There’s a lot happening in the air medical transport industry currently. With the state lawmakers and the feds trying hard to end surprise air medical billing practices, there is a high degree of lobbying that is taking place both by insurance and air medical transport industry. There is a huge amount of blame game going on. Both parties are trying to pin the blame on each other. Often, you’ll find articles that highlight high bills that patients are compelled to foot and on the other hand, articles that detail the plight of the air ambulance industry and the rising costs it is grappling with.
What is a Surprise Air Medical Transport Bill?
In order to understand what surprise air medical transport bill is, we should adopt an industry agnostic perspective. The problem is not just with the air ambulance industry, it is rampant throughout the medical world. In the United States, unlike other parts of the world, insurance is a matter of network coverage. If a provider is not covered by the insurance company, it is likely that the reimbursement is going to be rejected. This compels the patients to foot the bill all by themselves. This phenomenon, where a person is compelled to pay a medical bill, in spite of having medical insurance, is known as surprise bill. This is what the polity of the nation is currently trying to eliminate.
Why is Tough to Eliminate Surprise Billing?
There are several facets to this. Some air ambulance companies, in the absence of fair reimbursement by insurance industry, simply do not want to come in network. The question arises, “Why?” The answer is obvious – this move paves the way for balance billing where the patient becomes responsible to foot that cost which is not covered by the insurance provider. Then who is to blame? Well, both insurance and air ambulance industries: the insurance industry because it refuses to reimburse a fair amount and the air medical transport industry because it refuses to come within insurance networks. It’s a Catch-22 situation.
