CareFlite to sell air ambulance subscriptions

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CareFlite to sell air ambulance subscriptions

Second service soliciting County; provider selection 'luck of

the draw'

Galen

gscott@...

CareFlite, a well-known air ambulance service provider, is poised to

become the second company selling emergency transport subscriptions

in County.

CareFlite President and CEO Jim Swartz successfully lobbied the

County Commissioners Court to authorize his company's intent

to begin selling subscriptions in the area Monday.

Commissioners tackled the issue in June when Air Evac Lifeteam, the

first air ambulance company to approach the court, unveiled plans to

sell transport memberships. According to Lifeteam, without coverage

air transport costs can reach up to $7,000.

Such companies claim most people's insurance doesn't cover all the

costs associated with an air transport. In the event of an emergency,

they say family subscriptions that sell for around $55 a year can

save a significant amount of money.

But with two companies competing to sell memberships to the same

group of people, a question was raised as to who determines which

service a critically injured patient receives.

" If somebody has a membership with one of the services, and not with

the other, and they have no control — lets say they were in a car

wreck — and y'all get called out and they have a membership with the

other company, how does that work out? " Precinct 3 Commissioner

Roth asked CareFlite's Swartz.

Swartz said the paramedics should call whichever company is closest.

" So, it really comes down to what the paramedics on the scene want to

do, " he said. " You could have a situation where there is a terrible

wreck on the interstate and two or three helicopters are required on

scene. Then it kind of becomes luck of the draw. "

, director of LifeCare Ambulance Service, the ambulatory

care provider for Weatherford Regional Medical Center, said he simply

uses the closest available helicopter, and agreed there was no

guarantee a patient's membership would influence who's helicopter

they ride in.

In immediate situations, the closest provider depends on the

patient's geographic location, and what each service provider happens

to be doing at the time.

Because subscriptions are still a very new thing in County,

said he has not yet had to deal with someone requesting

transport from a specific service provider, but he agreed the

situation would probably eventually come up.

acknowledged Life Care might not know about a person's

membership until after the fact, and pointed out subscriptions only

cover transport provided by a specific provider and do not apply to

others.

" It may be possible that CareFlite's closest helicopter is the one

based in Frisco, well it doesn't make any sense to call that

helicopter if it's not the closest, " said. " In life-threatening

situations, we're using helicopters simply for speed so, to wait an

extra 20 minutes on the arrival of a certain helicopter is defeating

the purpose. "

Though the County Commissioners Court is not required to

oversee or otherwise qualify standards set for Emergency Medical

Service providers, a section of the Texas Administrative Code

requires such an entity obtain the court's approval prior to

solicitation.

Following a motion by County Judge Mark Riley and a second from

Commissioner Joe Brinkley, CareFlite's authorization was approved

unanimously.

However, Riley appeared concerned about future problems stemming from

the membership sellers. He said he was worried about the county

getting caught in the middle.

" [Dispatchers] are getting input from emergency service personnel on

the scene and if [the patient] has a membership with say, `Company

X,' then that's who is going to get called, " Riley said. " And

ultimately the county is going to get pulled into a situation where

[the patient] says, `well, we didn't want them, we wanted the other

one.' "

Riley reiterated the county's authorization of CareFlite's intent to

solicit subscriptions was not to be used as an endorsement and warned

Swartz against such action.

" If we hear that it's been used an as endorsement, we will not be

happy and we will have a public discussion about it, " he said. " I

feel obligated to make that statement so that the public understands

that we're not endorsing any of it, other than the fact that the law

requires it of us, which I don't understand because it doesn't

involve us certifying it, or qualifying it in any way, which is a

little unusual. "

Riley said the issue was one the court need not forget.