Analysts identified air ambulance trips in the HCCI dataset using current procedural terminology codesi and defined them as plane or helicopter ambulance same-day services for a patient. The 2008-17 sample included more than 100,000 air ambulance trips for patients under 65 with employer-sponsored insurance.
The analysis found a 14.3 percent decrease in helicopter ambulance trips, from 34.2 trips per 100,000 people in 2008 to 29.3 trips in 2017. The use of plane ambulances remained stable at 4 trips per 100,000 people.
The average price of a helicopter ambulance trip increased 144 percent, from $11,414 in 2008 to $27,894 in 2017. For plane trips, the cost rose 166 percent, from $15,684 in 2008 to $41,674 in 2017.
The analysis recognized a large variation in the cost of air ambulance trips. In 2017, the 10th percentile of prices for helicopter trips was $6,514 and the 90th percentile was $52,038. For 2017 plane ambulance trips, the 10th percentile was $6,642 and the 90th percentile was $79,350.
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