Last year, 37 local residents were transported to a hospital by a medical evacuation helicopter because of life-threatening trauma from a stroke, heart attack, or serious car accident. Benefits from this service are easy to calculate when you consider the time and distance it takes to get to a hospital in Tucson, Sierra Vista, or Nogales by ambulance.
There are two medical helicopter companies within reach of patients in the Sonoita-Elgin-Patagonia area—Life-Net in Nogales and Air Evac in Sierra Vista. When a helicopter is needed, the one closest to the medical scene is dispatched. The crew includes a highly trained pilot and a critical care nurse.
This valuable service is expensive. A resident who has been transported to a hospital by medivac can expect to be billed $7,000 or more by the transport service. Most health insurance providers don’t cover this cost. Fortunately, both companies now offer a yearly membership plan that assures that the patient will not have to pay anything for a medically necessary air transport over and above the amount paid by their health insurance provider.
The Omni-Advantage membership plan provides benefits for transportation by Life-Net. Its rate for a family with primary health insurance is only $49.00 a year. For patients who have no health insurance or have only Part A Medicare, yearly membership is $99.00. For more information, contact OMNI at 855-877-2518.
A second membership plan is offered by OMNI Cares; it covers flights by Air Evac. Its rates are similar—$50.00 a year for families with health insurance and $100.00 for those who do not have insurance. Information from this plan is available at 888-435-9744.