A medical flight is undoubtedly the fastest way to ensure adequate medical treatment when time is a critical factor. It is said that, in certain medical conditions, the chances of survival increases drastically when care is received within the first hour of the onset of the illness. Here are a few numbers that tell you just how many people seek emergency treatment in the United States and for what reasons.
In the country, about 136.3 million people visit the emergency department for one reason or the other each year. Of these, 40.2 million visits are related to injuries. Of the total number of patients that visit the ED, 16.2 million end up being admitted to the hospital, while 2.1 million end up in the critical care unit.
Let’s take the five most populated states of the United States and see what percentage of all hospital visits are emergency visits. It would not be wrong to suppose that most of these visits may demand medical flight services.
- Texas – 49%
- Illinois – 41%
- California – 38%
- New York – 37%
- Florida – 44%
It is a well-known fact that a large percentage of private health insurance companies do not have many medical flight providers in their network (69%). The patients, therefore, become a victim of balance billing. At the same time, 29% of the country’s population depends on these insurance providers for their medical expenses.
Lack of reasonable reimbursements are not something that has bothered the medical flight companies alone. In fact, according to one survey, 34 percent of physicians serving in emergency departments plan to leave the profession owing to this problem.
It is hoped that with an understanding between insurance and medical flight industries on the cards, the problem of inadequate reimbursements and balance billing will be contained in the very near future.
