Air ambulance companies are increasingly offering memberships to consumers in rural areas, but state insurance leaders and others are skeptical about the prepaid subscriptions and whether they stop surprise medical bills, according to Kaiser Health News.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office showed that 69 percent of roughly 20,700 privately insured air ambulance flights were out of network in 2017, and nearly all customer complaints the office reviewed that year involved a balance bill of at least $10,000. Medicaid and Medicare enrollees typically have a lower or no out-of-pocket cost burden, such as copays and deductibles, compared to privately insured people.
Air ambulance memberships are attractive to some rural residents who don't live close to a trauma center and may find themselves in need of emergency transport. They want to avoid high medical bills and memberships often guarantee that the member will not have additional expenses if that air ambulance company provides a ride, according to the report. Some might even offer other incentives, such as a summer vacation getaway.
But such memberships are facing some criticism, KHN reported. Jon Godfread, insurance commissioner in North Dakota, which banned memberships in 2017, told the news service air ambulance companies use the memberships as "another loophole" to “essentially exploit our consumers." He also claims the memberships do not stop surprise medical bills as promised because the air ambulance company that picks the patient up may not be the one the patient has a membership with.
Seth Myers, president of Air Evac Lifeteam, a medevac company under the AirMedCare Network, told KHN that his company primarily operates in Texas and the Midwest and does not see many complaints from members about other companies providing their rides. He also touted memberships as a benefit for Medicare enrollees who lack supplemental coverage for air transports.
However, Air Methods, one of the largest private air ambulance companies in the U.S., acknowledged that because air ambulance companies can end memberships without notice, patients could still face a high medical bill unexpectedly.
Read the full KHN report here.
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