And have pilots and medical team on paid standby.Originally Posted by BasserJim
And have pilots and medical team on paid standby.
Air ambulance services are one of the last medical service that is not pre-negotiated and discounted to most insurance carriers. They charge these outrageous prices just hoping the insurance company or patient will pay them. My advice is to let your insurance work it out and pay only the balance of the approved charge (i.e. Deductible and co-insurance).
Now for my my experience with air ambulance "memberships". My nephew was seriously injured on our farm doing chores one morning. My father found him hours later at dusk with weak respiration and pulse. Their was 4-6 inches of wet snow on the ground but no moisture falling at the time. He had an air ambulance membership that supposedly covered the full cost, but they refused to fly saying the weather was too bad. He was evacuated by regular ambulance, which got stuck in the pasture for over an hour. After being delivered to the small local hospital they were able to use the regional helicopter to send him to the trauma center where he passed away the next day.
i've always wondered why the pre-paid air ambulance company said the weather was too bad to fly but 1-2 hours later the local hospital air lifted him? Could it have been that he had a "pre-paid" membership? I think the whole industry needs to be investigated IMO.
We pay like $60 a year to take care of that, hopefully we never ever have to use it but it's there if we do.....I do know as of a few years ago from Florence to Nashville one way it was a $12k trip...
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365 days times $50,000 per day (one flight a day) equals $18,250,000. If that helicopter has a 5 year useful life, then the cost of that helicopter a year is $1.6m dollars according to the cost posted previously.
I knew someone that was airlifted out of network (It was a 30 minute flight). Insurance would not pay. If the airflight company will take a reduced payment from an insurance company, they should take it from someone like my friend. You can't convince me that he should have to pay $50,000 for a service for which they will take $10,000-$12,000 from an insurance company.
It just seems really out of balance.
Friend of ours daughter was life flighted after she fell off a horse in a competition. She was not really hurt. Broken wrist was all - she said it was not needed, her parents said they would drive her and refused the flight - for which they were threatened with arrest - but she bumped her head.
$38K bill came a month later.
Insurance would not pay a dime because it was "unneeded".
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My wifes work just got brand new EC145's. Specially outfitted, as stated above......$8 million is about right. Not sure where that $1.5 million figure comes from; that's just absurd.........And as mentioned; paying a pilot and specialized nurses to be in the air in about 7 minutes of the call coming in; is not cheap.
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The math above is assuming that every single solitary flight is with patients on board with excellent healthcare that gladly pay every penny of the flight in full. That's simply not the case. Lots of patients are flown with no insurance; and it's known they have no insurance before the flight; and they get to fly anyway, as it's a medical emergency and the right thing to do.
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And regarding the friend above who has to pay for the flight; you're exactly right, he doesn't have to pay the full amount. Just call and negotiate the bill down and offer to make payments. I worked in a large hospital through college and people would call and ask what prices were for different exams all the time; the cash price was always much less than the insurance cost. And reasonable payment plans were always setup if needed too; based on income.
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Now that everyone has seen how much it costs for an air ambulance; you're more than welcome to refuse the flight if it's ever needed. People do it all the time..........and when they do; they rarely live to tell about it. Or even worse........parents make this poor decision for their children and it ends poorly for the kids.
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Glad the OP's loved one made it through all right too.
Wonder if the hospital would leave their copter sitting there and call the air evac people to come get you to move you?
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I am unsure on the billing part. However I am very familiar with making the decision on calling for a helicopter. I assure you this is not weighed lightly I know a lot goes into it and if it is a Trauma Alert they close off airspace. I call for one when the need presents we can get injured or sick person to the proper facility under the proper care with in the golden hour. Have I been 100% correct all these years probably not but I don't gamble with peoples lives.
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I's quite high my father had to be airlifted a few years back after an accident on the farm the first chopper had problems and didn't make it all the way so they sent another and he still had to pay for both.
20,000 an hour operating cost for a rotary aircraft isn't out of the question. Add medical cost to that.
Well explain why a 1 hour flight costs $50,000. I , along with many others would be interested in the breakdown.
I'd say me too. But I'm not sure we are any better. I got a $61 dollar bill for a 30 minute ride in a standard ambulance.
That whole Orgne company sounds like it has been ripping us all off through our taxes.
With so many of the above members agreeing the expensive cost of a chopper and/or ride......why is everyone bitching about the cost of their medical insurance? And this is just regarding a chopper ride.....it has nothing to do with the hospital bill.
Does this mean our insurance premiums are in line, or are the medical bills excessive?
Helicopters are VERY expensive. Anywhere from 8-15 million for a single Air Medical Helicopter. You add the cost of the crew, Medical staff, and maintenance, and its obscene.
To give you an understanding, One rotor blade on an S-76 Med Helicopter is over 100K dollars. It has 4 blades.
50K for that flight is high, but if they have to replace one engine after that flight, it will cost 250K dollars.
Windshield wiper for an S-92, try over 5K dollars...for ONE!
You get the picture. It cost a fortune to operate Turbine powered rotor craft, Plus make a profit. Make sure you have insurance that covers air medical transport and that the emergency requires it.
Last edited by Cajunhunter67; 10-21-2017 at 08:46 PM.
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The FAA usually sets the standard for "bad weather" Cloud ceilings and inflight icing were probably the biggest factors in that decision.
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Also, at least here locally, when dispatch requests that the bird be put in the air, the crew is given no knowledge of the patient or circumstances, so as to not allow it to cloud their judgment.
Can you request a OH-13? Got to be a cheaper ride!
Incorrect! Each Air Medical service sets their own standards for safe flight. The Pilot and crew decides whether or not they’ll accept th flight based on their own judgment and comfort level. Normally if even 1 crewmember is uncomfortable due to weather or even some other reason, the flight gets scrubbed. Most services require every crewmember to be on the same page when accepting flights. Each Pilot also has his/her own parameters/judgment that he can rely on as well. The FAA has very little to do with Air Medical services other than making sure the aircrafts are certified to fly and inspection of the maintenance.
This was true with our service as well.
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