Membership offers many great advantages, but there are also some things you should be aware of as a member. Please click on the links to the right for answers to the most common questions we receive about membership.
AirMedCare Network membership details:
The AirMedCare Network providers were among the first air ambulance services to offer a membership program, similar to the ground ambulance and rural fire department programs throughout the United States. The founders knew that for the service to survive in a rural area, they would need other sources of funding besides the traditional fee-for-service billing. They also knew that the service would be costly, and therefore, established a membership program to assist families with the cost and alleviate the financial burden.
Although you do not have to be a member to be transported, membership offers several important benefits. If your medical professional determines air medical transport is needed, they will contact the nearest available provider.
Your membership coverage is valid in all of our service areas across the country. If you are flown by any of the Network’s providers, AirMedCare Network will work on your behalf with your insurance benefits provider to secure payment for your flight. What your insurance benefits provider pays to us will be considered payment in full. Whether you are at home or on the road, you’re covered.
In additional, becoming an AirMedCare Network member is a good way to support the health care needs of your local community. Our membership base – the largest of its kind in the United States – helps us operate in rural areas where having a quick response time to critical medical situations can save lives.
Membership fees alone are not enough to cover the cost of member transports. Those fees are prepaid protection against costs not covered by a member’s insurance, other benefits or third party responsibility. Almost all of our members have some type of insurance, benefit, or third party responsibility that covers all or part of the cost of transport. Collecting enough from those sources is necessary to keep membership fees low. Of course, if there is no other source of payment for a member’s transport, the transport is still covered in full by the membership.
These are all potential sources of payment that can be applied to pay for the transport of any patient, including a member patient, by an AirMedCare Network Provider. Accordingly, any type of insurance – health, auto, medical, liability, etc. – that covers ambulance transport services is included. Any benefit – such as another membership that covers medical services, workers’ compensation benefits, etc. – is included. Any third party who is responsible or liable for paying the cost of medical services, such as an at-fault driver of an automobile or the at-fault person’s liability insurance carrier is also included. Medicare is a secondary payor and requires AirMedCare Network Providers to seek payment from third party liability sources before billing Medicare for patient transports. Many commercial health insurance plans also have rules that, in effect, make third party liability payments primary. Members agree that the AirMedCare Network Provider is entitled to any and all payment received from insurance, benefit providers and/or any third party for air medical services provided by the AirMedCare Network Provider
With an AirMedCare Network household membership, any person or persons who reside under one (residential) roof can be covered. In the event we have a member who lives in a duplex or apartment complex, we designate the primary member’s residence/address, and that is considered the “one roof”. Undergraduate college students can be covered under their parent’s membership as well as anyone previously residing in the household who is then moved to a permanent care facility.
There is no limit to the number of transports a member may take in a year. Each transport is handled the same way and must be a life-or-limb threatening emergency.
If a member is not transported by an AirMedCare Network provider, they will be responsible for payment of the bill. Our membership program only covers transports by AirMedCare Network providers.
×No. AirMedCare Network is not an insurance company. An AirMedCare Network membership is not an insurance policy and cannot be considered as secondary insurance coverage or as supplemental coverage to any insurance policy. Membership provides prepaid protection against covered AirMedCare Network provider transportation costs that exceed a member’s health insurance or medical benefits.
This answer varies. Each insurance company offers different plans and coverage. It is up to your individual insurance company as to whether they will cover the cost of a transport, and to determine the amount of economic burden placed on the patient via a co-pay or deductible. We recommend that you contact your insurance company directly to obtain detailed coverage information.
Most insurance companies will pay 100% of what they deem an allowable amount for an air ambulance or emergent ground transport. This does not necessarily mean that the total cost of the transport will be covered. Additionally, people frequently change insurance companies and plan designs. You will want to check with your individual insurance company to find out exactly how much they will cover in the case of an AirMedCare Network transport. Lastly, your insurance may decide that the flight does not fit a specific parameter covered under your policy and deny payment. Membership will cover the cost of the flight for you, even if your insurance does not.
No. AirMedCare Network providers accept Medicaid as full payment for services rendered.Some state laws prohibit Medicaid beneficiaries from being offered membership or accepted into membership programs. As part of our application process, members certify to AirMedCare Network that they are not Medicaid beneficiaries.
The answer varies, depending on the nature of your transport and your supplemental insurance provider. In many cases, Medicare and the supplemental insurance coverage should pay for the cost of transport if it is medically necessary and if Medicare believes you were taken to the closest appropriate hospital. However, we have seen cases where the supplemental insurance provider does not cover a remaining balance after Medicare has paid its portion. Many seniors want a membership even if they have complete coverage, in the event that their insurance coverage changes in the future or if the claim is denied. Many times a supplemental insurance won’t pay if your primary insurance denies. In those circumstances, membership is very beneficial.
×The best option is always to call the local 911 service first. The 911 dispatchers are trained to get specific information about the medical emergency from the caller and determine what type of medical transportation best fits the situation. The local service is more familiar with your location, as well as the availability of the local emergency resources. They may have information to aid you that the AirMedCare Network providers may not be aware of.
When calling emergency personnel, make the 911/ground ambulance service aware that you are an AirMedCare Network member so that in the event they plan to request an air ambulance, they know your preference. Members receive an AirMedCare Network identification card and stickers for your vehicle. All of these items allow emergency personnel to identify that you are an AirMedCare Network member. Regardless of whether or not emergency personnel know that you’re an AirMedCare Network member, we may still be called to transport you. As earlier indicated, most of our transports are non-member transports.
If your medical emergency meets certain criteria, such as a heart attack, stroke or a traumatic injury and the 911 dispatcher determines you would benefit from an emergency ground or air medical transport, they can dispatch an ambulance for you. Hospital-to-hospital transfers are ordered by physicians. In the event that AirMedCare Network’s Provider Operations Center receives a call for emergency help from an individual or source other than a healthcare or emergency services agency, they will identify and contact the ground EMS service in the patient’s community and ask them to respond to the scene. If they determine air medical transport is needed, they will dispatch the nearest appropriate aircraft for the situation. In short, any trained medical professional can make the determination that a transport is necessary.
Air ambulances are valuable and scarce resources that should be reserved for those times when a patient is facing a life-or-limb threatening emergency and it is in their best interest to get to medical care in a timely fashion. AirMedCare Network Providers will not transport patients by air if air transportation is not believed to be appropriate.
When an air ambulance provider is called, time is of the essence. Patients in life-threatening situations often need specialty centers to provide the care needed. AirMedCare Network providers will take a patient to the closest appropriate medical facility as determined by physicians or EMS personnel. Whenever possible, physicians or EMS personnel consult with the patient or the patient’s families as these decisions are being made.
We cannot guarantee that there will always be an AirMedCare Network provider available to transport you. There may be times when an AirMedCare Network provider aircraft in your area is committed to assisting another patient transport or is out of service for maintenance or inclement weather. We may be able to call one of our other AirMedCare Network providers from a nearby service area. In some cases, however, you may need to be transported by a ground ambulance or another air ambulance service that is not a participating provider in the AirMedCare Network. What’s most important is that you get to the medical care you need as quickly as possible, no matter the mode of transportation, so you will have the best chances for survival and recovery.
The primary determinant of whether to accept a flight is always the safety of the patient and our medical flight crews. Federal Aviation Administration restrictions prohibit AirMedCare Network providers from transporting patients under certain conditions, such as, but not limited to, flying in inclement weather, equipment manufacturer limitations, maintenance requirements, age or size.
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