re: OT Lawyers (and Doctors, to a degree)

What 4444 said, get a lawyer, talk to insurance and find out what the hang up is. As with all medical billing, there’s what is charged and what is allowable. The allowable is contracted with each insurance company and the Med Flight service. usually what I hear is $7-15k is what’s covered. The flight service shouldn’t be able to request more than allowable, and you may have a deductible that you’ll have to pay, but it shouldn’t be the remainder of the $46k.

I’m usually on the receiving end of the helicopter rides, as I’m a trauma surgeon. The helicopters, while needed in some instances, is way overused. Especially for $50k a ride. We’re collecting data with hopes to show that a large majority of helicopters are unnecessary. We have people discharged from the ER after a flight, and sometimes the ground crew will arrive prior to the air crew when coming from the same scene.