FAQ

Most insurance plans appreciate and cover Air Ambulance Services. It is important to check your plan to see that there is an air ambulance benefit. In some cases, it may be necessary for or expedient to use your credit card and obtain a health insurance claim form to be fully reimbursed.

We carry the aircraft liability insurance recommended for air ambulance Turbo props fixed wing operators of $10 million for each aircraft. Additionally $1,000,000.00 in medical malpractice insurance.

Upon request, Priority Air Ambulance will provide client with proof of Insurance to meet the requirements of all Uganda Authorities.

All medical crews are required to practice under medical direction of a physician, referred to as the Medical Director. The Medical Director should be practiced in the care of emergency critical patient in the transport environment. Patient care or medical control may be directed by verbal order, written order or predefined written orders. If necessary, the medical team should have some method to contact the Medical Director during flight.

Our air ambulance have the following minimum equipment in addition to portable medical equipment:

• One FAA approved stretcher and base for each patient.
• A medical oxygen system with the capacity to transport a ventilator dependent patient from the transport origin to the destination.
• 50 psi air compressor.
• 2-115 vac/60hz electrical outlets
• Vacuum pump with adequate suction for one suction canister.
• Portable o2, suction device required by the patient during the transport will be provided.
• Portable monitoring device
• Transport ventilator
• Iv pumps

All air ambulance aircraft are configured so that patient loading and unloading can be performed without the need to excessively manoeuvre the patient. The placement of the patient on the aircraft provides consistent access and monitoring capabilities by the medical crew so that the patient’s safety and health are the priority.

Luggage space on an air ambulance aircraft is very limited due to the medical equipment carried on board. Luggage is limited to one carry on soft sided.

Priority Air Ambulance is an operator holding an air carrier operating certificate. Air ambulance brokers refers to companies that broker transport for aircraft performing medical flights. They do not operate medically equipped aircrafts or employ medical staff.

Cost will vary depending the patient’s condition, the number of patients to be transported (1 or 2), mileage, time of day, medical staff requirement, domestic or international flight, or ground ambulance.

All medical crew are appropriately licensed, certified in BLS, ALS, PALS and current in their specialty. All have training in altitude physiology, infection control and patient management specified by patient diagnosis. All air ambulance flights are staffed by two medical personnel. Medical control decides the appropriate staff and treatment. Our medical professionals are contractual, they work in a medical environment so that they are always exposed to updated training and intervention.

We are available 24/7/365 to respond to your medical emergencies.

Everyone travelling on an international flight must provide air ambulance dispatch with the following information prior to departure:

• Copy of passport
• Copy of visa

A statement of past performance including the number of years the air ambulance company has been in operation, the safety record, the flight experience, medical personal qualifications and training, the aircraft maintenance defines the expertise of the service.

We are located in Kajjansi airfield, Kampala Uganda and we provide air ambulance transport services within Uganda then to Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa for higher levels of care.

We are the only licensed air ambulance transport service in the Uganda. We have 12 years experience with a 100% safety record. Our response time, competitive pricing, attention to care and superior service sets us apart.

Priority Air Ambulance arranges ground ambulance on each leg of your flight. This cost is included in your quote and payment.

Priority Air Ambulance policy is to accommodate one family member in the air and ground ambulance on each patient transport without charge to that family member.

Priority Air Ambulance provides bedside to bedside. Our transport team accepts the patient at bedside in the originating facility and delivers the patient to the receiving facility. Ground transportation inclusive on both legs of the trip with accommodation for one family member.

If a Priority Air Ambulance provider does not transport you, you will be responsible for payment of the bill. Our membership program only covers transports provided by us and our affiliates with prior permission.

There is no limit to the number of transports a member may take in a year. Each transport is handled the same way and must be a life-or-limb threatening emergency as deemed by PAA provider attending medical professionals.

With a Priority Air Ambulance family membership, any person or persons who reside under one (residential) roof can be covered. In the event we have a member who lives in a duplex or apartment complex, we designate the primary member’s residence/address, and that is considered the “one roof”. Undergraduate college students can be covered under their parent’s membership as well as anyone previously residing in the household who is then moved to a permanent care facility.

