However Healthcare in the US isn't a regulated monopoly like that.

I think it was this one

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18690916

I'll argue whatever PG&E problems are they don't rise at all to the level of healthcare. And their problems are due to poor regulation and the US's current terrible management culture.

This works in Denmark because of Denmark, but it's still a system that has obvious weakness.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

Essentially, the state (or region) contracts a company to deliver ambulance services. The contracts usually last a few years and are limited to a region.

Furthermore, the company that wins the contract (usually lowest bidder) is held accountable is too many responses are too slow, etc.. usually with hefty fines.

I guess you can call it privatization, but it's more of a regulated monopoly. Ultimately, these things outsources uncertainty from the state to the private sector. I'm not convinced it's always a good idea, since companies can just factor the cost of fines into the contract... Granted if there is competition, it can drive the prices down a LOT.

Usually credited to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had a fire brigade for just that purpose. Contemporary of Julius Caesar.

In some parts of the world, insured properties were marked with metal plaques (generically termed "Fire Insurance Marks" [1]) bearing the insurer's symbol/logo. This enabled the insurer's firefighting service to verify that they should protect the building. I've occasionally seen them on old buildings here in the UK. One I remember was a stylised representation of the sun, denoting The Sun Fire Office - which was founded in the 1700s and still exists as RSA Group plc.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_insurance_mark

There are analogies (with smaller consequences) in private tow truck operation.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fire-sale

However the policy of negotiating for property at bargain basement prices while there was a fire next door was very notably one of the ways that Marcus Licinius Crassus (a political ally of Julius Caesar) enriched his fortune.

Supposedly Crassus, the richest Roman of his day, made rather a lot of money like this.

The same as a concert promoter hiring off-duty cops.

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-private-firefig...

(I certainly prefer publicly funded fire service)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Street_Riot

Here is a comedian's take on it in podcast form: https://thedollop.net/wp/episode-138-dollop/

This creates the perverse incentive to demand an outrageous price so they can get an property for cheap. Next step would be setting fires to buy even more property.

Now, if two crews showed up and bid against each other, things start to get interesting.

It also means it might be that nobody shows up, because it's a holiday, so nobody was on duty.

Well surely public services are more incentivized to display this behavior

Sabotage and physical fights broke out between fire companies while fires burned. That's a pretty gritty situation.

Allowing fire sales gives way to perverse incentives, like the profitability of arson and predatory pricing of fire fighting fees such that certain portion of victims will always have to sell their property at a discount.

But suppose that you have an honorable firefighting department run by an honorable man. Why could he not have set up a private firefighting company instead, doing pro bono work when required? Given the honorable behavior of his company, why would consumers not want to prefer him for insurance than shady competition, which may be cheaper but is also more likely to screw you over when you most need them?

Government-run agencies can be good or bad; private companies can be good or bad. There is no silver bullet and much depends on the prevailing culture. But government can use the threat of force to compel you to pay for their services. If a private company attempts the same, we would call it an organized crime group.