Air ambulances became available to citizens in the 1970s; since then, they have become increasingly more common and important when saving someone’s life.
However, this life-saving innovation also brought greed along with it. Large privately-owned companies were able to decide the cost of the flight, no matter the case.
Since 2012, Texas Mutual Insurance along with the Attorney General and other insurance providers, fought against these large businesses to achieve a rate for air ambulances that is reasonable.
Large companies such as PHI Air Medical, naturally fought against the state of Texas to overturn a previously passed law that says PHI was to only receive fair and reasonable funds. Not the ones that they decide upon on their own.
Texas workers’ compensation law prohibits medical providers from charging injured workers when they require medical treatment.
"The issue has now been fully and fairly litigated," said Mary Nichols, senior vice president and general counsel for Texas Mutual. "Without regulation, air ambulances would drain tens of millions of dollars from the system and ultimately from Texas employers and injured workers. These rulings affirm the role of the states in regulating their own workers' compensation systems, as a matter of federalism and sound regulatory policy."
Safe to say, it was a good win for the great state of Texas.
Read the original article from Texas Mutual Insurance for more information.
Comments
Post a Comment