‘Stringent’ is the word that comes to mind when you think of medical flight insurance coverage norms. Cost reimbursements of medical flights can mean between a retaining your life savings and letting it go to cover the huge bills. It is important to know the basis on which insurance companies accept or deny the claims. Of course, the foremost thing is to own a health insurance policy that covers medical flight services or medical transportation of any form for that matter. If this condition is taken care of, following are the other conditions that you must be mindful of.
Insurance Coverage for Medical Flight Services
Medical flight services to and from hospitals are covered by Medicare Part B. It is worthy to note here that air medical transportation to skilled nursing facilities is also covered under Part B. However, it should be noted that medical flight coverage is provided when it is deemed that ground ambulances are not suitable for the medical condition or when it is determined that the patient is in dire need of care and timely care is possible when the patient is carried to the treating facility in the shortest possible time via an air ambulance.
Approval by the Treating Professional is Necessary
The ultimate decision of whether a medical flight service is necessary lies with the treating professional who could be a physician or a paramedic attending an emergency. This decision cannot be taken by the patient and in most cases cannot be overruled either.
If the medical flight company feels that the patient might not be able to pay for its services, it can ask the patient to sign Advance Beneficiary Notice that states that the patient would be responsible for the payment in case the insurance company refuses reimbursement. The patient can refuse to sign this notice; however, if the air ambulance company goes ahead and carries the patient, he or she might still be held responsible for the payment.
