A woman told NBC6 Responds she had been badly hurt during a trip to Mexico and required a medical air ambulance ride to get back home. She said she gave a company a $21,000 retainer they required up front and thought she’d be able to eventually get the money back.
Months passed and, even though she had documents showing her insurance had paid the air ambulance company more than $300,000 for the trip, she did not get a refund or any real answers, she told NBC 6 Responds.
The company promised NBC 6 Responds they would quickly refund her money and apologized for the delay. They even sent a picture of the check they were sending her way.
The NBC 6 Responds team had also reached out to the woman’s insurance company to let them know what had happened. In the end, the woman said the check the air ambulance company gave her bounced and that it was her insurance company that issued her refund, allowing her to, as she put it, “…move on and forget this nightmare.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation website, “States are responsible for regulating the medical services provided by air ambulance operators and the insurance issues related to those services”. But the site goes on to say the DOT’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings “…may pursue enforcement action against air ambulance operators who engage in unfair and deceptive practices.”
You can learn more about filing a complaint with the DOT against an air ambulance company here.
