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0Erinome：Hello dear friends! Welcome to our podcast. Today we are going to talk about a hot topic—"sky-high price ambulance". Have you heard about it?
Enceladus：Oh, you mean the ambulance that charged too much money? Yeah! I read a news about a lady in Tai'an. Her father was very sick and needed to go to Jinan by ambulance.
Erinome：Right! What happened exactly? I want to know the details.
Enceladus：Okay. The lady's name is Ms. Wang. Her father had stomach bleeding and needed to transfer to a hospital in Jinan. So her cousin called 120 in Jinan.
Erinome：Did 120 send the ambulance directly?
Enceladus：Um, no. The Jinan emergency center said they didn't have long-distance ambulances, but they could联系 (liánxì) a hospital's ambulance. It was a "regular" one for long trips.
Erinome：Then how much did they say the price was at first?
Enceladus：A staff from the hospital called and said, "We charge 15 yuan per kilometer." He also told them to prepare 4000 yuan, saying it would be enough.
Erinome：So 80 kilometers, 15 yuan per kilometer... That should be 80x15=1200 yuan, right? But why did the news say 3600 yuan later?
Enceladus：Oh no! That's the problem! When the ambulance arrived, they asked for 4000 yuan first. After arriving in Jinan, they gave back 200 yuan. So total was 3800? Wait, no, the receipt said 3600 yuan for the ride and 200 yuan for treatment. So 3800? Wait, no, the news said "退给王女士200元" (tuì gěi Wáng Nǚshì 200 yuán—gave back 200 yuan to Ms. Wang), so she paid 4000-200=3800? But the receipt was 3600+200=3800. Oh right.
Erinome：Wow! 3600 yuan for 80 kilometers. Let's calculate—3600 divided by 80 is 45 yuan per kilometer! That's way higher than 15 yuan!
Enceladus：Exactly! Ms. Wang was so surprised. Her family thought, "15 yuan per kilometer should be 1200 yuan, but why 3600?" They felt cheated.
Erinome：Did they ask the hospital why?
Enceladus：Yes! They called the hospital. The hospital said, "Oh, we agreed on this price before the trip." But Ms. Wang's cousin clearly remembered the staff said 15 yuan per kilometer.
Erinome：That's not fair! Then what did the hospital do?
Enceladus：After they complained, the hospital said they would return 1500 yuan. So Ms. Wang still paid 3600-1500=2100 yuan. But 2100 for 80 kilometers is still 26 yuan per kilometer. So expensive!
Erinome：Hmm. Some people might say, "Ambulance is not a taxi. It has oxygen, medicine, and doctors. Maybe the cost is high?"
Enceladus：Oh right! The news mentioned a netizen said, "Ambulance isn't just about fuel. They have oxygen, drugs, monitors, and doctors working. Those cost money too."
Erinome：But wait, the Jinan Price Bureau has a rule. It says regular ambulance should charge 10 yuan basic price, and 3 yuan per kilometer (round trip). So why this hospital charged so much?
Enceladus：The hospital said, "For long-distance transfers, the price is协商 (xiéshāng—negotiated) between family and us." But when someone is very sick, do they have time to negotiate?
Erinome：No! When your family is dying, you just want the ambulance to come fast. You can't say, "Wait, let's talk about the price first." That's impossible.
Enceladus：Exactly! Many people think this is "趁火打劫" (chèn huǒ dǎ jié—taking advantage of a crisis). Like, using people's fear to charge more.
Erinome：Is this a common problem?
Enceladus：The news said there are other cases too. Some people made jokes: "What's the most profitable car? Ambulance! You have to pay whatever they ask."
Erinome：That's sad. Why does this happen?
Enceladus：Some people think it's because the emergency system is市场化 (shìchǎnghuà—marketized). Hospitals treat ambulances as a way to make money, not a public service.
Erinome：Oh, right! In other countries, like the UK or Germany, ambulance services are mostly free. The government pays for them.
Enceladus：Yes! The news said in the UK, the emergency system is free. They have helicopters for long distances. In Germany, ambulances come in 7-10 minutes. But in China, some hospitals use ambulances to make money.
Erinome：That's really a problem. What can we do to fix it?
Enceladus：Maybe the government should set a clear price standard, not "negotiated price". And make sure hospitals follow the rules. Also, check if the ambulances are really "regular" or just private ones with a red cross.
Erinome：Like the news about Zhumadian hospital? They said some "private ambulances" pretend to be hospital ones. The real hospital didn't send them.
Enceladus：Yes! So we need to check if the ambulance is from the real emergency center. Don't trust random numbers.
Erinome：This story makes me think. When we face emergencies, we need to be careful, but also the system should protect us. No one should choose between money and life.
Enceladus：Totally! I hope the government can make stricter rules. Ambulance is for saving lives, not making profits.
