An insurer has gone to the Kansas Supreme Court dragging a medical flight company. The contention has been that the company has been charging unreasonably high prices for its services. Terming the practice of billing ‘predatory’, the petitioner has asked the court to intervene, although the medical flight industry has been insulated by a federal law that bars states from interfering in the matters of billing. The court is yet to pass a ruling, and the service provider in question is EagleMed. The air ambulance industry argues that high charges towards privately insured people are a way to offset the losses resulting from uninsured people or those with Medicaid and Medicare.
The Tough Competition in the Medical Flight Industry
There are several players in the medical flight industry today. This means more service providers for a limited number of service seekers. This makes it incredibly hard for most companies to stay afloat because they fail to get enough customers to balance the costs. As a result, the cost of maintenance is distributed among those who avail of their services. The federal law acts as a shield allowing these companies to employ this practice.
The Federal Law is Aimed at Staying Competitive
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 is a federal law. It is aimed at airlines, and since the medical flight industry is considered a part of aviation and not the healthcare industry, the Act holds good for it too. However, the main purpose of this act is to encourage competition to lower prices. This is not the case with air ambulances. Since the patients have little say in the service providers that they choose during emergencies, the medical flight companies get a free hand to charge as they please. The insurance companies, on the other hand, have not changed their coverage for years together. This translates into lower coverage, and the ultimate burden of clearing the bills falls on the customers.
