Wow, you might already know this but in the USA people decline ambulance trips because the cost out of pocket can break them financially. A ambulance helicopter trip (which people are usually not in a position to decline) costs roughly 40,000 last time I read about it, a lot of people crowdfund to pay for this.
25 years ago I was hiking on a mountain in Switzerland with a group of people. Descending, a guy lost his footing and broke his leg. So there we all are, a few hundred feet from the summit. We could see the town below us, and the hospital there. Someone had a cell phone registered in the UK. We talked to a UK operator who connected us through to the hospital in the town below. They wanted a credit card before sending up a helicopter and doctor ;) If I don't have this completely wrong in my head, I think it was $2500 on unfortunate hiker guy's Amex.
A few minutes later we saw the helicopter lift from the hospital and head straight towards us. Down came the rescue equipment and Dr Bruno, who told us not to worry because "We do this all the time!". 10 minutes later he was ascending with the patient.
I learned two things: Doctors in Switzerland really do do this stuff all the time, and always have hiking accidents near well-equipped medical facilities that aren't trying to totally screw people over.
I'm pretty sure it was the best $2500 that guy ever spent.
