Local ambulance worker lobbying DNC to oppose growing privatization trend

A Carlsbad ambulance worker is lobbying Democrats to amend the national party platform to oppose the growing trend of cities privatizing ambulance service, which includes San Diego and some other local cities.

Kyle Thayer, who is a Democratic National Committee delegate this year thanks to a nomination from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, says ambulance services run by private companies sometimes prioritize profits over patient care.

“They have a tendency to squeeze every last dollar out of the service without regard to the impact,” said Thayer, a 12-year emergency medical worker now doing ambulance runs in San Diego for American Medical Response. “Like the party’s position on ending privatized prisons, we should be strong proponents of emergency services being publicly run.”

The two largest cities in the region, San Diego and Chula Vista, are among many cities across California to have privatized ambulance service in the last few decades.

Private companies now control 48 percent of ambulance service in the state, including all of California’s large cities except Los Angeles and San Francisco.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insurance/local-ambulance-worker-lobbying-dnc-to-oppose-growing-privatization-trend/ar-BB17nSuS?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=DELLDHP