alt Hacker NewsReplying to myself as a followup:
https://digitechcomputer.com/costs-of-ems-readiness/
Looks like of the $1954 they estimate for a transport (already quite a bit below TFAs $2673), $1582 is salary. Given that we established the crew in the ambulance are taking home about $140 per transport between them, this seems bonkers. Capital, medical supplies, and fleet maintenance are a whopping 6% of the "cost".
You need more than the crew in the ambulance.
Dispatch, maintenance, janitors, HR, managers.
They also need continuous training, and that is also a large salary cost for training staff (you have to pay them and the trainer).