Reducing Medical Flight Expenses
If you are currently in a hospital and require medical care from a specialist, then you may need to transfer to another hospital. This is often not an issue unless the specialist is located in another state. While a traditional ambulance can transport you, this is uncomfortable and not safe depending on your condition. In this case, a medical flight may be a better option. These flights do tend to be expensive, especially if you need to pay for it out of pocket. There are a few things you can do to reduce your costs, like the following.
Piggyback On A Flight
A traditional medical flight will transport a single individual from one airfield to another. These are singular flights where you need to pay for all of the expenses. Once the flight is completed, the plane will fly back to the original location. However, sometimes an individual will be flying to a hospital in your region and the crew can fly you to your location afterward.
If you are flexible, then you can ask the medical flight company if you can schedule your flight around someone else. Sometimes a flight can be worked out in advance or you can be placed "on call" to fly when an emergency medivac service is utilized in your region.
Sharing of the flight is called a "piggyback" service and is ideal if the flight needs to return to its base at your desired location. For example, if you require a transport to the Cleveland clinic from Buffalo, then your flight can be scheduled if the business has a base in Cleveland and happens to be flying over Buffalo to return home.
Piggybacking can save you 50% or more on the cost of your medical flight. You can also try to coordinate the flight with another individual in your region who also needs to see a specialist. You will need to speak with the medical flight company to understand what kinds of options they offer based on their scheduled flights.
Consider A Commercial Flight
Many medical flight companies will offer services to accompany individuals on commercial flights. You may have this option whether you are wheelchair or bed bound. IVs and certain transportation monitors can be utilized on flights, but larger machines and serious medical condition that require equipment like large-scale respirators cannot often be accommodated.
Accommodations can be made for train transport as well and this is often cheaper than a flight but quicker than a long-distance ambulance ride. Trains do not have the same restrictions as airplanes when it comes to equipment since electronic interference is not a problem. So, this might be a good choice if respirators and heart monitors are necessary during the trip.
