No one can predict if or when he or she will suffer from a debilitating illness or serious accident. When these events occur, Florida residents could end up with thousands of dollars in medical bills that they might not be able to pay. Bankruptcy can provide debt relief from exorbitant medical costs.
Even if the medical treatment saved a person’s life, it seems unfair that the financial cost should be so high. Recently, it has come to light that lifesaving medical helicopter rides are incredibly expensive. Approximately 400,000 people a year end up being transported in this manner, and each of them — or their families if they are deceased — most likely received a bill that was shocking.
For example, a medevac helicopter flew a woman approximately 85 miles to a hospital in Las Vegas after she suffered a heart attack. The trip most likely saved her life, but she was surprised when she got the bill. Her portion of the trip cost $46,800, and after her insurance company paid its portion of the bill, she is obligated to pay the remaining $39,000. Another woman’s daughter was flown 37 miles to another hospital after she developed complications from a tonsillectomy. She received a bill for $35,000.
These amounts do not even include the medical costs owed by these women for the care received before and after the flights. Each year, a certain percentage of the bankruptcies filed across the country are because of incurred medical debt similar to these women. Under these circumstances, it would most likely not be surprising to anyone here in Florida if these individuals filed for bankruptcy to obtain medical debt relief.
Source: ABC News, “Sky-Rage: Bills, Debt, Lawsuits Follow Helicopter Medevac Trips“, Cindy Galli, Stephanie Zimmermann and Brian Ross, March 16, 2016