As a result of an insurance company decision, persons requiring a helicopter to evacuate them to a major hospital from an urban area in the north or south will have less chance of survival.

The helicopter company hired by Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service provider, has stopped its two choppers, which were serving northern and southern urban areas, taking accident victims to trauma units and others requiring expeditious transport to a trauma unit.

It appears that while the pre-hospital care is provided to victims by MDA, the helicopter company bills the insurance company directly. The insurance carrier in many of the 80 aerial transports in the past year has refused to pay, insisting a helicopter was not required. The decision to use a chopper is made by the MDA crew on the scene.

Shmuel Abuav of the Or Yarok (Green Light) grassroots driver safety organization expressed outrage over the reality that an insurance company is permitted to make policy decisions resulting in the cessation of life-saving emergency helicopter transports.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)