AIR AMBULANCE

[MVI]

I found out the hard way that there is a an easy and quick way to purchase an annual plan for Air Ambulance Support.

Air Ambulance - How It Works

How does an air ambulance work? Explore all the benefits and services when you join the AirMedCare Network today

www.airmedcarenetwork.com

Once you have this plan, the helo ride or airplane ride is included as part of your membership.




Coverage is nationwide, some areas better than others

RATES:

 

[MVI]

Some pics from my flight on March 4, 2022

Alpine Texas --> Odessa Texas

 

[worncog]

Insurance is a good thing if your medical does not always cover such events. I had a $79,000 bill on my desk for a few weeks waiting to see if my insurance would cover the Life Flight my wife took a ride on. Lost a lot of sleep before they picked up the tab.

They WILL come after you if you don't pay. Plan ahead, for they worst case scenario.

 

[MVI]

As of JAN 1, 2022 there is a new law-

Starting Jan. 1, 2022, the “No Surprises Act” consumer protection law goes into effect. This legislation will ban most forms of surprise billing, or balance billing, in which a person unknowingly gets medical care by a provider outside their private insurer’s network, even when visiting an in-network facility.

The new rules apply to private insurers, including those provided through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace (surprise billing is already banned under Medicare and Medicaid).

As of Jan. 1, patients shouldn’t receive a surprise medical bill from an out-of-network provider in the following scenarios:

• When you receive emergency care in an emergency room
• When you receive any care at an in-network health-care facility
• When you are transported by an air ambulance (airplane or helicopter)

As well, emergency care providers can’t charge you out-of-network rates for services rendered once you’re in stable condition, unless you provide consent and you’re able to freely travel on your own to an available in-network provider.

 

[MVI]

Insurance is a good thing if your medical does not always cover such events. I had a $79,000 bill on my desk for a few weeks waiting to see if my insurance would cover the Life Flight my wife took a ride on. Lost a lot of sleep before they picked up the tab.

They WILL come after you if you don't pay. Plan ahead, for they worst case scenario.

I bought the 5 year AIR HELO membership - too bad i bought after the flight....

 

[Stormdog]

I used to subscribe to an air ambulance service, but after reading the fine print, I decided it didn’t make sense.
It turns out one of the few times I have been right making a monetary decision.
A few years later I needed extraction from a motorcycle wreck, and my primary insurance picked up 100% of the 43,000$ tab.

 

[MVI]

I don't mind making charitable donations for services -- that I want to support.

• ASPCA
• Fish & Game
• Habitat 4 Humanity
• etc

I'll add the Air Med dues to that list. I'd rather have them well funded and available in a large geographic region, than under funded and they cut back on regional support.

That said - I do know they are in contact with my INS and are filling a claim.

At the moment, I'm in limbo, Waiting...

 

[Stormdog]

One of the reasons I dropped the service I belonged to, was it was for a specific medivac company.
And I needed to tell the first responders to ask for that company to respond to have coverage.

 

[MVI]

I hear ya. In an Emergency, you go with who is available.

AIR MED CARE has a pretty deep list of providers - I am in no way affiliated with them, besides they flew me 3 weeks ago.

About Partners

AirMedCare Network is an alliance of the country’s most experienced and dependable emergency medical assistance providers—together we’re America’s largest air ambulance membership network. Air Evac Lifeteam Air Evac Lifeteam is the leading air medical service in the United States, conducting its...

www.airmedcarenetwork.com

 

[Stormdog]

At least you got to look out the window.
They had my neck and head strapped down, and they had me stuffed into the corner of the helicopter so far that all I could see were some overhead cabinets and a flight nurse who kept screaming at me.

 

[gpounce]

Whew... in 2018 I dodged one of those by the skin of my teeth... the neck-brace that I looked at on the wall and decided to wear saved me from it or worse. Later on in the hospital while the nurses and docs lectured me on how riding motorcycles was a stupid idea, they told me all about the air ambulances and $$$ and

 

[gpounce]

Getting ready for a 2 wk ride up thru New England from Maryland, so figured I'd look into maybe getting coverage for the ride- depending on price etc.

MedjetAssist and AIG among others have short-term plans, with medical evac and other things- anyone have experience with either? The AIG plan adds medical coverage and doesn't reference a network of medical evac partners which is nice.

 

[MVI]

If anyone does buy an air med plan , here is a nice perk

Refer a friend - AirMedCare Network

Refer your friendsand family to AMCN! Share peace of mind with those closest to you. When you refer a friend or family member, we’ll add 3 months to both your memberships at no cost! Refer a Friend: Existing standard members only; business memberships are not eligible. For each person you refer...

www.airmedcarenetwork.com

You and the existing member both get an additional 3 months for free.

I'll be glad to be a friend so we both get 3 additional months free. You can also give them my name over the phone when signing up


Mark Braun [email protected]

 

[Mr Pou]

I belong to AirMedCare even knowing my health insurance would likely pick up the helo tab. Like Mark says above, it's a good thing to support as having reliable air transport is important to me as a rider. I have a friend who hit a deer last year in a remote area, he was damaged badly and that helo ride likely saved his life.

 

[gpounce]

AirMedCare doesn't seem to cover New England, so I opted for a short-term policy from AIG. The policy has a substantial medical evac allowance and a bit of med insurance, plus a few other odds and ends. Being short-term it wasn't expensive... maybe I misunderstand how AirMedCare service works...

 

[Punkinhead]

I read their FAQ this morning and it said that the 911 operator dispatches the helo and that it's only covered if it's a helo in their network. I have no idea what percentage of services are in their network so don't know what the odds are that a flight would be covered. Even if their map shows coverage in the area where you're riding there's no reason to think a helo from a non-covered company will be dispatched.

 

[JustAnotherSquid]

My wife and I do a lot of track days (and have seen the helicopter several times) so we researched this exact topic last year. Turns out our regular medical insurance covers all emergency transportation as deemed necessary by the responding medics.

Point being: call your current insurance company first.

If you're not covered, do some research on the different companies that do offer coverage. I do recall there were a few that covered any helicopter ride regardless of who provides the service. I don't recall their names but they should be easy enough to find.

 

[klaviator]

My wife and I do a lot of track days (and have seen the helicopter several times) so we researched this exact topic last year. Turns out our regular medical insurance covers all emergency transportation as deemed necessary by the responding medics.

Point being: call your current insurance company first.

If you're not covered, do some research on the different companies that do offer coverage. I do recall there were a few that covered any helicopter ride regardless of who provides the service. I don't recall their names but they should be easy enough to find.

Most medical insurance will cover medical transport including air ambulance but.......and this is a big BUT, they will pay what they consider to be reasonable costs. They may consider that to be 10K while the actual bill may be 40K and you get stuck with the difference. You may want to check on that.

 

[JustAnotherSquid]

Most medical insurance will cover medical transport including air ambulance but.......and this is a big BUT, they will pay what they consider to be reasonable costs. They may consider that to be 10K while the actual bill may be 40K and you get stuck with the difference. You may want to check on that.

They said 100% after deductible with no caveats other than up to the limit of our coverage, which is orders of magnitude higher than $40K. It's Blue Cross / Blue Shield.

 

[r60man]

My niece was about 8 months old when it was discovered that she had a congenital heart defect that is usually caught much sooner. She wound up coding in the helicopter as she was being transferred to a hospital with a pediatric heart center. She was revived and has the slightest bit of Cerebral Palsy issues, but otherwise is healthy and happy today. Yes the bill was tremendous, but her being with us is totally worth it. Insurance did pay most of the bill, but her extended hospital stay and surgeries have made for my sister in law to struggle.