Linda Proessnecker was injured in a car accident. She was firstly driven in an ambulance to West Holt Memorial Hospital, but it was decided she needed specialist care at Bryan Medical Center so she was flown in a medical helicopter 167 miles from Atkinson, Nebraska, to a hospital in Lincoln.
At the time she did not think about the cost as she assumed it would be covered by her insurance policy.
The air ambulance bill for Linda came to just over $44,000 and luckily for her, her insurance company paid for all but $980 of it. She is definitely grateful her insurance covered as much as it did, as many are not as lucky.
Now the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Nebraska are warning people to check what their policies cover or don’t, and have issued an alert about the cost of air ambulances as they have been receiving complaints from those left with huge bills following motor vehicle and other accidents.
Another Nebraskan complained that he took an air ambulance to Omaha with a possible heart attack and assumed he was covered but the particular service he used, LifeNet, was not one of the providers his insurance company had an arrangement with, so although they paid their standard fee, he was faced with a balance to pay to the helicopter company of $32,000.
It is up to the hospitals or the paramedics to call for air transport and at those times the patient is usually too ill to even think of checking their insurance company to see if they are covered for the particular air transport provider.
There are several ways to ensure you are covered, whether using a separate policy or as part of your main health insurance provider so it is worth checking now, before the day you need the transport.
If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident in Omaha, please call the Omaha auto accident attorneys of Harris & Associates at (402) 397-1200 or contact us online today. We can help you review your compensation options and ensure you are receiving the compensation you deserve.
