This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only.  For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Registry of Regulations, or refer to the Royal Gazette Part II.
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Ambulance Fee Regulations

made under Section 17A of the

Health Services and Insurance Act

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 197

N.S. Reg. 133/2002 (October 24, 2002, effective April 1, 2000)

as amended to N.S. Reg. 179/2015 (March 24, 2015, effective April 1, 2015)


Citation

1     These regulations may be cited as the Ambulance Fee Regulations.


Definitions

2     In these regulations

 

“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;

 

“inter-facility transportation” means ambulance transportation

 

                         (i)     between or among approved facilities, and

 

                         (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;

Definition added: N.S. Reg. 138/2012.

 

“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;

Definition amended: N.S. Reg. 138/2012.

 

“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

 

                         (i)     a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,

 

                         (ii)    a member of the Canadian Forces,

 

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

 

                         (iv)   an inmate of a Federal prison or penitentiary,

 

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

 

                         (vi)   a person involved in a motor vehicle collision.

Section 2 amended: N.S. Reg. 138/2012.


Ambulance fee

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


 

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

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


Section 4 repealed: N.S. Reg. 155/2004.


Fees for ground ambulance when combined with air ambulance

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.


Fee for transportation of mobility challenged individual

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.

Subsection 6(1) amended: N.S. Reg. 179/2015.

 

       (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.

Subsection 6(2) amended: N.S. Reg. 179/2015.

Section 6 replaced: N.S. Reg. 138/2012.


Fee for transportation of human remains

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.

Subsection 7(2) amended: N.S. Reg. 181/2007


Ambulance transportation outside of Nova Scotia

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.


Billing

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.


Single ambulance transportation for each patient care record

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


Proof of residency

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


Persons on student visas

12   (1)    A person in Nova Scotia on a student visa is deemed to be a resident upon the 1st day of the 13th 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].


International students

13   (1)    An international student, who

 

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

 

                (b)    is living in Nova Scotia; and

 

                (c)    is working as either a teaching or research assistant at any university in Nova Scotia

 

and the dependants of the student are deemed to be residents on the first day of the 7th 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.

Subsection 13(2) amended: N.S. Reg. 139/2012.

 

       (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).


Fee dispute resolution

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.

Subsection 14(1) replaced: N.S. Reg. 139/2012.

 

       (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.

Subsection 14(2) amended: N.S. Reg. 139/2012.


Appeal based on financial hardship

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.

Section 15 added: N.S. Reg. 139/2012.



Schedule “A”

Approved Facilities


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