Life-Saving Flights Cost A Small Fortune

Folks in far-flung places in the U.S., or in sparsely populated states, who need specialty care rely on air ambulance flights to get them to the help they need.

In 2014, for example, there were nearly 3,000 air ambulance flights in Montana alone, but the cost of an air ambulance bill is often exorbitant, even with insurance coverage, sometimes as much as $50,000 or more.

Some air ambulance companies offer membership programs as protection from big bills, for an annual fee of but that doesn’t always work, writes Corin Cates-Carney, “because a patient can’t always know who is coming to pick them up.”

Read more at NPR