Air lift insurance

Dirtrider....

Dirtrider....

Well-Known Member
With all the recent discussions on helicopter rides... the cost of those rides are horrendous... since normal medical insurance doesn't cover those rides, are there supplemental insurance companies that sell this type of coverage? Aflac or ??

When i search online, i mostly get coverage for foreign travel or additional coverage to be flown between hospitals. I cannot seem to find coverage that will cover the cost related to field rescues.

Anyone have any insight on that type of insurance or membership?
 
It's free if the fire department rescues you, but AFAIK, the Sheriffs charge (and the cost is horrendous especially since they have a "spotter" as well as the rescue copter). Until recently one could specify their "carrier", but I think the two competing groups signed a "treaty" and one has weekdays and one weekends now. IMO, should be free since our taxes fund both groups.
 
fos'l said:
It's free if the fire department rescues you, but AFAIK, the Sheriffs charge (and the cost is horrendous especially since they have a "spotter" as well as the rescue copter). Until recently one could specify their "carrier", but I think the two competing groups signed a "treaty" and one has weekdays and one weekends now. IMO, should be free since our taxes fund both groups.
Click to expand...
This is true to an extent. I have heard that OC Fire will charge you but I am not sure about that. LACoFire did not charge me but that was almost ten years ago. Sheriff will absolutely charge you and it ain't cheap from what I have heard.
 
I haven't got my bill yet. But think about this. Does the FD charge to come to your house? No. They are on duty and that's what they do. So same for the helo rescue EXCEPT the cost of fuel. Which, admittedly, is quite costly. But the guys/gals are on duty and collecting a great salary and benefits, so...
 
herzalot said:
I haven't got my bill yet. But think about this. Does the FD charge to come to your house? No. They are on duty and that's what they do. So same for the helo rescue EXCEPT the cost of fuel. Which, admittedly, is quite costly. But the guys/gals are on duty and collecting a great salary and benefits, so...
Click to expand...

In Anaheim you pay a fee on your utility bill - about $7/mo - to avoid having to pay through the nose if you call the paramedics. So you've got that going for you. If you live in Anaheim.
 
Same states (CO?) you can pay a small fee for rescue insurance. It sometimes goes with a hunting license.
Charging for rescues gets to be a controversial mess. One school of thought if people know they will be charged, they will wait until it gets dire. Another school says charge to pay for the service.
 
I know there is supplemental insurance you can buy to cover helicoptor rescue. Don't recall and name but it may be through an agency related to moto / ohv use.

Also, check with your health insurance provider. Technically, helicopter extraction should be covered the same way an ambulance ride would be covered. Except much higher $$, obviously. So you may have to pay a deductible - or your entire deductible. But hopefully not the whole bill. I've heard of them running $20k.
 
FWIW, and not to be taken as any sort of queue to do something or not... I did not pay a bill for the chopper rides I took. One was a rogue traffic chopper pilot, one a high-angle extraction by US Navy, one a MedEvac flight (agency?) from a clinic to a hospital. In Yosemite at least, it could be one of multiple agencies doing the work – Navy out of Lemoore, CHP, NPS. In SoCal, I believe CalFire is likely the agency that will pluck you, and I belive they operate on an established budget. Also FWIW, in Yos you can be billed for an extraction if you were proven negligent, like bringing a goose down sleeping bag on a wall climb, going up in the face of an obvious storm, or some dumb thing that any reasonable climber knows is a bad idea. That is probably unique to that fed area where rescues are more common.

My takeaway is, I don't have control over the rescue or the agency used to extrtact me, and thus may not have control over billing. I honestly don't want helo ride insurance because I don't want something, even subliminal, that makes it more convenient to fuk up badly. I could be a hypocrite because I carry a PLB.

Clear as mud. FWIW!
 
Last edited:
evdog said:
I know there is supplemental insurance you can buy to cover helicoptor rescue. Don't recall and name but it may be through an agency related to moto / ohv use.

Also, check with your health insurance provider. Technically, helicopter extraction should be covered the same way an ambulance ride would be covered. Except much higher $$, obviously. So you may have to pay a deductible - or your entire deductible. But hopefully not the whole bill. I've heard of them running $20k.
Click to expand...

I've always made it a point to call my insurance provider to verify air rescue ( helicopter) for medical needs is covered.
The reply has always been that; yes if its medical it's covered with the same deductible as an ambulance. Which in my case is $100.

This reminds me I have new insurance and have not contacted them yet.:facepalm:

If you have insurance and are unsure, call and check.
 
kingaucho said:
My wife's cousin works for Air Medical Group and looks like they are a part of a pretty large network that can pluck you just about anywhere. It's a subscription/membership service that costs $85 per year.

https://www.airmedcarenetwork.com/coverage
Click to expand...
Well worth the $85 bucks!

My pluck and drop was no charge, they dropped me at the closes meet point with an ambulance that drove the miles to the Hospital Emergency room in Bakersfield. If I was in a life threatening situation they would have flew me to Bako, and that would have cost bucks.

I don't understand the cut off from no charge to big charge...
 
Rumpled said:
We need those extraction stories, especially the traffic pilot.
Click to expand...
Also interested to hear why a goose down sleeping bag is a no-no on a wall climb.


As an aside to this conversation, I read a story a few months ago about people who had been taken to military medical facilities for care. Great care, but they had to deal with the Federal Govt as a debt collector. So it's not just who picks you up, but also where you end up. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/01/military-hospital-medical-debt/605194/
 
@evdog: Synthetic still has a hope of being functional when wet, but down does not. I haven't experienced it other than laundering sleeping bags. The Yosemite walls are well known for cold storms that are still warm enough to be wet – with no absorption on the rock, waterfalls and seeps happen every damn where, including under overhanging rock. Storms there kill someone every handful of years, and during the bad ones many teams on El Cap alone may be extracted or aided by SAR. Snow and ice melt-off with no bad weather anywhere has even shut down ascents. Higher altitude, no issue with down – everything is frozen.


RumplestiltsJim, you know the juicy tales are reserved for the non-digital campfire. :geek: Until someone from the campfire tells your fukking story online... :facepalm: You gotta love rock climbers. Meaning, rock climbers are, in large part, a bunch of dipshits. :gotnothing::stop:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top