Barb's Wire
Editor's Note: "Barb's Wire" appears monthly in the Modoc Independent News.
A few years ago I wrote an article about our local air ambulance service. After doing some research I discovered if you had to be flown out in a medical emergency you should belong to the two air ambulance companies that served our area, not just one. That way, you’d be covered if for some reason your company couldn’t come and get you. As a result many residents signed up with both Mountain Air and PHI and thought they were okay.
But recently at least two Surprise Valley families who thought they were covered by air ambulance membership found themselves in emergency situations where neither Mountain Air or PHI were available, or if they were their aircraft was too large to land in Surprise Valley.
Surprise Valley hospital administrator Wanda Grove told me there are in fact more than four air ambulance companies that serve Surprise Valley. When I asked her if the hospital should be responsible for informing the public about the various air ambulance companies she said, “It’s something we should do and that’s what we’re going to do. “
Monica Derner, CAO of Modoc Medical Center told me they work with nine air emergency flight companies: Air Life Oregon, American MedFlight, Care Flight, Enloe Flight Crew, Mercy Flight, Mt Life Flight, PHI Air Medical, REACH and Airlift Klamath. Derner went on to explain how air ambulance memberships work.
“Participation with these organizations are merely memberships, not insurance coverage. Typically, a membership can run $50-$100 per year per household. If you're a member, the company used will bill third party payers (commercial insurance, Medicare, etc). Generally, there is little or no liability left to the patient.”
I asked, “Let’s say I decide to take a membership in four air ambulance companies. But none of them are available when my unforeseen accident happens? Isn't this like sort of like Russian Roulette?”
Derner: “If the patient is not a member but has third party coverage, it would be the patient's obligation to file a claim with their insurance company. Of course, each company may have varying terms. Also, there are no guarantees the membership company will be the one transporting the patient. Varying factors would include bad weather, maintenance of the craft, or out on other calls (unavailable).”
But still, I wonder, does this mean each one of us has to contact we don’t know how many companies, compare their rates and then decide if we want to sign up?
Derner says, “We inform the public by having the literature available, but similar to insurance programs, it's up to the consumer to determine the best fit for them.”
Why couldn’t there be one company that could handle all memberships? We should be able to go to one central location and know we have coverage with all the companies that fly patients out of Modoc County. Even if it costs us each $200 per year.
Coincidentally both hospitals are holding public events about this on the same day, May 11. In Alturas at the Health Fair between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Some of the air ambulance companies will have booths.
In Surprise Valley at 7 p.m. at the Rotary meeting at the Cedarville Community Church. Air ambulance representatives will be in attendance.
-- Barbara March
13 comments:
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Barbara, you ask good questions and raise good points about air ambulance service.
The primary purpose for the air ambulance providers to operate membership programs is to encourage people who require air ambulance transport to choose their services over another provier's. Because of this, there is minimal incentive for air ambulance providers to pool their memberships within a particular geographic area.
If you are a member, or subscriber to one particular service, hospitals will try that service provider first if you make them aware of your preference. If there is a delay or situation where your preferred provider is not available, medical urgency may make it necessary to utilize the services of another provider.
The air ambulance providers in our region have a fairly high utilization rate, so the availability of a specific service provider at the exact time you need them can be hit or miss.
In many cases, transport by ground ambulance to a regional hospital for specialized care is medically appropriate, and much less expensive.
In most cases, the total time required to have a critical patient transported to a regional hospital in Klamath Falls, Redding, or Reno is actually shorter when ground transport is used instead of air.
Can ya change the picture?? Just build the statue and get it over with.
Hey Chester. Now that you're "The Man" can you answer the following question that I have sent to all of our supervisors without recreiving an answer except "I don't know".
I have been reading all the rules I can find concerning county government meetings and cannot find anything to justify a closed meeting without agenda or public notice for the budget committee. Can you please tell me what law allows the budget committee to function in closed unannounced meetings in seeming violation of the Brown Act? If no justification can be found I believe the meetings of the budget committee should comply with the Brown Act.
