Ambulance Fee Regulations - Health Services and Insurance Act (Nova Scotia)

“acute home care” means the home care program established by the Minister for the acute care of individuals;

“air ambulance” means an aircraft approved by the Minister to transport persons by air for the purposes outlined in these regulations;

“approved facility” means a facility listed in Schedule “A” to these regulations;

“ground ambulance” means a motor vehicle approved by the Minister to transport persons by land for the purposes outlined in these regulations;

“ambulance transportation” means the transportation of a person by ground ambulance;

(ii) from an approved facility to a person’s residence, if the person is receiving acute home care;

“long-term-care facility” means a nursing home, home for the aged or residential care facility licensed by the Minister of Health and Wellness under the Homes for Special Care Act;

“medically essential transportation” means ambulance transportation that begins or ends at an approved facility, and for greater certainty, does not include inter-facility transportation or transport of a mobility challenged individual for transportation purposes;

“mobility challenged individual” means a person who, because of a mental or physical limitation that has been verified by a physician, requires ambulance transportation for transportation purposes;

“new Canadian” means a person who is legally entitled to remain in Canada and moves to Nova Scotia from a place outside of Canada but is not a resident of Nova Scotia;

“non-Canadian” means a person who is not legally entitled to remain in Canada;

“non-Nova Scotian” means a person who is not a resident of Nova Scotia but is a resident of a Canadian province or territory;

“Nova Scotia health card number” means the health card number issued by the Province of Nova Scotia that entitles residents to insured health care services under the Health Services and Insurance Act;

“patient care record” means a record of the care provided by a service provider during ambulance transportation;

“resident” means a person who is legally entitled to remain in Canada and makes their home and is ordinarily present in Nova Scotia and has lived in Nova Scotia for a period of not less than 3 months, and for greater certainty, does not include a tourist, a transient, or a visitor who ordinarily resides outside of Nova Scotia;

“service provider” means a private corporation that has contracted with the Minister of Health for the delivery of ambulance transportation;

“stipulated third party insured” means a resident or non-Nova Scotian who is

(iii) a veteran of the Canadian Forces who is eligible for health care benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada,

(v) a person with a work related illness or injury and who is eligible for coverage under the Workers Compensation Act,

3 Fees for transportation by ambulance shall be billed according to the following table:

Section 3 replaced: N.S. Reg. 155/2004; amended: N.S. Reg. 138/2012; N.S. Reg. 179/2015.

5 (1) Ambulance transportation from an air ambulance to an approved facility is deemed to be inter-facility ambulance transportation.

(2) Ambulance transportation to an air ambulance is deemed to be medically essential transportation.

6 (1) A mobility challenged individual who is a resident shall be billed $108.95 for ambulance transportation that begins or ends at the individual’s place of residence and is to or from an approved facility, physician’s office, dentist’s office, physiotherapy facility or respite care facility.

(2) A mobility challenged individual who is a resident shall, while an admitted patient of an approved facility, be billed $108.95 for ambulance transportation that begins or ends at the approved facility and is to or from a physician’s office, dentist’s office, physiotherapy facility or respite care facility.

7 (1) Ambulance transportation of human remains is only permitted if requested by the Office of the Medical Examiner.

(2) The fee for ambulance transportation of human remains is $534 and shall be billed to the Office of the Medical Examiner.

8 The fee for ambulance transportation in circumstances not covered by these regulations shall be determined by the service provider and billed to the person requesting the service.

9 All fees must be billed directly to the individual who is transported, except in the case of a person who is under the age of 19 years and who continues to reside with a parent or guardian, in which case the parent or guardian will be billed directly.

10 Each ambulance transportation that results in the completion of a patient care record is deemed to be a single ambulance transportation.

11 A Nova Scotia health card must be given to a service provider to prove residency.

12 (1) A person in Nova Scotia on a student visa is deemed to be a resident upon the 1^st day of the 13^th month after the student arrived in Nova Scotia, as long as the student has not been absent from Nova Scotia for more than 31 consecutive days during that period.

(2) A person in Nova Scotia on a student visa is deemed to be a non-Canadian, until the student becomes, or is deemed to be, a resident.

(3) A dependant of a person on a student visa is deemed to be a resident on the same basis as the student, as set out in subsection (1).

(4) If a person in Nova Scotia on a student visa or their dependant is absent from Nova Scotia for greater than 31 consecutive days, the student or their dependant is longer deemed to be a resident [sic].

