirmed the two provinces had come to an agreement so Amy Savill would not have to pay thousands of dollars.

Savill, who is from Alberta, had to take a helicopter ambulance from Timmins to Sudbury when she went into premature labour while visiting Ontario in mid-July.

The Timmins hospital didn’t have a level 2 neonatal intensive care unit to deliver and care for her baby.

Out-of-province residents pay the actual cost of an air ambulance in Ontario unless it’s between two hospitals and they return to the first once within 24 hours, so Savill was hit with the bill after her daughter was born.

The Ornge air ambulance service could not comment on a specific case, but said a one-hour flight on a helicopter ambulance would cost between $8,000 to $10,000.

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins says Savill’s case highlights some of the “challenges” Canadians can face in health care coverage as they travel across the country.

Savill is still in Sudbury, trying to raise an estimated $50,000 for a medical flight for her and her daughter back to Alberta.