Medical Air Lift Coverage

[Call of the Wild]

With the amount of time I spend scouting/hunting quite far sometimes and this year I’ll start hunting in the mountains with my brother, were looking for an “insurance” that would cover emergency transportation cost if required. Anyone knows some kind of outdoor insurance or a membership of an outdoor association that cover the cost one helicopter air lift if medical aid is required?

A friend of mine in Ontario pays a yearly quad membership of some kind for 30-40$. The membership covers the cost of one emergency air lift if needed and some other minimal stuff is included with the membership. I’m looking for something similar for Alberta and BC.

Call of the Wild

[snowhunter]

Check out BCAA Insurance.

[Iron Glove]

Maybe a dumb comment but in the event of a medical emergency would not BC Med pay the cost of the Air Lift?

[bridger]

Maybe a dumb comment but in the event of a medical emergency would not BC Med pay the cost of the Air Lift?


no that is what I thought. four years ago we had to medi vac my wife out of the mtns. called a helicopter company in fort nelson to come and get her. the cost was $6,000 and when I phoned bc medical they told me there was no coverage so I had to pay personally. In bc if you need help phone search and rescue and they pick up the tab.

[DieselDog]

www.globalrescue.com (http://www.globalrescue.com)

[bigwhiteys]

You can buy the coverage with a SPOT unit for like $8.00 a year...

You get private air lift for medical emergencies, up to $100,000 per year. (2 per year@ $50,000 each) MUST be a medical emergency, they won't transport your corpse.

Carl

[f350ps]

I was in a rollover many moons ago in the Gang and had to be airlifted to VGH. ICBC covered the cost as it was an MVA but if you were not in a vehicle I think you'd be paying the bill yourself. I got a copy of the invoice that was paid on my behalf and can assure you that it would devastate most people if they had to pay it out of pocket. It sure made insurance look like a bargain! K

[BearSniper]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think travel insurance will cover this as well as other hospital charges. It's $33 bucks per year. I would never ever recommend going to the U.S. without it.

I get travel insurance each year to cover travel costs for the U.S. But I think that within Canada, a medivac flight is covered as part of the package. I know of a Fraser Valley family that was hiking near Banff last year and their daughter fell and broke a leg and ankle. She was flown by chopper to Foothills hospital in Calgary and the travel insurance paid for everything instead of B.C.medical.

[r106]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think travel insurance will cover this as well as other hospital charges. It's $33 bucks per year. I would never ever recommend going to the U.S. without it.

I get travel insurance each year to cover travel costs for the U.S. But I think that within Canada, a medivac flight is covered as part of the package. I know of a Fraser Valley family that was hiking near Banff last year and their daughter fell and broke a leg and ankle. She was flown by chopper to Foothills hospital in Calgary and the travel insurance paid for everything instead of B.C.medical.

Thats worth looking into!! I usualy get travel insurance also I have to renuew soon i'll check my policy

But if your on a atv i think Oasis has an option to helicopter you and your quad out if needed

[srupp]

hmmm interesting to note you are from Alberta so different rules than here in BC.

One needs to look at the coverage in BC..BC medical is quite good and the costs by BCAS..BRITISH COLUMBIA AMBULANCE SERVICE..are amazingly little..(if you are hurt you contact BCAS and they will MEDICVAC a PARAMEDCIC crew in...very reasonable here in BC..and the last I heard SEARCH AND RESCUE is covered by P.E.P (Provincial Emeregency Program...and again the last time I heard that was bo charge in BC for BC residents..

When I travel to ALBERTA to hunt I do get BCAA medicaal insurance for out of Province coverage...cheap and worth it..
Steven

[mark]

Does anybody know if a "rattle snake" bite would be classed as medical emergency???
Say a guy was 4-5 hours hike from a vehicle gets tagged by a rattler.....who do ya call for a free airlift???? 911, search and rescue???

[Ciskman]

SAR is a free service in Canada. If you are in trouble and need help someone will come get you. If you call 911 they will get the appropriate service out to you through the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Victoria(Covering BC and the Yukon). JRCC also has a direct regional(BC and YK)emergency line 1-800-567-5111.

[Ciskman]

no that is what I thought. four years ago we had to medi vac my wife out of the mtns. called a helicopter company in fort nelson to come and get her. the cost was $6,000 and when I phoned bc medical they told me there was no coverage so I had to pay personally. In bc if you need help phone search and rescue and they pick up the tab.

Im not sure your whole situation but if you had called 911 SAR would have been dispatched at no cost to you.




Does anybody know if a "rattle snake" bite would be classed as medical emergency???
Say a guy was 4-5 hours hike from a vehicle gets tagged by a rattler.....who do ya call for a free airlift???? 911, search and rescue???

