SOAR proudly sponsored the Brain Injury Association of America’s (BIAA) David Strauss Clinical Webinar to highlight the importance of emergency air medical services in rural America.
Speaker Stephanie Queen, Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Air Methods, presented on a variety of topics including the importance of air ambulances to rural communities, pre-hospital care for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke patients, the challenges of low reimbursement rates, and important considerations for implementing the No Surprises Act of 2020.
Throughout the webinar, Queen stressed the importance of time when responding to brain injuries. She shared that approximately 87 million Americans live over an hour from a Level I or II Trauma Center and that the swift transports provided by air medical services can help prevent secondary injuries, improve patient outcomes, and save lives.
“It’s number one for survival,” she said. “If you go by ground oftentimes it can take an hour or more, and the golden hour is outlined as an hour or less to be able to get to a [trauma or comprehensive stroke] center…Without our air medical support and partnerships throughout communities, they’re not going to receive the access and care they really need.”
Queen also discussed how low reimbursement rates threaten the air medical industry. She explained that Medicare reimbursement rates have not risen in over a decade and only cover about 50 percent of transportation costs. Additionally, she explained that the lack of in-network agreements with large insurers compound the pressure on air medical providers forcing them to take losses on flights.
Queen continued by discussing the No Surprises Act of 2020 and the critical need for its thoughtful implementation. She highlighted that the Act removes patients from the middle of billing disputes between insurers and providers.
“[Patients] shouldn’t have to worry about their bill; they should worry about their recovery,” she said.
As the new law goes into effect and the Department of Health and Human Services begins its rulemaking process, Queen said it’s imperative that the Department distinguish between types of providers (hospital-based and independent) to ensure accurate and fair rates.
The full recording of the webinar can be viewed here.