{"id":2458,"date":"2024-02-27T16:03:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T16:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=2458"},"modified":"2024-02-27T16:03:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T16:03:39","slug":"without-medicare-part-bs-shield-patients-family-owes-81000-for-a-single-air-ambulance-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=2458","title":{"rendered":"Without Medicare Part B\u2019s Shield, Patient\u2019s Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Debra Prichard was a retired factory worker who was careful with her money, including what she spent on medical care, said her daughter, Alicia Wieberg. \u201cShe was the kind of person who didn\u2019t go to the doctor for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

That ended last year, when the rural Tennessee resident suffered a devastating stroke and several aneurysms. She twice was rushed from her local hospital to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, 79 miles away, where she was treated by brain specialists. She died Oct. 31 at age 70.<\/p>\n

One of Prichard\u2019s trips to the Nashville hospital was via helicopter ambulance. Wieberg said she had heard such flights could be pricey, but she didn\u2019t realize how extraordinary the charge would be \u2014 or how her mother\u2019s skimping on Medicare coverage could leave the family on the hook.<\/p>\n

Then the bill came.<\/p>\n

The Patient: <\/strong>Debra Prichard, who had Medicare Part A insurance before she died.<\/p>\n

Medical Service:<\/strong> An air-ambulance flight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.<\/p>\n

Service Provider:<\/strong> Med-Trans Corp., a medical transportation service that is part of Global Medical Response<\/a>, an industry giant backed by private equity investors. The larger company operates in all 50 states and says it has a total of 498 helicopters and airplanes.<\/p>\n

Total Bill:<\/strong> $81,739.40, none of which was covered by insurance.<\/p>\n

What Gives:<\/strong> Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years.<\/p>\n

For patients with private insurance coverage, the No Surprises Act<\/a>, which went into effect in 2022, bars air-ambulance companies from billing people more than they would pay if the service were considered \u201cin-network\u201d with their health insurers. For patients with public coverage, such as Medicare or Medicaid, the government sets payment rates at much lower levels than the companies charge.<\/p>\n

But Prichard had opted out of the portion of Medicare that covers ambulance services.<\/p>\n

That meant when the bill arrived less than two weeks after her death, her estate was expected to pay the full air-ambulance fee of nearly $82,000. The main assets are 12 acres of land and her home in Decherd, Tennessee, where she lived for 48 years and raised two children. The bill for a single helicopter ride could eat up roughly a third of the estate\u2019s value, said Wieberg, who is executor.<\/p>\n

\n

\n