Re “San Diego hikes ambulance prices again, as city considers bringing service in-house” (June 3): The San Diego council and emergency service leaders seem to have a serious problem understanding how health insurance works. Insurers project how much will be paid out in claims plus overhead and hopefully a profit. Then s are set which, they hope, in the aggregate will equal the projected outgo. If a covered expense increases, then s must also increase. Insured s will indeed pay for the increase.
There are a number of glaring questions raised by the article, especially about the wisdom of bringing ambulance services “in house.” These people give me no confidence that they are capable of making a sensible decision.
— Jim Mallen, Lake San Marcos
