Paul EvansJASPER, Tenn. - City leaders in Jasper are considering whether to join the AirMedCare Network like several other nearby towns have recently.
Membership in the network covers the portion of air transport costs on flights like Chattanooga's Life Force helicopter that health insurance doesn't pay. It covers only emergencies that occur in Marion County.
Nearby county municipalities Powells Crossroads and Whitwell added coverage for their residents in the last two months, and Kimball has been a member since 2013.
Jimmy Morse, an AirMedCare regional membership sales manager, said the average cost for a flight is $25,000 nationwide, while the average payment by health insurance is $9,000.
"Nationwide you have a $16,000 gap that people are having to pay out-of-pocket, and it's usually a lot greater than that," he said to the Jasper Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week.
The number of households within the city limits determines the annual price of Jasper's membership.
Currently, there are 1,350 occupied homes in Jasper, and it would cost the town about $9,400 per year to join the network, or approximately $6.94 per household.
Morse said the program protects any one of its members from getting a bill for the flight if they have health insurance.
Those without health care coverage would get a bill, he said.
"They [uninsured members] will get the Medicare-allowable rate for that ZIP code they live in," he said. "The average is $3,000 to $4,000."
If Jasper joins, residents would be able sign up as individual households for full membership throughout the 34-state AirMedCare Network at a reduced rate of $35 per year.
Right now, any household can get a full membership for $65 per year.
Mayor Paul Evans said a resident of Jasper was in Florida recently and had to be flown to a medical center in Alabama.
"If we had this, they were [full] members, and [that flight] was part of the network, that would have been at no cost to them," he said.
In 2014, Morse said there were 77 Life Force flights from Jasper. There have already been 56 flights in 2015.
He said the number of flights in and around Marion has gone up in recent years because first responders have begun to err on the side of caution more often.
"Instead of having that money that they would spend on a flight to go out of town, you'll be able to keep that money here," Morse said.
Alderman Steve Looney questioned whether someone on Medicare with supplemental insurance would need the network's service.
Medicare doesn't always cover the entire cost of a flight, Morse said.
"Sometimes they'll find reasons that it isn't covered," he said. "The term I see most often [is] 'not medically necessary.' That's their biggest catchall. Health care insurance is defunding a lot things they used to pay."
Vice Mayor Leon Rash said joining the AirMedCare Network is something he is "definitely interested in."
"Put me down as for it," he said.
Evans agreed that city leaders should seriously consider Jasper's membership, especially after Parkridge West closed its in-patient services in the county in April.
"It's certainly something we need to look at and see if it's a service we can provide," he said.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.