A recent Government Accountability Office study says out-of-network air ambulance flights are putting some patients at financial risk.
GAO says first responders and physicians decide what air ambulance service to call based on proximity and established relationships-- but a patient’s insurance plan is not usually taken into consideration. This results in 70% of privately-insured patients being airlifted by an out-of-network air ambulance service.
Physical Infrastructure Director Heather Krause said these out-of-network flights could result in balance billing- what the patient pays after their insurance company pays a certain amount.
GAO found that the median cost of an air ambulance service flight is more than $36,000.
Krause said some states are taking action to reduce balance billing. "States are trying to do it through regulation of the insurers, we found though that in some instances they are facing some challenges in federal district court," she said.
West Kentucky families struggling with high medical bills from air ambulances asked lawmakers last fall to better regulate the service.
Senator Morgan McGarvey filed a bill to regulate air ambulance insurance issues this session. The bill was assigned to the Banking and Insurance committee but never got a hearing.
