What do you do when your insurance carrier agrees that air ambulance service is a medical necessity but later refuse to cover the expense? This is exactly what happened to a young woman from Massachusetts. She was with her family, attending a wedding in Kansas when she suddenly fell ill. She was found to have blood clots in her brain and was down with a stroke, so much so that she was unable to use her right arm. Her speech too was garbled at the time. The small local hospital that she was taken to suggested that she be taken to a better equipped treating facility.
Air Ambulance was Called to Transfer the Patient to Massachusetts
The doctors felt that she needed an air ambulance to transfer her to Massachusetts and so did her insurers. It is believed that no mention was made with regards to the coverage of the air ambulance services. Naturally, the family of the patient assumed that the air ambulance cost would be borne by the health insurance provider, and rightly so as anyone would assume the same. They even believed that the transport was preapproved and they had nothing to worry.
The Family was Taken Aback on Realizing that the Air Ambulance Expense was Not Being Covered
It was only after the services of the air ambulance were availed that they received the shocker. The bill amounted to a couple of hundred thousand and the insurance provider was not willing to foot it.
It is said that insurance companies simply refuse to factor in the maintenance cost that invariably reflects in these bills and term the costs unreasonable. As a result, they expense is ultimately pushed to the patients. As unfair as this may seem, no solution seems to be at hand for problems like these unless a path is found where the end consumers are not burdened.
