It’s reassuring to believe that if we suffer a stroke, heart attack, or a significant injury and require an ambulance, it will be there staffed by trained professionals called to their vocation through a compulsion to care for people. It’s less reassuring to be reminded that ambulance service is a business designed to make money from your time of need.
For the past 80 years, San Luis Ambulance (SLA) has served SLO County. SLA’s most common service, transport to the hospital via advanced life support, costs $3,381. If your trip requires critical care transport, you’re looking at a bill for $8,699. These rates are negotiated annually between SLA and SLO County.
Ah, the joys of for-profit health care. Tell me again why we’re the only advanced economy in the world without universal health care? Even Cuba has universal health care. Sigh.
Anywho, the SLO County Board of Supervisors voted to 3-2, with 1st District Supe John Peschong and 5th District Supe Heather Moreno dissenting, to open the process to competitive bids. In other words, instead of simply renegotiating its SLA deal, the county will seek bids from competing companies. Ah, the joys of capitalism?
In a letter to the board, Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon wrote, “A competitive request for proposal (RFP) process represents the most transparent, accountable, and practical way to modernize our emergency medical response system and ensure the highest standard of care for every community in this county.”
Maybe. Peschong sees things differently: “When I suffered a cardiac incident … the Templeton Fire Department saved my life, then San Luis Ambulance saved my life, and Twin Cities and French both saved my life,” he said. “I do believe that not through the RFP process but through the contract process, we can bring transparency, accountability, and if there are flaws, we can address those flaws through the contract.”
Maybe. Apparently, there have been complaints about SLA’s service. Some mayors, city managers, fire chiefs, and a CSD manager told supervisors SLA takes too long to respond. Not what you want to hear when you’re clutching your chest, amirite?
But not so fast, SLA counters. Operations Manager Kris Strommen told New Times that response time is monitored and reported by standards defined by the SLO County Emergency Medical Services Agency, and that SLA meets those standards 90 percent of the time.
There have been a few egregious examples of long waits, however. Templeton Fire Chief Tom Peterson spoke about a seriously injured Templeton High football player. When Templeton Fire called ambulance services, there was apparently no response. Templeton Fire resorted to calling Mercy Air 34 and had the player airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital. Los Osos CSD General Manager Ron Munds told the board about numerous examples of long wait times, including a 28-minute wait for a stroke victim.
The burning question is will an SLA competitor do better in response time and cost? Jamie Kelton, SLA owner Justin Kelton’s wife, wrote a letter to 3rd District Supe Dawn Ortiz-Legg saying she believed American Medical Response (AMR) “in alliance with Paso Robles, will be the primary bidder against” SLA in the RFP process, and she alleges, “Over the past three years, AMR has engaged in litigation with three counties—Sonoma, Santa Barbara, and San Bernardino—related to RFP disputes. This pattern of legal challenges raises significant questions about AMR’s operational approach. By contrast, SLA’s track record is rooted in stable, community-focused service.”
When your wife starts writing letters, you know it’s serious! Here’s the thing. When we’re talking about saving people’s lives, money and finger pointing all feel so gauche. Should people suffer debilitating debt because of illness?
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), “Medical debt and collections are common and large. We estimate that medical debt worth $194 billion was in active collection.” In another study, the NLM said as many as 550,000 people file for bankruptcy annually due to medical debt. But that’s our grotesque for-profit system.
You know what else is gross? Atascadero can’t even get a freaking brick-and-mortar pot shop. What the hell, A-Town City Council! Reefer’s been legal for a decade!
I guess when you have a council member like Seth Peek who sees a slippery slope down every molehill, the idea of retail cannabis is scary! Oh my! At the Oct. 14 City Council meeting, he first complained he didn’t like the idea of special taxes or regulations for any business. Then he equated strip clubs to cannabis. Then he clarified he was not equating strip clubs to cannabis. OK. Then he didn’t like the idea of limiting how many cannabis stores would be allowed. Huh? Then he talked about gateway drugs.
“Alcohol could be your first drug then all of a sudden you’re on heroin and then you’re doing meth,” he said.
Well, that escalated quickly! Bottom line, he wants A-Town to think less about tax revenue and more about “the youth.” Except cannabis stores don’t sell to youth, and having a cannabis black market with unregulated drug dealers selling to whoever has cash in hand is much more likely to lead to drug escalation. When you go to a pot shop, they don’t ask if you’d also like to buy cocaine. California voters have spoken.
Atascadero might want to join us in the 21st century. ∆
The Shredder is high on life. Tell it what floats your boat at shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 23 – Nov 2, 2025.
So….waaambulance indeed. I’m wondering why County Public Health leadership wasn’t honest with the Board of Supervisors. They allowed San Luis Ambulance staff and the Board to latch onto exclusivity/grandfathering to avoid the competitive process. Well, I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed by any means, so I checked the EMS Plan update filed with the State and I’m pretty sure part of the response area they were waaambulancin about ain’t protected. So what gives? Who sat on this? Thank you Board Majority, thinking it would have been 5-0 if disclosed, but what do I know? https://emsa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/2025/05/San-Luis-Obispo-2024-EMS-Post-Plan.pdf
I have been transported by them after a cardiac event. My insurance paid and I had to pay my copay. I lived in Morro Bay and had a heart attack. They asked what hospital that I wanted. I said the closest one not knowing that I should have said French. I had no idea at the time that French was the only cardiac care center. What happened. They transported me to Sierra Vista where they got me stabilized and the next day to French. My portion of the bill due to my copay and the percentage covered was over $2000 for both. My insurance paid also. My heart attack was mild and they did nothing but let me walk into the ambulance, secure me and hook me up with oxygen. Oh yeah, they checked my vitals. My point is that they should have known what hospital I needed, especially being that they are so close to one another and then 2 charges would have been avoided. The get $ from patients and their insurance companies as well as what they negotiate with local government.
….all of this is an argument for single payer, national healthcare.