(a) has a student authorization issued by the federal department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada;

and the dependants of the student are deemed to be residents on the first day of the 7^th month after the student’s arrival in Nova Scotia.

(2) The deemed residency described in subsection (1) is retroactive to the date of the student’s arrival, if the student presents to the Executive Director of Emergency Health Services a certificate, signed by the Dean of the university faculty at which the student is employed, verifying the student’s employment and the period of time for which the student is employed.

(3) An international student, as described in subsection (1), is a non-Canadian until the student becomes, or is deemed to be, a resident.

(4) A dependant of an international student, as described in subsection (1) who is living in Nova Scotia, is deemed to be a resident once the student upon whom they are dependant has proven the student’s entitlement to residency in accordance with subsections (1) and (2).

14 (1) A person who disagrees with a fee charged in their bill for ambulance transportation may appeal the bill to the service provider within 30 days after the date the service provider mails the bill to the person.

(2) If, after appealing to the service provider, there is no resolution of the amount of fees billed, a person may appeal, in writing, to the ambulance fee appeal committee established by the Executive Director of Emergency Health Services.

15 (1) A person may, on the basis of financial hardship, appeal their bill for ambulance transportation to the service provider within 90 days after the date the service provider mails the bill to the person.

(2) Before appealing a bill on the basis of financial hardship, a person shall submit the bill for payment through any available assistance program or third party insurance.

(3) On receipt of an appeal under this Section, a service provider may waive or reduce the billed fee.

(4) If, after appealing to the service provider, there is no resolution of the amount of the billed fee, a person may appeal, in writing, to the ambulance fee appeal committee established by the Executive Director of Emergency Health Services.

Facility		Location
1	Aberdeen Hospital	New Glasgow
2	All Saints Springhill Hospital	Springhill
3.	Annapolis Community Health Centre	Annapolis Royal
4.	Bayview Memorial Hospital	Advocate Harbour
5.	Beacon House	Waterville
6.	Buchanan Memorial Hospital	Neil’s Harbour
7.	Cape Breton Regional Facility	Sydney
8.	Cobequid Multi-Service Centre	Sackville
9.	Colchester Regional Hospital	Truro
10.	Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre	Amherst
11.	Dartmouth General Hospital	Dartmouth
12.	South Shore Regional Hospital	Digby
13.	Eastern Memorial Hospital	Canso
14.	Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital	Sheet Harbour
15.	Eskasoni Community Health Centre	Eskasoni
16.	Fishermen’s Memorial Hospital	Lunenburg
17.	George DuMont Regional Hospital	Moncton, New Brunswick
18.	Glace Bay Community Hospital	Glace Bay
19	Guysborough Memorial Hospital	Guysborough
20	Hants Community Hospital	Windsor
21.	Harbour View Hospital	Sydney Mines
22	Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital	Inverness
23.	IWK Health Centre	Halifax
24.	Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital	Tatamagouche
25.	Moncton City Hospital	Moncton, New Brunswick
26.	Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital	Middle Musquodoboit
27.	New Waterford Consolidated Hospital	New Waterford
28.	North Cumberland Memorial Hospital	Pugwash
29.	Northside Harbourview Hospital Corporation	North Sydney
30.	Nova Scotia Hospital	Dartmouth
31	Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre	Halifax
32.	Queen’s General Hospital	Liverpool
33.	Roseway Hospital	Shelburne
34.	RT McCallum Hospital (CFB Stadacona)	Halifax
35.	Sackville Memorial Hospital	Sackville, New Brunswick
36.	Sacred Heart Hospital	Cheticamp
37.	St. Anne Community & Nursing Care Centre	Arichat
38.	St. Martha’s Regional Hospital	Antigonish
39.	St. Mary’s Memorial Hospital	Sherbrooke
40.	Soldier’s Memorial Hospital	Middleton
41.	South Cumberland Community Care Centre	Parrsboro
42	Strait Richmond Hospital	Evanston
43	Sutherland Harris Memorial Hospital	Pictou
44	Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital	Musquodoboit Harbour
45.	Valley Regional Hospital	Kentville
46.	Victoria County Memorial Hospital	Baddeck
47.	Western Kings Memorial Hospital	Berwick
48	Yarmouth Regional Hospital	Yarmouth

	Medically Essential Transportation Fee	Inter-facility Transportation Fee
Resident	$146.55	$0
Resident living in a long-term-care facility	$54.50	$0
Non-Nova Scotian	$732.95	$0
Non-Canadian	$1099.35	$1099.35
New Canadian	$1099.35	$1099.35
Stipulated third party insured	$732.95	$732.95