The Economics of Air Ambulance Services
Air ambulance services, while expensive, are an integral part of the healthcare ecosystem. The plus side of the American health system is that it is one of the best in the world when it comes to quality of care. Modern equipment and highly qualified physicians are not hard to find the country. However, there is a flipside to it too. At USD 3.5 trillion a year, it is one of the most expensive in the world and makes up for 21% of the country’s economy. In spite of this fact, it does not reach all the people of the country.
Looking at Things from the Air Ambulance Services Context
Now that we have established that the healthcare cost in the US is mind-bogglingly high, it is obvious that the costs need to be controlled. Why? The answer is simple: it is a huge burden on the country’s economy. The solution, therefore, must be an effort to optimize spending and promote healthy living to avoid ailments in the first place. While such efforts are on, there are highly sporadic.
However, there is a concerted effort to cut costs in the wrong places. This is where air ambulance services come into picture. The obvious high cost of this life-saving emergency service is today the target of mindless vilification.
Logic Favors Air Ambulance Services
Cost cutting measures must be holistic rather than selective. Federal help in running air ambulance services such as maintenance of an airbase for each region, shared hangars to store the aircrafts, common training programs for the industry are important. These are just some ways in which the government, while spending sensibly, can save a lot. The burden on the insurance industry too will go down significantly. Instead, simply asking the air ambulance industry to cut down the service charges even as costs of maintaining such services are skyrocketing is not a logical solution.
