A Rocklege family was in shock when they received a bill of $60,000 for medial air transportation. The flight lasted 45 minutes and was carried out in order to transport their son to a specialty hospital. Now Action 9’s Todd Ulrich has taken on the responsibility to help the family find answers for this outrageous bill.
The History of the Flight
Lori and Terris Bodrick’s 18-year-old son was hospitalized at Wuesthoff Medical Center located in Rockledge. But the doctors couldn’t diagnose his illness so he had to be transported to Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic. The family called for medical air transportation provided by Air Methods in order to transfer their son to a specialty hospital.
Family Receives Outrageous Bill for Medical Air Transportation
The Bodricks’ son was safely transported through a flight lasting approximately 45 minutes. But a month later, they received a bill for $60,000. Their health insurance was able to pay the air ambulance company $10,000 for the service. And according to Florida Blue, this was all they had to pay. Yet Air Methods sent them a demand of $50,000, which if not paid would result in a visit from a collection agency.
Air Methods has undergone an Action 9 investigation two years ago and has helped two other patients to avoid outrageous air ambulance bills. After Action 9 contacted the air ambulance company, they have offered to lower the bill using a special consideration. Air Methods promises to review the 18-year-old’s bill and also defends the charges claiming insurance companies aren’t paying their fair share.
While Florida recently passed a law to ban excessive charges in case of emergency care, air ambulance operators are safe from this as they’re protected by a federal airline deregulation. This prevents the state from interfering with their rates. For now, it’s all about waiting and hoping for the best.
