The COVID-19 pandemic is slowly making inroads into rural America. The higher number of elderly people living in rural communities is especially vulnerable now. Moreover, the infection is known to be fatal to people with diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments that impact natural immunity in human beings. All things considered, people living in rural parts of the country must have access to medical flights. However, this is turning out to be a huge problem for organizations that offer air ambulance services. It has again boiled down to balance billing, insurance denials, and financial burden to patients.
Medical Flights Being Denied Coverage is a Concern
Medical flights are a part of an industry that is highly competitive and which is already struggling to stay afloat. The COVID-19 situation has created an emergency of sorts throughout the nation and medical flights need to play a huge role in offering adequate coverage to rural communities. However, the threat of inadequate coverage is limiting its services. In this context, it must be noted that when coverage is denied by insurance companies, the burden is shifted to the patients. This presents a significant financial burden to the patients that can run into several tens of thousands.
The Percentage of Balance Billing is Small but Significant
About 300,000 air ambulance evacuations are carried out every year; of this, 3% end up in balance bills. This is primarily due to insurance denials. Most of these denials are due to the service provider being out-of-network.
The providers of medical flights too have not been keen on going in-network with insurance companies. The reason for this is the fact that reimbursements rates have remained unchanged. However, there is hope. With states like Florida looking to revise insurance reimbursement rates, the scenario could change soon.
