HELICOPTER INSURANCE
Most of us are lucky enough to have health insurance. If you’re young and working, it’s probably available through your employer. If you’re old, you probably have Medicaid or Medicare.
The problem is that many people have a gigantic hole in their coverage and they won’t find out about it until it’s too late. In the blink of an eye, you could be on the hook for upwards of $100,000 that might not be covered by your existing policy, and bankruptcy might be the only solution.
What am I talking about? AirEvac, Casevac, Medevac, Air Ambulance, Life Flight; whatever you want to call it.
If you’re camping, riding your dirt bike or side by side, driving down the highway, hiking or whatever, or you’re just not very close to a hospital, and you are seriously injured, chances are you will be transported to a trauma center via helicopter. According to the Association of Air Medical Services, more than 550,000 people receive airlift services every year in the U.S.
Many insurance companies will not cover the cost of an Air Ambulance. Insurance companies are a for-priofit business, and they will always try to avoid paying, which can put a tremendous financial burden on you.
Helicopters May Not Be Covered In Your Insurance Policy
The majority of airlift situations are due to accidents and emergencies. Many people who have coverage through their employer, a self-insurance plan, Medicare, or Medicaid assume that this coverage is included in their policy. It comes as a shock when they receive a bill and must pay out-of-pocket because their claim for an airlift is denied by an insurance representative.
I know, I have first hand experience and lived to tell this tale.
Just last summer, while using a small battery-operated saw, my back spasmed and before I knew what happened, the saw cut across my left wrist, cutting about half way through my left arm. I completely severed the radial artery and lots of other interesting looking stuff, but it’s the artery that almost killed me.
I couldn’t do much as I was standing in place holding pressure on the wound; still busily painting the ground red. I yelled for my wife, and when she came over I told her I would be unconscious in three minutes and dead in five, unless we could find something I could use for a tourniquet. She quickly looked around and found a small extension cord.
I was able to apply the makeshift tourniquet, which didn’t do a very good job, but it stopped enough of the bleeding that we could get my first aid kit out of my Harley and apply a real tourniquet.
I knew it would be lights out for me before much longer as my blood pressure had tanked due to blood loss, so I immediately called for a helicopter, which arrived after I had lost consciousness. I was flown to a Level 1 trauma center 160 miles away and awoke in the ER after the vascular surgeon stopped the flow of blood. Obviously, I lived.
The bill from the hospital was about $60,000 and my medical insurance covered the tab. The bill from the air ambulance was also about $60,000 and my insurance paid exactly nothing. Why? Because they are insurance companies and they make the rules. (Again, check your policy.)
While I was grateful to be alive, for most people the helicopter bill would have been devastating.
Fortunately for me, I had purchased Medical Air Evacuation Insurance a year earlier, and it paid everything. Neither I, nor anyone in my family I have had a serious accident before, but I saw a brochure somewhere and thought “What the hell? Just in case”. It was a case of preparation meets just-in-case, and I won.
This lesson taught me two things: The first was that everyone needs helicopter insurance, and believe it or not, it’s not expensive. I think I paid $400 for 4 years for my entire family. Get on the internet and look it up or ask someone at your local hospital who operates the helicopters at that facility, then buy it as soon as you can.
I recommend you call your insurance company and find out exactly what their policy is regarding helicopters and your deductible. If you are covered; great. If not, now is the time to make arrangements.
The second thing I learned is to carry a tourniquet at all times. You might have a little time to go looking for a lot of things in an emergency, but a tourniquet is not one of them. When you need one, you need it right damn now. Seconds can mean the difference between life and death.
I now carry a RATS tourniquet in my pocket every day, but more importantly, I have a small trauma First Aid kit in whichever vehicle I operate.
Everyone should have a first aid kit with all the regular stuff, like band aids, aspirin and the like, but more critical is a trauma kit. (IFAK*) Whether it’s your life, a member of your family or a stranger, almost anyone can save a life with a tourniquet. This is one of those purchases that you make and hope it’s a complete waste of money.
Remember, when it hits the fan, YOYO.
(I’ll do a separate blog on the contents of my kit, and another on how to use a tourniquet.)
* (Individual First Aid Kit)