Imagine a situation where a rural American is stuck in a life-threatening situation and the nearest emergency treatment facility is over a 100 miles away. The only recourse is an air ambulance and it is just a call away. The logical thing would be to call the air ambulance services in and take the patient to the treating facility immediately.
However, this is not always the case. What if the first person to find the patient was a local police officer? He would not be able to call in air ambulance services. Why? Because only a qualified medical professional can do so, failing which the patient might be compelled to bear the expense of it all by himself. Of course, we need not remind our readers that often the bills run in several thousands. Not something that ordinary people can afford.
Air Ambulance Services are a Necessity
A sizeable population in the United States resides in rural areas. Why they have to think twice before availing a life-saving service beats logic. Of course, there is a tussle between air ambulance services and the insurance industry but that must not affect the end users or the patients. A section of the society today believes that compelling air ambulance service providers to conform to prices fixed by insurance providers is the way forward. On the other hand, there is a section that points out balance billing is a practice not just prevalent in the air ambulance industry, but throughout the healthcare landscape and that insurance companies are to be blamed for this.
Rural Americans in the Middle of It All
It is nothing short of a sad situation today in which rural Americans are in a Catch-22 situation. While on the one hand they do not want to worry about air ambulance services and their costs, on the other hand they are worried that legislations will push medical flights away from rural America as it might not seem like a profitable scenario for them.
