Tester unveils air ambulance bill

Havre Daily News staff

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester announced in Belgrade Tuesday that he is introducing legislation to allow states to regulate air ambulance services.

“I believe that every industry needs to be held accountable to its customers, and in this case it’s every man, woman and child that could ever face a life threatening situation,” Tester said in a press release about the announcement. “My legislation allows states to bring some much needed accountability to air ambulances–an industry that has been flying with little accountability.”

Tester was joined by 3-year-old Isla Rose Thompson, who was charged more than $50,000 for an air ambulance flight three years ago, and her family.

Tester named the bill after Thompson, calling it the Isla Rose Life Flight Act.

“There is a need for change, a change that prevents air ambulances from charging beyond what is necessary, a change that gives states the capacity to protect families, and hold patients harmless,” Thompson’s mother, Amy Thompson, said in the press release. “Sen. Tester is proposing a concrete solution with the Isla Rose Life Flight Act, a necessary, nonpartisan solution to provide states the capacity to put the patient first. This is a solution for change that says this is a lifesaving service, it is not a right to profit off those who had the misfortune of being in an emergency situation.”

The act will allow state governments to regulate air ambulance billing and pricing practices to ensure policies are transparent for patients, the release says. State governments are currently prohibited from regulating nearly all transportation aspects of air ambulance operations.

Isla Rose Thompson was in heart failure due to a congenital heart defect and as an infant was flown three years ago by an air ambulance to Seattle Children’s Hospital, the release says. After her 10-week recovery, the family returned home to Butte to find that the air ambulance company billed them $56,000 for their flight.

The Montana Economic Affairs Interim Committee found that 13 air ambulance are currently operating in Montana, and fewer than half contract with an insurance provider. The average cost of an out-of-network air ambulance flight in Montana is $53,000.