Federal law currently bans states from regulating the routes and prices of air carriers, which includes air ambulances. However, the draft legislation would force air ambulances to separate transportation costs and care costs on patient bills.
“Air ambulances, while they provide a lifesaving service, are currently operating in a gray area between healthcare and aviation, and have managed to not be held accountable by anyone — and it’s time for that to change,” Ms. McCaskill said in a statement, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “This bill will allow states to properly regulate air ambulance costs, which have skyrocketed in the last decade, and give consumers much-needed protections.”
Patients often face large air ambulance bills due to the lack of in-network air ambulance providers.
“This is what happens when an insurance provider is not able to negotiate those lower prices for you. You as a consumer are left to see the entire impact of the out-of-control prices,” Kristin Grow, a spokesperson for America’s Health Insurance Plans, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Ms. McCaskill’s bill would form an advisory committee made up of state insurance regulators, insurers, consumer advocacy groups and consumer groups that would make consumer protection recommendations.
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