Without Medicare Part B’s Shield, Patient’s Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight - KFF Health News
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Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years. But a rural Tennessee resident fell through the cracks of billing protections — and a single helicopter ride could cost much of her estate's value.

Debra Prichard was a retired factory worker who was careful with her money, including what she spent on medical care, said her daughter, Alicia Wieberg. “She was the kind of person who didn’t go to the doctor for anything.”

That ended last year, when the rural Tennessee resident suffered a devastating stroke and several aneurysms. She twice was rushed from her local hospital to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, 79 miles away, where she was treated by brain specialists. She died Oct. 31 at age 70.

One of Prichard’s trips to the Nashville hospital was via helicopter ambulance. Wieberg said she had heard such flights could be pricey, but she didn’t realize how extraordinary the charge would be — or how her mother’s skimping on Medicare coverage could leave the family on the hook.

Then the bill came.

  • RentlarEnglish
    6·
    7 months ago

    “She was the kind of person who didn’t go to the doctor for anything.”

    That ended last year, when the rural Tennessee resident suffered a devastating stroke and several aneurysms.

    As always, you don’t need Medicare until you need Medicare.