Got an answer from Geri Byrne about "budget" meetings. I have to agree with her. Information exchange meetings do not come under Brown Act control. Her answer is copied below:
These meetings are just preliminary budget review meetings. I have a call into RCRC to see what they say about them. The 'real' for lack of a better word, budget hearings are noticed and open to the public. No decisions are made in these preliminary reviews, I was the only supervisor there and this is not a standing committee. It is the admin meeting with department heads to gather information and the chair and vice chair are welcome to sit in for informational purposes. Shorty was out of town and I was the only supervisor there. I will get back to you when I get an answer to your questions.
Ron, several other posters have asked the same question specifically to Geri and Dave but with no response.
As one other poster put it:
"The budget meetings ARE public meetings but the BOS does not notice them legally, with agendas, etc...
Therefore no one knows when they are, what the public's business is for that meeting, etc...
It would be easy to add these meetings and their legal agendas to the BOS web site.
Gosh, they could even print them in the Record or this blog...
Wonder if the public, the Record, or the Independent news will request such a paradigm shift?
We'll see how far THAT goes.
Brown Act violations still...
May 6, 2011 10:43 AM"
It is a standing committee - just ask your Supervisor Cantrall - who said so at a recent BOS meeting...;)
And standing committees have to be held under the Brown Act provisions.
What is still puzzling is why neither of your newspapers and no one in the general public has sent the BOS a "cure and correct" letter to the BOS for this...it has been mentioned several times on this blog.
Try asking the folks at the First Amendment Coalition -
http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/
First Amendment Coalition
534 4th Street, Suite B
San Rafael, CA 94901
Ph: (415) 460-5060
Just because Geri states that it is not a standing committee, or that a budget committee is not listed here:
http://www.modocindependent.com/search?q=committee
does not mean that it isn't one.
The Brown Act says what a standing committee is:
“54952. As used in this chapter, "legislative body" means:
(a) The governing body of a local agency or any other local body created by state or federal statute.
(b) A commission, committee, board, or other body of a local agency, whether permanent or temporary, decision-making or advisory, created by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body. However, advisory committees, composed solely of the members of the legislative body that are less than a quorum of the legislative body are not legislative bodies, except that standing committees of a legislative body, irrespective of their composition, which have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or a meeting schedule fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body are legislative bodies for purposes of this chapter.”
So, "information exchange meeting" or "advisory meetings" which "have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or a meeting schedule fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body are legislative bodies for purposes of this chapter” sounds like what this is.
Sounds like the budget "information exchange meetings" meet the requirements for having to have agendas, etc..., because they seem to have been created by formal action of the BOS (just need to find out when...ask Cantrall?).
But especially because these budget advisory meetings "have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction" and they should have the public included in them.
Just think where we would be at now if the BOS had held these meetings involving the public before this mess - and since this mess....
Frustrating that the even the new BOS members still want to keep the public uninformed.
Doesn't anyone realize that the original post here was about the air ambulance situation?
It's amazing how many decisions (most?) that have and are still being made at these "information exchange meetings."
Anyone who thinks they can change a supervisors mind after they have been to these "information exchange" or "advisory" meetings (whatever the public's business being discussed, be it budgetary, hiring, etc...) hasn't been listening to or attending the BOS meetings for the past few years.
Different board members, same modus operandi:
Do most of the public's business behind the scenes, make the decision, and then make a board agenda item to reflect that decision.
"Government is merely a servant – merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.
~ Mark Twain
I don't think that the new BOS members really want to keep the public uninformed, rather I think they are just ignorant of the process and the laws governing public meetings. That plus that fact that they don't have legal counsel worth squat...............
These air ambulance companies are private, individual companies. Acquiring an agreement between them to handle emergency calls for each other may not be easy. It's like getting Ford to handle Chevrolet warrentee work. You get service from the one you pay. I found that to be quite plain in the contract I have. The alternative is to add another government service and regulations to go with it and another group of beaurocrats to run it.
Mark Twain makes some charges of inapropriate conduct by BOS members but gives no examples, no evidence, no dates, no names. Too broad for me to pay attention to those kind of rants. If you are aware of specific examples, let's hear them.
People should check their health insurance policies BEFORE purchasing a seperate air ambulance policy. My health insurance policy covers air ambulance tranportation REGARDLESS of the carrier. I cant tell you how many people I see wasting money on these air ambulance premiums that have coverage already thru their health plan! Just read your health policy!
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