Band 7+: In Japan, ambulance services are free for residents in emergencies, but some people misuse them for non-urgent cases. With rising social security costs and examples of cities introducing small fees, should Japan charge for ambulance use to prevent misuse?

The ambulance service in Japan has been provided to everyone in the country free out charge, but the cases of some individuals using the service inappropriately have sparked calls to introduce a fee for non-emergency ambulance rides. I mostly agree with the idea in light of reducing the burden on the service and improving the morals among the users.

It is true that by imposing charges for ambulance rides, some patients may feel reluctant to have an ambulance dispatched to them even if their condition warrants emergency medical care. In particular, considering that the country’s population is occupied by those aged over 60 and they are vulnerable to sickness and unpredictable accidents, the number of individuals potentially in need of emergency transportation to hospitals is high. If ambulance rides require additional costs, it is likely that there will be cases in which some lives were lost because they were loath to call the emergency service out of fear that they would be billed extra.

Regardless, with the introduction of charges, it can reduce the stress on the emergency service. Over the past several years, the number of ambulance dispatches has been on the rise across the country, which has placed an enormous burden on the service. In an extremely case, ambulance operators had to endure a 16-hour shift, resulting in a car crash on their way back to their station. Fees can act as a deterrent to encourage people to travel to hospitals on their own as much as possible, since many are unaware of the stretched-out status of the emergency service.

Additionally, the change can educate people on how to use ambulances responsibly. An imposition of the fee will be informed widely to the public by the government and the press. This should encourage individuals to reflect on how and when ambulances should really be used, instead of assuming that they are a free taxi to medical institutions.

In conclusion, although the problem of hesitancy among the population to call an ambulance exists, it is overall beneficial to obligate patients to pay for their ambulance rides when it is considered not emergency for the purpose of easing the stress on the emergency service and promoting awareness on the use of the emergency service.