Air Evac Memberships

[asp_125]

Stolen from another forum etc...

I know from personal experience an ambulance ride is already a few thousand dollars, imagine what a air lift costs. I haven't researched this too deeply yet, but it looks like cheap insurance for a $50 membership fee.

Worth considering for those of you who log a lot of miles away from the city in the mountains or out towards the western slope. Or even our track riders - I've seen the helicopter fly out of HPR this season.

Stole this from the ETB board and thought it was a piece of useful information n thought I'd share it here ....
not sure if a repost but couldn't find it in a search

http://www.airmedcarenetwork.com/




If you ride in the mountains around here and happen to crash so that you need to go to the hospital, the chances are that you will be taken out in a helicopter since the road ambulance would take too long.

I found out a bit too late that the local Lifestar service is part of a network that has an enrollment program. Basically, what ever a members insurance doesn't cover is considered paid in full when you get picked up by the med-evac. In my case, my insurance covered $250, which didn't cover the cost of the ground ambulance to the landing zone. My air bill is over $16,000! Yearly cost for the program is about $50/yr for one person, $55/yr for two people and $60/yr for 3 or more member households!

Had I been able to find this info when I was looking a couple of months before my accident, my medical bills would be $16000 less.

BTW, I am a member.........now.

The following is the contact info:
1 (800) 793-0010
www.lifeteam.net

The coverage area is most of the southern and mid-eastern states from TX to TN and GA to IL. Check them out before you need to.....I wish I had been able to find this info earlier, when I was looking for it, originally.

some more info ....

The following is the contact info:
Air Evac Lifeteam (Rural areas and original member based program)
1 (800) 793-0010
www.lifeteam.net

Med-Trans (Includes UT Lifestar)
1 (866) 751-4515
www.med-trans.net

Eagle Med
1 (800) 764-3343
www.flyeaglemed.com (Kansas and Oklahoma)



Membership through any one of these is honored by the other companies

In addition it looks like MedTrans has coverage in Colorado.
http://www.med-trans.net/index_new.asp
Eagle Med out of Loveland
Northern Colorado MediVac out of Greeley & Erie
Memorial Star Transport out of Co Springs

[Ezzzzy1]

I think the CSC should just buy a helicopter!

[tecknojoe]

Wow this is excellent information. Good find

[Sean]

Great info! Thanks, Jefe.

[asp_125]

Downside, it looks like Flight For Life Colorado (the main one operating out of Denver, Frisco, Pueblo, Springs, Durango) may not be a member of this network. So you're screwed unless you request a member company on your emergency information.

[bulldog]

Downside, it looks like Flight For Life Colorado (the main one operating out of Denver, Frisco, Pueblo, Springs, Durango) may not be a member of this network. So you're screwed unless you request a member company on your emergency information.

Good luck there! As far as i know emergency staff does not even look at information like that. They send out the closest ambulance/flight that is available; it's all about saving a life and not about payment at that point.

[tecknojoe]

Good luck there! As far as i know emergency staff does not even look at information like that. They send out the closest ambulance/flight that is available; it's all about saving a life and not about payment at that point.

Does HPR use a certain one? Is there a way to find out?

[Jmetz]

Good luck there! As far as i know emergency staff does not even look at information like that. They send out the closest ambulance/flight that is available; it's all about saving a life and not about payment at that point.

Pretty much. As far as I'm aware you have very little say in an emergency situation. It's usually the closest ambulance and hospital regardless of your plan and such.

[asp_125]

Does HPR use a certain one? Is there a way to find out?

I know Western Ambulance provides the trackside service, but dunno who they call for air evacs.

IIRC it was a green/white chopper and not the Flight For Life Colorado's orange ones.

Even on the random chance the EMTs call one that's in network, that's worth the price of a dinner and movie to save tens of thousands of dollars.

[willb003]

I think the CSC should just buy a helicopter!

I could fly it, as long as your ok with autorotations into the hospital.

IIRC it was a green/white chopper and not the Flight For Life Colorado's orange ones.

The green/white one is out of loveland. Its based right off of I-25.

[rybo]

So I have some personal experience in this area -

In May of this year at Round 1 I had an off that resulted in a helicopter ride.

This is the company that is most often dispatched to HPR. My pick up was further down the road as the original plan for my evac was by ground.

http://airlifedenver.com/

The cost of the flight was a lot, and I'm lucky that my insurance covered the better part of it, but even at that it was a very expensive day.

The total bill from the air ambulance was $28,000 - That was for a flight from Strassburg to the Aurora Medical Center - approx 30 mins in the air.

The care was top notch, the flight was amazingly smooth (the landing was flat out amazing - I didn't know we had touched down until I heard the turbine spool down, and I was VERY sensitive to bumps at this point).

It's possibly the most expensive way to ride in a helicopter, and there is NO cheap way to ride in one...

[dapper]

The green/white one is out of loveland. Its based right off of I-25.

Two or more green/white choppers exist in the Den Metro area.

[fairrpe86]

As far as a whirly bird ride goes, when EMS/Fire calls for an air transport, in the metro area, once the request the chopper go their dispatch will call either AirLife or Flight for Life. If they call the one and they are unavailable, the air ambulance service will then call the other provider and get a bird out to you ASAP. So which company you are going to get is a crap shoot unless you make a specific request and it so happens that they feel your reason is valid AND that particular provider has a bird available to service you.

[Aaron]

Like the others said, it depends on where you crash. In the greater Pueblo area we exclusively use Flight For Life, and they do most of our surrounding mountain areas (Cripple Creek, Westcliffe, El Paso, etc).