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AirMed Care Network offers county employee membership plan to cover air ambulance bills
Summary
AirMed Care Network presented a membership plan for Freestone County employees that would waive out-of-pocket air-ambulance costs for members; the court asked staff to review terms and consult county attorneys and benefits administrators.
Tammy Lewis, representing AirMed Care Network, presented a county-employee membership proposal to the Commissioners Court and distributed brochures showing coverage areas, membership pricing, and service details.
Lewis said AirMed has served the local base for 19 years and operates crews for critical transports such as heart attacks, strokes and major trauma. She said the membership product waives out-of-pocket air-ambulance charges for covered members and their household members when transported by an AirMed provider. "If you are a member of 0, we will waive every fee. You will pay 0 out of pocket," she said.
Lewis outlined pricing: an individual annual membership is $99; a business-plan rate would be lower (examples provided in the materials showed $75 per employee for small counts and $70 per employee for larger employee counts). The presentation also described optional add-ons such as Fly-You-Home service and AirMed International coverage for medical transport home from out-of-country locations.
Commissioners and staff asked operational questions about redundancy and availability if the local AirMed bird is unavailable; Lewis said AirMed has backup providers and a dispatch system that shows available aircraft across the region. Participants also compared the membership to the county’s existing air-ambulance coverage and asked the county attorney and benefits staff to review the membership terms and conditions before any purchase.
No action to purchase memberships or change county benefits was taken at the meeting; the court agreed to review the materials and have staff and counsel evaluate the product, pricing and contract terms.
