In 2021 an ambulance ride in Spokane was $975. Next year it will be more than 5 times higher

The price for ailing Spokane County residents to ride in an ambulance to the hospital has skyrocketed in the past five years.

American Medical Response, the company responsible for 95% of all medical transports in the county, will charge more than $5,000 in most of Spokane County starting next year, a rise of several hundred dollars from this year and thousands of dollars from just a few years ago.

Patients who used an ambulance in the city of Spokane, for instance, will pay a base fee of $5,275 starting June 1 plus $52.49 per mile. That compares to $975 for a ride plus $23.45 per mile they paid in 2021.

It makes Spokane County the most expensive place in the state for an AMR ride, said Spokane County Ambulance Service Board Chair Tom Jenkins . The for-profit company is the largest ambu