I have been volunteering on the local ambulance crew and there are always people in the waiting room that we haven't delivered there. Our people did go straight into the rooms, but they were generally worse off (breathing difficulties, delirious, lethargic etc) while the people in the waiting room seemed to have no difficulty sitting there. And we need our stretchers back, so they need to be transferred to a bed.

$800-900 for an ambulance!! That shocks me. Is there some sort of subsidy for people on lower incomes? Or is proper emergency care only for those that can afford it? Here the ambulance is largely government/donation funded, with an $80 surcharge for medical emergencies. An accident would be covered fully by the ACC system.