By EMS1 Staff
HONOLULU — A current bill would put insurers on the line for air ambulance transports for critical procedures that Hawaii does not offer.
Associated Press reported that the legislation would help families who are placed in hard situations when they cannot afford the high cost of air ambulance transports.
Tammy Tam, the wife of ex-deputy attorney general Rodney Tam, was told by doctors that her husband needed a lung transplant, a procedure not offered in Hawaii.
Tam’s insurance covered the procedure, but the air transport to California had to be paid for out of pocket. The specialized flights cost anywhere from $80,000 to $130,000.