Subscribe to ELDR magazine
	Give a Gift >>

RSS

|

AAA |

Fly Me From the Moon

Medical air evacuation programs help take the worry out of travel.

By Chelan David

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Norine Gettys of Loveland, Ohio, was on a trip to the Hawaiian island of Kuaui when her ATV crashed, badly injuring her leg. Rather than staying for treatment in an unfamiliar place, Gettys, then 60, was flown aboard a MedjetAssist plane to the Cincinatti airport, where an ambulance was waiting to take her to a hospital. "I couldn't have flown on a commercial airline," Gettys says. "My leg was straight out because they had immobilized it, and I had a morphine drip. We couldn't have done it any other way."

One of a growing number of medical air evacuation companies, MedjetAssist flies program members to the medical facility of their choice should they become hospitalized on a trip. And it's not just for travel to exotic locales; according to MedjetAssist president and CEO Roy Berger, 60 percent of the company's transports take place within the United States.

Here's how it works: If you become hospitalized more than 150 miles from home, MedjetAssist's doctors communicate online and by phone with the medical team treating you. After you become stabilized, the company flies you back to the hospital of your choice aboard a medically equipped aircraft. While similar air evacuation companies choose the hospital for you, MedjetAssist leaves it up to you.

Based in Birmingham, Alabama, MedjetAssist isn't a health insurance plan; it's a membership program. As such, it won't pay your medical bills. But the company does offer a sound supplement to travel medical insurance by providing air medical transportation, both domestically and internationally.

Don't expect a ride aboard a plush corporate jet, though-this is an ICU unit with wings. Planes are outfitted with gurneys and standard medical equipment and come staffed with doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists, each specially trained in altitude physiology and international air medical transports. A family member can accompany you at no extra charge.

MedjetAssist also picks up the tab for ambulance rides to the jet and to the desired hospital. If you were paying out of pocket, this type of service could cost you anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000.

A one-year membership costs between $225 and $395. You can add grandchildren 18 and under for $75 each. And you can choose short-term memberships for only a week or up to a month.

After her experience in Kauai, Gettys urged her friends to get similar medical evacuation coverage. "You think it's never going to happen to you," she says. "If something does happen, [with the coverage] you are going to be safe and be able to get back to the hospital of your choice."

 

See More Travel Articles

Like what you see? Subscribe to ELDR Magazine »