Air Ambulance Trip Led to $65K Balance Billing Charge, Says Veteran’s Class Action Lawsuit

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An air ambulance provider and its parent company have been accused of hitting patients with sky high surprise medical charges of up to four times the fair rate in a class action lawsuit over their balance billing practices.  

Lead plaintiff, March Murphy, filed the nationwide class action lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court Friday against Air Methods Corporation and Rocky Mountain Holdings, LLC. He claims that the companies prey upon patients, some of whom are unconscious or otherwise unable to consent, by charging them tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-network fees for emergency air ambulance services.  

Murphy says that he had to be airlifted to receive medical treatment after falling from a 20-foot ladder onto a concrete slab while at work. He says he was severely injured and did not remember authorizing or signing any forms about the air ambulance trip, but he was hit with a nearly $65,000 bill even after his veteran’s benefits were applied.  

Balance billing is the act of passing on the difference in cost between what a medical provider charges and what insurance will pay to the patient, often resulting in surprise medical bills that can wipe out a consumer financially. Many coronavirus patients reported being hit with surprise medical bills after being airlifted between health care facilities during the pandemic.  

Murphy says that the decision to use emergency air ambulance trips is not a voluntary undertaking by any patient. Instead, emergency room doctors make the call and Air Methods Corp and Rocky Mountain Holdings allegedly take advantage by hitting those forced to use their services with outrageous bills.  

“The need for emergency transportation is acute in every instance,” points out the class action lawsuit. “The patient does not, and cannot make the request for transport; has no choice in the transport provider; and, has no choice in whether to accept the transport other than to refuse necessary and urgent medical treatment.” 

Murphy contends that the contracts Air Methods foists upon patients requiring emergency air ambulance services are invalid because the patients have not legally consented to the agreement. The plaintiff wants those contracts invalidated and for Air Methods to stop using balance billing.

This is not the first time Air Methods has been accused of taking advantage of patients requiring emergency airlifts. In 2016, an Alabama woman claims she was hit with a surprise medical bill for more than $50,000 in a class action lawsuit accusing the air ambulance company of balance billing. 

Indeed, after years of criticism, the practice of balance billing was banned by Congress as a part of its $900 billion stimulus package passed December 2020, though the law will not go into effect until 2022. In addition, while the law covers air ambulance trips, it does not cover emergency ground transportation using an ambulance.  

Until the prohibition on balance billing goes into effect, Murphy and other patients forced to use emergency air ambulance services will be hit with “crushing medical charges,” according to the class action lawsuit.  

Murphy seeks to represent the more than 100,000 patients who use Air Methods air ambulance services each year. The class action lawsuit wants a court order stopping the company from using balance billing, as well as damages, attorney, and court fees.  

Have you had to take an emergency air ambulance trip? Were you hit with a surprise medical bill? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.  

The plaintiff is represented by Stephen J. Soule of PFC Law, and Edward L. White, and Daryan P. Martinez of Edward L. White PC. 

The Air Ambulance Balance Billing Class Action Lawsuit is Murphy v. Air Methods Corporation, et al., Case No. 3:21-cv-10896-KAR in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

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• Air Methods Class Action Alleges Price Gouging Air Transport
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