We had recently spoken about the new congressional bill that seeks to put an end to the surprise billing practices of the medical flight industry. However, the bill is yet to come into effect, and until then, families around the United States may continue to receive huge medical flight bills. The situation was quite similar for a Colorado family who were, until recently, in a position where they might have had to foot a huge air ambulance bill. The family’s newborn, a 4-week-old, was recommended an emergency surgery as one of the child’s lungs was not functioning. The family was in a state of urgency and did not even have enough time to pack the essentials, let alone shop for an air ambulance.
Surprise Medical Flight Bill Shocks the Family
The family was in for a rude shock when they received a bill for almost $64,000. This was after the insurance had paid $18,000. The medical flight that the family had taken was out of their insurer’s network. In fact, the talks between their insurance and the medical flight service provider had failed earlier. Due to this, the medical flight company had decided to remain out of network. In fact, this air ambulance company was the only option in most of the areas.
The Family was Eventually Off the Hook
The family was asked to pay a sum of $20,000 within two weeks or opt to spread the payment over six years, in which case they would have to shell out $33,000. However, it was still steep for the couple to take it up as the husband was a teacher and the mother a stay-at-home mother. Their joint income was simply not enough to foot the medical flight bill. Ultimately, however, the medical flight company came to an understanding with the insurance company and accepted $45,000.
