Prices for Medical Airlifts Can Hit the Stratosphere

Not many of us think about needing air ambulances. We don’t dwell on that possibility, but for people hurt in car accidents or who live in smaller or rural communities without medical care at hand, being airlifted to a hospital can mean the difference between life and death.

Increasingly, the service also can mean the difference between getting well at a price you can afford or at a price that could push you over a financial cliff. Air ambulances have become the centerpiece of a nationwide dispute over balance billing, a practice that requires unsuspecting families, even those with good i...