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What We Have learned About International Air Ambulance Services

Our Experience

Air Ambulances from abroad to the US can vary in cost wildly depending on many variables, most importantly the medical status of the patient flying, specifically related to their needs. There are 2 primary approaches, commercial or private flights, that will fundamentally define the exorbitant cost, between $50K to $180K. US based health insurance will only cover flights within the United States. That is to say that the cost of flying into the US will be out-of-pocket, unless you have purchased special travel insurance, see our travel insurance post for more on them. Some insurance companies may cover the remaining flights within the US except for the deductible.

Our experience has been focused on Portugal, but we are sharing our experiences to help others that may fall into a similar circumstance. The US Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal provided no assistance and information of little value. We have been told to call them so many times, but the only response they give is a list of not vetted air ambulance companies and an offer for a possible low interest government loan. With persistence we are hoping to reach the ambassador, or somebody that can be more helpful. We have heard in many cases constantly reaching out can improve your chances with a US Embassy. We believe the only way the loans make sense is if your insurance will reimburse you for international air ambulances, which seems rare, if at all, or if you believe you can raise the funds to pay the loan over a longer period of time.

Below is a list of companies we have been in contact with. We are by no means recommending any of them, as we have not raised enough money to actually make use of their services. In the next posts we will speak more specifically to the pitfalls that you may encounter regarding these air ambulance flights. It is important to be very careful with any contract you sign with an air ambulance company. There is no international regulation, and that in the states is fairly new, they have had to introduce laws to protect consumers from their predatory practices. Some stories reveal them putting a lien on peoples homes over balance billing, though this may no longer occur with flights within the US, it certainly is still a possibility with international flights. While in the last decade the amount of companies engaging in this industry have doubled, due to lack of oversight the costs to the consumer have more than doubled.

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July 9th, 2023

Sorry it has been a while since we have updated. Mom is doing alright. She has another UTI and she is being treated. Luckily they caught this one before it caused seizures. For that we are grateful. Every time she battles an infection, her body struggles to do 2 things at once (wake up from a coma and fight an infection), so she usually turns less responsive. We usually see her turn a corner after the infection is gone though.

We continue to battle the bureaucracy of our government who isn’t helping and we are exhausted. I am hoping to make an appointment with the Embassy in person this week to see if seeing a face behind the emails and phone calls gives them enough empathy to do their jobs. All in all, we have reached out to the Embassy 10 times in the last 8 weeks to no avail.

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June 24th, 2023

Mom has been doing pretty good lately. Still a ways to recover but as we have learned, brains take time…a lot of time.

We continue to battle every bureaucratic road block possible. I have written an email to President Biden, no response. I have written to our state Governor, it isn’t something governor’s offices deal with. I have written to senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, I have heard back from Patty Murray’s office and they are essentially just as useless the US Embassy here in Lisbon. Then to top it all off, her Humana medical insurance is now refusing to provide a letter of guaranteed payment to the hospital in the amount of €51,000. While she has WORLDWIDE coverage for emergencies, her insurance is now expecting us to front the payment to the hospital and then return home to “seek” reimbursement. Who has this kind of money just laying around?! We can’t even afford to bring our mother home. In my opinion, they should be more than willing to pay the hospital the full amount and even tip them 50% for taking care of my mom because that would still be a fraction of what her care back home would cost.

I am at a complete loss! I am baffled as to how one of the richest countries in the world is willing to leave our family abandoned in a foreign country. The people of Portugal are baffled and they are considered a poor country, because in this country they would NEVER abandon one of their citizens abroad. All this situation has done for me is highlight every broken system in the US. We want to think that the USA cares about its people, but they don’t. The care about who is lining their pockets and that is it. We should be focused on my mom and her care, but instead we are left to navigate this nightmare of red tape and BS….it’s just unnecessary! It is truly disheartening and I just don’t know how much more I can take. My soul is literally crushed!