We’re proud to say we top his list:

“Things can and do happen and if you are hospitalized in another country and you have to be flown back to the United States, the average price is over $100,000. The problem with some of the medical evacuation plans on the market is that they may contain limitations such as medical necessity or nearest appropriate facility. In these cases, they don’t necessarily have to transport you back to the U.S. For a very modest price of $195 for individuals and $295 for families per year, the air ambulance folks will send an aircraft for you and bring you to the hospital of your choice. It also works domestically as well. Either way, this is pretty inexpensive considering the peach of mind this delivers.”

Read the rest of the article here.

“We know patients want be treated at their hometown medical center, no matter where they get sick or injured,” said Jason Schwebach, Assistant Vice-President of Carolinas Health System. “When we can send our jet and our sta! to pick them up and fly them home for treatment, it’s a win for us, a win for the receiving hospital and a win for the patient.”

Members can enroll in the MedCenter Air partnership online at www.AirAmbulanceCard.com/MCA.

“Membership in Air Ambulance Card eliminates concerns about the high cost of a medical flight. International flights can cost as much as $150,000. Members can come home to the Carolinas aboard a MedCenter Air jet and never receive a bill for the transport,” said Stan Bradley, managing director of Air Ambulance Card.

Most health insurance policies will not transport patients to the hospital of their choice. Air Ambulance Card memberships are available to residents of the U.S. and Canada and cost $195 per year for individuals and $295 per year for families. MedCenter Air offers comprehensive critical care transport services through a growing fleet of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and ground ambulances. All are custom-equipped and staffed with highly trained medical and aviation specialists.

MedCenter Air is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.

We ran across this prediction from the FAA recently, air traffic will DOUBLE over the next two decades. Doesn’t sound like that will come without growing pains (and expensive upgrades to systems.)

But we prefer to look at the positive side of things at Air Ambulance Card. To us, that’s millions more people circling the globe, finding new finds, tasting new tastes, seeing new sights. And, should a tiny fraction of those travelers have a medical emergency, we’ll be there to bring them home.

So when we ran across this article about an app that warns you of approaching severe weather we knew we had to share. After all, when you’re in a strange city you don’t always know where to find the most reliable source for weather. Safe travels, and remember if the worst does happen, We Bring You Home.

On Saturday, March 10 only, apply for your U.S. passport at a Regional Passport Agency without an appointment. You will be able to apply for standard processing (4-6 weeks) or pay an additional $60 for expedited processing (2-3 weeks, door-to-door). Passport Day in the USA events are being held at Regional Passport Agencies and many Passport Acceptance Facilities across the country in communities like yours. Here’s a link to the passport offices in your state.

And while you’re planning ahead, go ahead and become an Air Ambulance Card member. It’s peace of mind for anyone who travels more than 150 miles from home.

Last week the US State Department issued a travel warning for Nigeria, recommending US travelers avoid non-essential travels to certain regions. These warnings pop up from time to time for countries and regions around the world. We assume most people traveling to these areas check these things out first… but we never take our members and friends for granted.

In fact, we encourage frequent travelers to check for travel alerts often. Here’s the site. And remember, you don’t have to be in a far-flung locale to encounter an emergency. Are you prepared for the worst? Check out Air Ambulance Card BEFORE you travel!

You can enroll in their free Smart Traveler program, get a list of necessary travel documents and find out what to do in an emergency. Of course, at Air Ambulance Card we find this last piece of information the most interesting. In fact, we’re proud to be listed on the State Department’s list of medical evacuation programs.

The website has a link to printable wallet card so you can stash your insurance and emergency contact number somewhere safe… but we prefer our iPhone app for that, Find-ER. Check it out. It’s just one more way to brush up on safety ahead of your big trip.

The European Commission created the number to make it easier for folks like you, traveling around the member states, to access the local emergency services hotline. According to the British Foreign Office website, Lynda St Cooke from the FCO’s Know Before You Go campaign said: “Knowing that you can phone 112 can save you time in critical situations. It is an essential number which we would encourage everyone to carry with them when on holiday in Europe, just as they would carry contact details for their hotel or car rental company.  With luck you will never have to use it, but being prepared means you don’t have to worry about the local number to call if you or your family find yourselves in an emergency situation.”

Of course, we at Air Ambulance Card like redundancy. So before you leave for your trip, you might also want to download Find-ER… our free iPhone app that helps you find the closest hospital with the touch of a button. You know… just in case you forget the number.

So we figured it was our civic duty to share this great article from CNN.com… Five things not to do on airplanes

Enjoy!

“Last year I picked up an Air Ambulance Card membership application in a doctor’s office, intending to purchase a membership for my husband who travels extensively. Unfortunately I never got around to completing the application. In the meantime, my husband collapsed in an airport in Helsinki, Finland and called me while being transported to a hospital there. At 2 AM, I called the number on the Air Ambulance Card application, hoping they could advise me on the possibilities. They answered the phone on the second ring. When I explained my situation the lady on call said she would have someone call me back right away.

“10 minutes later, Stan Bradley, the Managing Director of the company called me to give me the numbers of 2 air ambulance services with whom I could deal directly. As it turned out, my husband was able to return to the US on a commercial flight, but in the meantime, I learned that it would cost over $60,000 to fly him back to the states via one of these private air ambulance services. You can imagine that I was kicking myself for having not purchased the card when I had the opportunity.

“But that’s not all. At 3 PM the next afternoon, I got a call from Stan Bradley just checking in to see if everything turned out okay. This is definitely the kind of company I want to do business with and I am now an Air Ambulance Card holder, as is my husband. Lesson learned.”