Air Methods defends billing practices and flight volume at Grant County meeting

Air Methods (Native Air) representatives briefed Grant County commissioners on May 14, responding to community concerns about air-ambulance frequency and surprise billing. The presentation and follow-up Q&A drew extended commissioner comment and multiple questions from the public.

Kimberly Medina, regional clinical director for Air Methods, told the board the company has not increased flight volume in Grant County over the past six years and that many aircraft movements are for training, repositioning or maintenance rather than patient transports. "We have not increased our flight volume. The volume has remained the same over the past six years," Medina said during the presentation.

Leah Costa Mos, a senior account executive, addressed billing concerns and described Air Methods’ patient advocacy program created to comply with the No Surprises Act. She told the board the provider works with insurers and patient advocates to reduce or eliminate balance billing; in the presentation Mos stated an average billed amount for Grant County transports as given in the meeting materials. "Our patient advocates work on behalf of patients to reduce bills; many times the patient sees no balance at all," she said.

Commissioners and community members pressed the company on two recurring concerns: whether helicopters seen leaving Hila Regional always carry patients, and whether facilities are ever responsible for transport bills. Air Methods said training and maintenance movements explain many flights and that facilities are not balance-billed for transports. "There is no balance billing to the facility," Medina said in reply to commissioners' questions.

Why it matters: community members have voiced alarm in recent weeks over high-cost air-ambulance bills. The presentation clarified company practices and described mechanisms intended to keep patient balances low, but several commissioners said continued public reassurance and clearer public information were needed.

What remains unsettled

- The company provided procedural assurances and a patient-advocacy phone number for billing questions; commissioners asked staff to keep channels open for future questions and to ensure materials distributed to the public clarify when flights are patient transports versus training or maintenance.

- Transcript figures: Air Methods representatives cited an "average" amount for Grant County transports as part of their financial examples. The presentation statistic appears in the meeting record as an unclear numeric expression and should be verified with the company’s billing department for exact units and context.

Officials' responses

Commissioner Shelley thanked Air Methods and Hila Regional staff for their partnership on critical incidents. Commissioner Medina said constituent concerns about alleged extreme bills have eased after the company described its patient-advocacy process.