A Fall at Home Can Cost the Bank: Why Emergency Transportation Membership Is So Important

June 1, 2021

Did you know that a staggering 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 65 falls each year? Falls in adults aged 65+ are the leading cause of head injuries and broken hips, with 1 in 10 falls resulting in serious injuries such as hip fracture, subdural hematoma, or traumatic brain injury.

And falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations.

And the majority of the falls take place right at home. In fact, a full 80% of falls happen in the bathroom. There’s a good chance you will need an ambulance ride to the hospital from your home. 

Falls are a serious health issue among seniors. While falls in the general population usually come about due to dangerous work or leisure activities, seniors are at greater risk of falling in their day-to-day activities. Issues such as vision impairments, general weakness, environmental factors, and medications such as sedatives, antidepressants, and blood pressure treatments can contribute to put seniors in danger of seriously injuring themselves in any fall.

If you or your loved one were to sustain an injury from a fall that required medical transport from an ambulance or an emergency helicopter, would you be prepared for the costs?

Before you assume that insurance or Medicare covers the cost of medical transport, think again. And emergency medical transportation can be expensive. Even a short trip to your local hospital via ambulance can cost thousands of dollars. And a trip by helicopter- which might be necessary due to traffic conditions, access to a facility that is better suited for your specific injury, or a number of other reasons - can cost as much as $50,000.

You can protect yourself from this expense. Medical Air Services Association (MASA) has been providing life-saving emergency assistance to members for over thirty years. MASA protects members from catastrophic financial loss when emergencies arise at home or while traveling by covering your ambulance or airlift, regardless of your age or medical condition. Services are paid in full, with no deductibles, co-pays or dollar limits. MASA provides coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

MASA’s benefits go beyond emergency transportation. Your MASA membership also includes Escort Transportation (so a loved one can join you for the ride to the hospital), Visitor Transportation (so a loved one can visit you if you’re away from home for more than week), Organ Retrieval/Recipient Transportation, Repatriation, Children and Pet Return, and more. 

A trip to the hospital is stressful enough – the price of the trip doesn’t have to be. INRTA and AMBA make joining MASA easy. You can even sign up online. Learn more here or call 877-290-3170. 

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html

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