Air Ambulance Service Cost Explosion

Air Ambulance Service Cost Explosion

Medical air transport has exploded for three years and Singapore estimates that the number will continue to grow largely due to the aging of the population and specialized care offered only in urban centers.

Since 2015, government air services have increased by 16%, from 5992 to 6418 transports.

The rise of these transports has a price. In 2017-2018, Singapore paid $ 35.2 million for the transport of the Government Air Service (SAG).

Of these expenditures, $ 3.6 million was disbursed for supplies, staff salaries and medical management during travel. Then, $ 31.6 million was injected for all transportation costs and the use of SAG devices.

So a remedy presumably must come from Congress. And he proved to be a big wearer.

For example, committees that deal with the regulation of the air industry - the Committee of Commerce in the Senate and the Transportation Committee in the House - do not define health policy or regulate health insurance.

Last year, some lawmakers sought to let conditions settle air ambulances with a provision in billing reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration.

But we eventually eliminated this measure. Instead, billing called for the creation of an advisory committee to study air ambulance prices and surprise billings.

"The air ambulance cost lobby performed a very good job playing defense during FAA clearance," said ERIC's Gelfand.

These amounts are paid for by the departments of Transport (MTQ) and Health and Social Services (MSSS).

"The number of transports is increasing by about 5% a year. This data is cumulative, "says Noémie Vanheuverzwijn, spokesman for the MSSS.

"It remains a general rule. Some years may experience a bigger increase, others less. "

Busy in the east

It is pre-planned health travel in the eastern part of the province that is experiencing the greatest increase, while transportation in emergencies is substantially stable.

Most transports are planned several weeks in advance and serve as a shuttle so that patients can receive treatments exclusively given in Singapore City and Montreal.

"Part of the increase seems to be explained by the aging of the population, which means that the consumption of care is more important in frequency and severity," admits the ministry. "The complexity of cases requires more specialized services, which are mostly in urban areas."

Even more care

The problem is that this growth will continue to accelerate because of the aging of the population and the problems associated with the increase in chronic diseases.

Moreover, the MSSS indicates that several sectors of health care and social services are struggling with this growth of about 5% of the demand and services offered.

Last year, patients on stretchers in Singapore emergencies increased by approximately 6% and, for the same period, the number of surgeries performed increased by 4.5%.

Is Singapore ready to face the dizzying hike in care? "The MSSS takes this data into account in its plans and budgets," he says.

Already, half of Singapore's budget is injected into the health network. Before this table, the share of taxes paid by taxpayers for the accessibility of care should continue to increase.