By EMS1 Staff
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Officials are seeking to regulate air ambulances in light of skyrocketing bills given to patients after transport.
ABC27.com reported that a bill in the U.S. Senate would give states power over the air ambulance industry. Currently, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 makes it so states cannot restrict air ambulances.
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller said her office gets about a dozen complaints a year from people who are unable to afford air ambulance bills.
“It’s the sheer size of these billers,” Miller said. “Twenty-five, 35, 40,000 dollars; that’s money that average Pennsylvanians don’t have sitting around and this can obviously be financially devastating.”
Miller said that insurance companies may or may not cover the service and at varying prices.