Who pays for medical transportation in Ontario?
Short answer: OHIP does not cover non-emergency medical transportation. Ambulances carry a co-payment, and non-emergency trips are paid privately or through a program like ODSP.
What an ambulance costs in Essex County
If you are an Ontario resident with a valid health card and the trip is judged medically necessary, the co-payment is $45. If the receiving hospital physician decides the ambulance was not medically necessary, the charge is $240, because the trip is not insured under the Ontario Health Insurance Act.
When the co-payment doesn't apply
Several groups are exempt from the ambulance co-payment in Essex County, including people being transferred between health facilities for insured, medically necessary treatment, people receiving social assistance, people on the Home Care Program, and residents of licensed long-term care homes.
- Transfers between health facilities for insured treatment
- People receiving social assistance
- People enrolled in the Home Care Program
- Residents of licensed long-term care facilities
What ODSP covers
ODSP's Mandatory Special Necessities benefit can cover travel to treatment by a regulated health professional where the cost reaches $15 or more in a month. It needs a health professional's confirmation of medical necessity and approval from your caseworker. The program prefers the most economical option that is medically workable — public transit where that's feasible, mileage at a set rate for a private vehicle, or a return door-to-door fare where a vehicle is needed. ODSP can pay an approved vendor directly rather than reimbursing you afterwards.
The cheaper options worth knowing about
We would rather you found the right answer than called us by default. Several community and volunteer driver programs operate in Essex County — Community Support Centre of Essex County, Amherstburg Community Services, South Essex Community Council and others run CareLink and similar non-urgent medical transportation at low or subsidised cost. If your trip is routine, you can transfer into a car seat, and you can book well ahead, one of those is likely cheaper than any private operator including us.
Where a private wheelchair-accessible operator makes sense is when you need to stay in your chair, when the trip is at short notice, when it's outside business hours, or when it's out of region. That's the gap we fill.
Common questions
Does OHIP cover a wheelchair van to an appointment?
No. OHIP does not cover non-emergency medical transportation. It is paid privately, through a program like ODSP, through insurance, or through a subsidised community program.
Is an ambulance free in Ontario?
No. For Ontario residents with a valid health card it carries a $45 co-payment when medically necessary, and $240 when the receiving hospital decides it was not.
Will my private insurance cover it?
Some extended health plans include non-emergency medical transport, often with a doctor's note. Check your plan booklet under transportation — it is worth ten minutes before you pay out of pocket.
What if I can't afford any of it?
Speak to the social worker at the hospital or clinic. They know the local subsidised programs, and for recurring treatment they can often arrange something you would not find on your own.
Book a trip or open an account
The phone is answered around the clock. For anything today, call rather than email.