“Recently proposed legislation by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) would destroy access to life-saving emergency air medical service for millions of Americans, especially those in rural areas.
The Lower Health Care Costs Act includes a provision – Section 105 - that hurts patients, cuts air medical providers out at the knees, removes vital care from rural America—and only benefits health insurance companies. The language would allow insurers to continue paying ever lower rates while continuing to question the emergency medical decisions of doctors and first responders. It would also leave no recourse against some insurers who refuse to negotiate in-network agreements with air ambulance providers. The unintended consequences of Section 105 will decimate the air medical safety net in rural America so that the cardiac, stroke and trauma patients air medical crew members care for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will have no chance to receive definitive care in an adequate amount of time.
This public policy gives the insurance industry all of the cards and could lead to the elimination of emergency air medical services at a time when large swaths of the country and millions of Americans are losing hospitals and other health care facilities. We urge members of Congress to reject this ill-conceived legislation.”