Over the past few weeks, lawmakers in Montana had been discussing a bill that would prevent medical flight patients from getting huge air ambulance bills. On February 3, the Senate committee decided to advance the bill, which would ensure that patients would no longer receive massive charges from air ambulance providers who aren’t within their insurance network.
Unanimous Approval of the Bill
The committee unanimously gave their approval to the amendment and set it to the full Senate. According to this legislation, the air ambulance provider and the insurance company will have to come up with an agreement if there’s any dispute regarding the cost and coverage of services even if the provider isn’t within the company’s network. The patients will only have to pay charges on deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance, thus preventing thousands of dollars in air ambulance fees.
Bill Outlines Process for Determining Fair Cost of Medical Flight
The Senate Bill 44 also outlines the process of determining the fair market value of services rendered by air ambulance providers. An independent reviewer will be responsible for analyzing the extent of training and the composition of the air ambulance crew. The reviewer will also take into account other factors like the usual charge for a medical flight and the usual acceptable amount paid for such services in the state.
Patients who had received exorbitant air ambulance charges testified in a legislature hearing, after which the bill was put on hold until the affected parties came to an agreement amongst themselves. The main complaint for for-profit air ambulance providers was that insurance companies do not cover their costs. For the insurance companies, failure to discuss costs by air ambulance providers was a big issue as they faced a problem fixing a reasonable reimbursement rate.