You bet its an emergency...just to compare, Ive picked up people for as little as flu like symptoms off hiking trails...

[srupp]

MARK, as a long time PARAMEDIC here in BC, IF you consider 34 years long time??lol:wink: Yes a rattlesnake bite does qualify as a medical emergency..

Snake bites are one of the better examples of why a medivac is more than appropriate, time is tissue and muscle tissue, and keeping the patient at complete rest ,with a rattlesnake bite is one of the primary goals, so is the fast efficient transport to medical care aka HOSPITAL.. walking or moving only speeds up the circlulation and spreds the snake venom faster and does more damage quicker..a no no..so a MEDIVAC is absolutley appropriate in this situation and would definatley be a 911 on your SPOT unit...

Or IF in cell? or sattellight..call 911- medical emergecy- BRITISH COLUMBIA AMBULANCE SERVICE.. there is a cost that the patient pays for ambulance service in BC..but it is a small fraction of the real cost..and not much at all ...very very affordable..

Because of the many variables, getting BCAS...AMBULANCE INVOLVED AT FIRST CHANCE is the wisest decision

cheers

Srupp

Paramedic

[Call of the Wild]

Great feedback I like that.

Presently my brother is a BC resident and I live in Alberta but I’m strongly debating to move west again within the next few years. I would prefer finding “insurance” that cover BC and Alberta. With all the suggestions posted, I’ll make some phone calls and update this post. This can be useful for many outdoors men.

Guys I’m assuming anyone with insurance for the backcountry will be covered for an ambulance with the 911. I’m mostly searching a coverage for medical help cost when located in a remote area (far/hard access from any transportation and no cell service). I’ll look into the SPOT extra services for the matter.


Ciskman

The SAR is very interesting. I’m assuming you work in some kind of medical rescue service. Is there any web site of those agencies? I’ll research it for sure and I want confirmation prior leaving for my trips. If a hunt turns bad and difficult I don’t want a surprise bill to be the highlight of a remote hunting trip.



Call of the Wild

[GoatGuy]

You can buy the coverage with a SPOT unit for like $8.00 a year...

You get private air lift for medical emergencies, up to $100,000 per year. (2 per year@ $50,000 each) MUST be a medical emergency, they won't transport your corpse.

Carl
Rather be buried in the mountains anyways.

[Kody94]

no that is what I thought. four years ago we had to medi vac my wife out of the mtns. called a helicopter company in fort nelson to come and get her. the cost was $6,000 and when I phoned bc medical they told me there was no coverage so I had to pay personally. In bc if you need help phone search and rescue and they pick up the tab.


SAR is a free service in Canada. If you are in trouble and need help someone will come get you. If you call 911 they will get the appropriate service out to you through the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Victoria(Covering BC and the Yukon). JRCC also has a direct regional(BC and YK)emergency line 1-800-567-5111.


Bridger....Ciskman is correct. When I had a mishap (3rd degree burn on ankle) on a backpacking trip, I couldn't get 911 on my sat phone (they have an international number, so register as out of the area for 911), so I phoned my wife at home and got her to call 911 for me, with my GPS coordinates. They picked me up in an A-Star about 90 minutes later. All I got charged for was the ambulance ride from the hangar to the hospital, and the pain killers at the hospital. If I had called the heli outfit directly, I would have had to pay the whole shot myself, and there wouldn't have been any cute paramedic girls to make me feel better on the flight out. ;)

[srupp]

HMM sssster you know when the drugs are working EVEN the PARAMEDIC buys look cute..lol

great point ..as I said CALL FOR AMBULANCE..we do make house calls, lake calls, mountain calls, have what the emergency dept has and the costs are tiny..

cheers
Srupp

[Ciskman]

Ciskman

The SAR is very interesting. I’m assuming you work in some kind of medical rescue service. Is there any web site of those agencies? I’ll research it for sure and I want confirmation prior leaving for my trips. If a hunt turns bad and difficult I don’t want a surprise bill to be the highlight of a remote hunting trip.



Call of the Wild

I am a Search and Rescue Technician with the Canadian Forces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qAxPS4mPNQ

We are paramedics trained in parachuting, diving, mountain climbing and all sorts of survival etc . We work out of both fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

I can't speak for your bill once we drop you off to BC ambulance but our services are free anywhere in the country including our waters.

Here are some SAR links.

