AirMedCare Network is the largest air ambulance membership system in the United States. More than 3 million people have chosen this coverage, which spans 320 locations in 38 states. Partners in the network include Air Evac Lifeteam, Guardian Flight, Med-Trans Corporation, REACH Air Medical Services, and many others.
Ground ambulance coverage in some Oregon locations
There are three types of coverage provided by AirMedCare Network: Air Ambulance, Fly-U-Home, and Ground Ambulance. We'll start with the last one, because it's currently only offered in Oregon. Service is provided through FireMed, but we weren't able to get the site to give us a quote for the OR addresses we entered because of the extremely limited service area even within Oregon. You'll pay $50 for a one-year plan, $100 for two years, and $1000 for a lifetime membership. Given the limitations, we feel pretty confident saying that you might as well skip that part of AMCN's membership options.
Air ambulance coverage starting at $99/year
Air Ambulance is the service that most people think of when medical evacuations come to mind. You can access a 1-year plan for $99 (or just $79 if you're age 60+), three years for $249 (or $199 for 60+), or a 5-year membership for $399 (just $299 for 60+). One benefit of AMCN's plans is that they cover all household members living under one roof; undergraduate college students are also included under parents' memberships.
Benefits only apply when medevac is with a network provider
However, you should understand that you rarely have any say-so about who transports you in the event of an emergency. If first responders find you unresponsive by the side of the road after a car accident, you'll be transported by whichever service they choose. Any AirMedCare coverage comes in after the fact: if you're "lucky" enough that your helicopter flight or ambulance ride happened to be with one of their network partners, your coverage will kick in. If not? Too bad, you're on the hook for the full bill. As AMCN puts it, "Dispatch decisions are controlled by emergency medical personnel, and membership does not guarantee that you will be transported by an AMCN provider."
Fly-U-Home is most like traditional medevac coverage
The last tier of packages is AirMedCare Network's Fly-U-Home service, which may be a little more like what you're expecting when you search for a medical evacuation plan. This offers medical transport from one hospital to another and comes with coverage just in the lower 48 states or internationally (which also includes Alaska and Hawaii). Starting at $159/year for the continental US plan and $365 for the international membership, you'll get bedside-to-bedside, non-emergency medical transportation, up to two flights per year. You may be able to transport a friend or family member with you, but that's not guaranteed.
Know the coverage areas where you plan to travel
You'll want to look at their coverage map for any of the memberships you're considering, so that you'll know how likely it is that your medical evacuation will be with one of AirMedCare Network's partners. For example, you'll be completely out of luck if you need air ambulance service in Idaho (at least, if you want it covered by your AMCN benefits), while Fly-U-Home is offered nationwide (but not available for purchase by residents of AK, HI, ND, WV, or WY).
Big drawbacks in the terms and conditions
AirMedCare Network has only received a "B-" grade from the Better Business Bureau. That lower-than-average rating is for failing to respond to just one of the four complaints filed against the medical evacuation service, which seems a little drastic to us. But, reading through those complaints, we became concerned that clients may sign up for a membership here, only to find out that their local affiliate has gone out of business. That was the case for more than one client whose feedback we found. Another said that they didn't realize that the terms of the contract at AirMedCare state that they'd be taken to the nearest trauma center, rather than the facility of their choice. That's a big disadvantage compared to many of the other evacuation providers on our list, especially for one client who needed to be seen strictly in VA-affiliated hospitals.
Not very reassuring that you'll get what you paid for
All of this leaves us not feeling terribly reassured that our membership here would actually wind up being worth something. There are an awful lot of parameters, exclusions, and, let's face it, random chance stipulations involved in determining whether or not the AirMedCare Network would pay for a medical evacuation. There are other options out there that don't feel quite so roll-the-dice, so we've ranked AMCN pretty low on our list.
