Emergency services

Very sick or injured people should be taken to a hospital emergency department right away. Emergencies are health problems that require immediate care (for example: a broken arm, heart attack or stroke).

The Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) pays for treatment in emergency departments. Call the emergency number for your area (911 in most parts of Alberta) if you need an ambulance to take a sick or injured person to the hospital. AHCIP does not pay ambulance costs which can be quite expensive. However, the cost of an ambulance may be covered in some cases:

• Private insurance plans may pay for all or most of the cost of an ambulance ride.
• Vehicle insurance plans may pay ambulance costs if you are involved in a collision.
• Alberta Employment and Immigration will pay if you receive Income Support.
• Some employee benefit plans cover ambulance costs.
• Alberta Health pays the complete cost of ambulance services for seniors age 65 and over. This program is administered by Alberta Blue Cross. Seniors age 65 and over enrolled in the plan do not receive a bill for ambulance services.

Payment is not required at the time of the trip. No one will be refused ambulance service if they cannot afford to pay. Individuals are sent a bill afterwards and payment arrangements can be made for those who have difficulty paying.

Not all hospitals have emergency departments and not all emergency departments are open 24 hours a day. It is a good idea to find out where the nearest emergency departments are located and put this information near a telephone where you can find it quickly in an emergency.

If an emergency occurs and you don't know the location and hours of the emergency department nearest you, the people answering your 911 emergency calls can direct you to the nearest hospital emergency department.