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/page-eng.asp?id=17 DND SAR info

http://www.nss.gc.ca/site/index_e.asp National SAR Secretariat

http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/e0003868 JRCC Victoria

http://www.jrcchalifax.forces.gc.ca/JRCC_home_E.htm JRCC Halifax

http://www.casara.ca/ Civil Air Search and Rescue Association

http://www.bcsara.com/ British Columbia Search and Rescue Association

http://www.saralberta.org/ Search and Rescue Association of Alberta

[Call of the Wild]

sssster

ya it's always better when a cute paramedic is taking care of you when your hurt. Somewhat my brother was lucky that way once!!!!


ciskmam

thanks again. I'll research your links and the ambulance cost.

With a SPOT and a recue plan, I know some will sleep better while we are out hunting.

Call of the wild

[mark]

Im not sure your whole situation but if you had called 911 SAR would have been dispatched at no cost to you.


You bet its an emergency...just to compare, Ive picked up people for as little as flu like symptoms off hiking trails...




MARK, as a long time PARAMEDIC here in BC, IF you consider 34 years long time??lol:wink: Yes a rattlesnake bite does qualify as a medical emergency..

Snake bites are one of the better examples of why a medivac is more than appropriate, time is tissue and muscle tissue, and keeping the patient at complete rest ,with a rattlesnake bite is one of the primary goals, so is the fast efficient transport to medical care aka HOSPITAL.. walking or moving only speeds up the circlulation and spreds the snake venom faster and does more damage quicker..a no no..so a MEDIVAC is absolutley appropriate in this situation and would definatley be a 911 on your SPOT unit...

Or IF in cell? or sattellight..call 911- medical emergecy- BRITISH COLUMBIA AMBULANCE SERVICE.. there is a cost that the patient pays for ambulance service in BC..but it is a small fraction of the real cost..and not much at all ...very very affordable..

Because of the many variables, getting BCAS...AMBULANCE INVOLVED AT FIRST CHANCE is the wisest decision

cheers

Srupp


Paramedic

Thanks very much guys, I was ready to set up an account with a local whirly company!
Had a couple close calls with them demons already this year.:evil:

[bigwhiteys]

With a SPOT and a recue plan, I know some will sleep better while we are out hunting.

Call of the wild

I should clarify on the SPOT plan, it's for PRIVATE rescue services... SPOT will defer to your local 911 in the area you activate the unit.

Should 911 in the local area not be able to send response in a timely manner SPOT will contract the nearest Helicopter/Airplane available and pay for the private charter to get you out up to $50,000 per occurrence up to two times per year and it MUST be an emergency as it stipulates in their fine print.

Carl

[RustyBrit]

Hi There,
I work for a heli company and we do many many medivacs, and I am also a SAR member so here is the deal:
You CANNOT call the heli company yourself.
All you have to do is call 911 (or even get someone else to call 911 for you, including the heli company themselves).
Then either BCAS Paramedics or your local Search and Rescue will fly out with the heli company.
The reason for this is aaaaaaaaall, you guessed it, liability. You need the Provincial emergency program to give SAR a file number and then everyone is covered.
Same rules for Ambulance service

The only bill you get is for a basic ambulance ride. Not sure on the going rate, but its cheap.

Hope that helps!



With the amount of time I spend scouting/hunting quite far sometimes and this year I’ll start hunting in the mountains with my brother, were looking for an “insurance” that would cover emergency transportation cost if required. Anyone knows some kind of outdoor insurance or a membership of an outdoor association that cover the cost one helicopter air lift if medical aid is required?

A friend of mine in Ontario pays a yearly quad membership of some kind for 30-40$. The membership covers the cost of one emergency air lift if needed and some other minimal stuff is included with the membership. I’m looking for something similar for Alberta and BC.

Call of the Wild

[Kody94]

sssster

ya it's always better when a cute paramedic is taking care of you when your hurt. Somewhat my brother was lucky that way once!!!!



LOL. The gal on the A-Star was cute, and the gal in the ambulance was way cuter. Or the percocet was working well. :)

[Kody94]

Hi There,
The only bill you get is for a basic ambulance ride. Not sure on the going rate, but its cheap.


I paid $80 for the ambulance ride, and $10 for the percocet and flamazine. Considering I was 4 days hike from the nearest road when I got hurt, I thought it was CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP!

[srupp]

Y cheap BUT good..been called worse..

Steven

[Jhors]

And speaking of getting a cute paramedic, if you want to think of something scary you might get me or Steve Rupp! Cute, NOT!
Seriously though having worked as a paramedic for over 30 years, all you need to do is call 911. They will arrange the rest, through the Rescue Co-ordination Centre. And yes we are cheap...... best deal around for your tax dollar!

[srupp]

If you get JOHN speak slow and loud and offer to draw him a MOOSE MAP...

he is one of the BEST paramedics in BC...just looks lousy in a dress alot like Gate in a too too..only with out the beard..:mrgreen:


Fred Shmidlapp :wink: