Do hospitals contract with certain air ambulance companies?
No. All air ambulance companies are privately owned and are compensated the same as other health care providers: Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, etc. Air ambulances are contacted to provide air transport from an accident scene by the Phoenix Fire Department Emergency Medical Service (EMS) or the County Sheriff’s office. The EMS departments rotate between the various air ambulance companies in the Phoenix Metro Area. In the case of a hospital to hospital transfer, the air ambulance companies are contacted by the Emergency Room or Intensive Care Unit staff of the hospital that is transferring the patient.
