Her air-ambulance ride wasn't covered by Medicare. It will cost her family $81,739

As a Paramedic, this is one of the reasons I try to make solid logical decisions on whether I call for air-ambulance services for a patient. The nearest Level-I facility is approx 35-40 minutes by ground transport even with lights and siren. I'd rather make that drive all day than to financially burden someone with an unneeded 15-minute (on average) helicopter flight.

At least locally, the Aeromedical service that handles our local area (ironically, the Med-Trans company referenced in the article) offers affordable insurance plans. I think the average cost is around $100/yr for a household plan for coverage. The plan covers 100% of the cost of a flight for anyone who resides permanently in the house. Rather affordable in my opinion when compared to the $60K average bill for flight services.