What if we never had air ambulance services? That’s the question that begs to be asked amidst the growing discontent surrounding the cost of these services. In the United States, more and more rural hospitals are being shut down and access to appropriate care is highly limited. In this situation, air ambulance services are the only way to get quality medical care and that too, on time. The most important aspect is that they make medical care available within the shortest possible time. This improves the chances of survival and better recovery by several manifolds. If such emergency services were not available, the biggest losers would be people living in the rural United States.
Why Are Air Ambulance Services Expensive in the United States?
Air ambulance services cost about the same throughout the world; however, the cost burden unfortunately is often transferred to the patient in this part of the world. There is no real help that the industry receives from the government or the public in general. The only way forward in this situation is private investment, and to expect investors to make do with lesser profits is almost an insane expectation.
Insurance Coverage is Another Concern
The air ambulance services industry points out that the reimbursements offered by insurance companies have not changed for decades. This is actually a discouragement for the industry to be a part of insurance networks, and as we all know, insurance companies seldom cover services that are not in their network. It is a complex mesh of cause and effect that precludes both industries from working along with each other.
Many air ambulance services, however, offer memberships. These memberships only cost a few dollars annually and ensure that the members are not burdened with balance bills that are a major concern for people availing these services.
