The air ambulance transport industry is in the United States is in distress. The reasons for this are several. The primary one being the crackdown on the high bills arising from their services. While the insurance companies are denying coverage at one end, on the other end, the federal government is now regulating their billing practices.
Then, there is another big problem. The country has the highest number of air ambulance companies in the entire world. This means they must indulge in fierce competition to gain the market share which is already competed out. Plus, the air ambulance transport companies must contend with the fixed cost even when they are not able to ferry enough patients to even out the costs.
Developing Nations and Air Ambulance Transport
Developing nations like India have a huge population. The air ambulance transport industry has just started picking up in such countries. The COVID-19 spike that had recently shaken the world had a deeper impact on developing nations. In that, there was a severe lack of beds and oxygen in urban areas. The only recourse was getting to a hospital with appropriate treatment facilities. This had necessitated the use of air ambulance transport for the want of saving time.
Affordability and Infrastructure
Since air ambulance transport is a relatively new concept in countries like India, the infrastructure is not robust enough to support the industry yet. However, this is slated to change in the coming days as a strong need for such services is being felt.
Affordability is another issue. Much of the population may not be able to afford air ambulance transport. The attitude of the insurance companies towards air ambulances too is largely unknown. However, there is still a sizeable section of the population that can afford air ambulance transport. It would not be surprising if many of the western medical flight companies try their luck in developing countries in the days to come.
