One of the tidbits that I learned at Burning Man was that medical care is provided during the event by roughly 300 volunteer doctors and nurses (link). The on-Playa facilities include an X-ray machine and are backstopped by helicopter airlifts to Reno (there seemed to be a handful each day). About 2,800 Burners, out of a population of roughly 70,000, seek treatment each year. The primary maladies are dehydration and soft tissue injuries, the latter hardly a surprise given the amount of rebar that is sticking out of the Playa and not always clearly marked. As far as I know, only one of our 70 campers was treated in 2015. He applied his 25-year-old windsurfing skills to the challenge of windsurfing on wheels. It turns out that rolling resistance on the Playa is lower than water, thus resulting in higher speeds, and it also turns out that falling on the Playa results in a significant road rash.
One challenge is figuring out where Burning Man would fit into the Worldbank’s table of health care spending as a percentage of GDP. Since the medical professionals are volunteers, is it below Singapore’s 4.6 percent of GDP? Or since the rest of Burning Man is a gift economy and sometimes the clinic folks call in a $5,000/hour helicopter would it be above the U.S.’s 17.1 percent?
I don’t know much about Burning Man, other than it looks like a lot of fun.
How long does Burning Man last? One week? My impression is that’s a lot of accidents in a short time frame.
Why aren’t people required to buy the equivalent of “travel medical insurance” for this event? At least to cover the cost of evacuation. Let’s call it the BurningManObamaCare Act.
Do people have to buy tickets? Maybe the insurance can be included in the price?
Somethings look really cool there, other things are a little sketchy like… Titty Man. Would you want your 18 year old daughter there?
It is just one week, though some people arrive a little earlier to set up a camp or a sculpture and some stay later to clean up.
People do buy tickets for about $400 (plus Nevada has passed a special tax to harvest some revenue for itself next year). I’m not sure who pays for the medevac flights right now. Maybe folks’ existing health insurance policies? I know that Medicare supports a thriving U.S. medical helicopter industry (e.g., more medevac helicopters in the state of Kentucky than in all of Canada). Of course, few Burners are old enough to qualify for Medicare.
Whoa 400 bucks? I think we have the explanation why young black men are not attending.
Helicopter rides to emergency rooms are not cheap.
Whats up very cool web site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Superb ..
I will bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally?
I am glad to find numerous helpful information here
in the post, we want work out extra strategies in this regard, thank you for
sharing. . . . . .
That is really interesting, You’re a very professional blogger. I have joined your feed and sit up for searching for more of your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!