Aaron Todd is the CEO of the largest air ambulance company that we know of and in a frank revelation recently, Aaron stated that the air ambulance market today is oversaturated and that profits are being hit due to this reason. However, for patients availing air ambulance services this is both a good and bad news. Let’s touch upon the effects of oversaturation in some details below.
What Does it Mean for the Air Ambulance Consumers?
For one, there are probably more ambulances available per person in the United States than anywhere else in the world. This means more people have easy, quick and efficient access to very high level of care. Medical facilities and trauma care centers can be reached quicker than ever before.
Aaron also revealed that an air ambulance chopper that would fly at least two patients each day, hardly flies one patient a day these days owing to stiff competition. This has adversely affected the patients as the increased overhead costs are being passed off to patients and insurances are just not willing to share the burden entirely. To make the matters worse, patients or their loved ones, usually are not in a position to decide on the service provider or opt out of air ambulance service for ground ambulance services. The decision is usually taken by the treating physicians.
Air Ambulance Companies are Still Expanding
The oversaturation of the market has not stopped huge air ambulance companies like Air Methods from further expanding its fleet. You may wonder why, but the answer is simple if you understand the business. Air ambulance companies try to cover as many cities and towns as possible. Failing to achieve this would result in the competition gaining a stronger foothold in such regions.
Currently over 82 million people in the United States have access to air ambulance services.
