Air ambulance prices have been a subject of debate in the United States of America in recent times. It is quite surprising to see that it has become such a big issue that there is uproar among people where insurance and medical flight companies are being pulled up at every step. However, it does not seem to be an issue in most countries where air ambulance services are regularly used. In this article, we try to focus on aspects where the United States is possibly going wrong.
Air Ambulance Pricing Mechanisms Around the World
You will hardly find anyone complaining of air ambulance prices in the United Kingdom. Why? Because the country has a huge number of charitable medical flight organizations. The funding is partly taken care by the government. The rest of it is covered by communities through voluntary contributions and fund-raising efforts. Of course, corporate entities too have been highly helpful in helping air ambulance companies with money.
The same is the case in Ireland where medical flight services are taken care by the government. However, the country, in recent times, has been seen veering towards privatization of this service amid stiff opposition.
Turkey, although as not as rich as the United States, surprisingly is offering free medical flight services to its citizens. The service is entirely undertaken by the government. It is believed that they have served over 43,000 patients in the past decade, of which 637 were flow across borders.
What Needs to Change?
Primarily, three aspects need to be looked into.
- One – the government must be more active in ensuring that air ambulance services are affordable.
- Two – the people must come together to support medical flight organizations.
- Three – there is a need for more charitable air ambulance organizations in the US where the current industry landscape is dominated by for-profit organizations.