Members are entitled to transport (when available) by a Priority Air Ambulance provider to the closest appropriate medical facility for medical conditions deemed by an attending medical professional to be life, eye or limb-threatening, or that could lead to permanent disability. Members also receive a welcome packet complete with auto stickers and membership cards. Members have the peace of mind knowing that they will receive no out-of-pocket expense for their flights.

Membership offers several important benefits:

First, as one of more than 1000 members, Priority Air Ambulance providers will work on your behalf with your benefits provider to secure payment for your flight, with any uncovered amounts considered to be fully prepaid. As such, members who are transported by Priority Air Ambulance will not receive a bill for the flight. Importantly, your membership is valid in all of our service areas so you are covered while traveling in those areas. If they determine air medical transport is needed, and they dispatch one of our ambulance providers, your membership will provide coverage.

In addition, becoming a Priority Air Ambulance member is a good way to support the health care needs of your local community. Our membership base (the largest of its kind in Uganda) helps us operate in rural areas where having a quick response time to critical medical situations can save lives.

Membership fees alone are not enough to cover the cost of member transport. Those fees are prepaid protection against costs not covered by a member’s insurance, other benefits or third party responsibility. Almost all of our members have some type of insurance, benefit or third party responsibility that covers all or part of the cost of transport. Collecting enough from those sources is necessary to keep membership fees low. Of course, if there is no other source of payment for a member’s transport, the transport is covered in full by the membership.

This answer varies, with each insurance company offering different plans and coverage. It is up to your individual insurance company as to whether they will cover the cost of a transport, as well as to the amount of economic burden placed on the patent via a co-pay or deductible. We recommend that you contact your insurance company directly to obtain detailed coverage information.

No, although Priority Air Ambulance membership is “like” insurance. Priority Air Ambulance is not an insurance company. A Priority Air Ambulance membership is not an insurance policy and cannot be considered as secondary insurance coverage or as supplemental coverage to any insurance policy. Membership provides prepaid protection against covered Priority Air Ambulance provider transportation costs that exceed a member’s health insurance or medical benefits.

The primary determinate of whether to accept a flight is always the safety of the patient and our medical flight crews. Aviation administration restrictions prohibit Priority Air Ambulance provider from transporting patients under certain conditions, such as, but not limited to, flying in inclement weather, equipment manufacturer limitations, maintenance requirements, age or size.

There may be times when the PAA provider aircraft in your area is committed to assisting another patient transport or is out of service for maintenance or inclement weather. In those instances, we may be able to call one of our other Priority Air Ambulance providers from an adjoining service area. In some cases, however, you may need to be transported by a ground ambulance or another air ambulance service that is not a participating provider in the Priority Air Ambulance. It is important that you get to the medical care you need as quickly as possible, no matter the mode of transportation, so you will have the best chances for survival and degree of recovery.

When an air ambulance provider is called, time is of the essence. Patients in life threatening situations often need specialty centres to provide the interventions needed. Priority Air Ambulance providers will take a patient to the closest appropriate medical facility as determined by physicians or EMS personnel. Whenever possible, physicians or EMS personnel consult with the patient or the patient’s families as these decisions are being made.

Air ambulances are valuable and scarce resources that should be reserved for those times when a patient is facing a life-or-limb threatening emergency and it is in their best interest to get to medical care in a timely fashion. Priority Air Ambulance providers will not transport patients by air if air transportation is not believed to be appropriate.

If your medical emergency meets certain criteria, such as a heart attack, stroke or a traumatic injury and the dispatcher determines you would benefit from emergent ground or air medical transport, they may dispatch an air ambulance to your emergency, as well as a ground ambulance. If you require an emergent medical transport from one hospital to another hospital, those transfers are ordered by physicians. In the event that the Priority Air Ambulance operations centre receive a call for emergency help from an individual or source other than a healthcare or emergency services agency, Priority Air Ambulance providers communication specialists will identify and contact the ground ems service in the patient’s community and ask them to respond to the scene. If they determine air medical transport is needed, they will dispatch one of our air ambulance providers.

Most insurance companies will pay 100% of what they deem an allowable amount for air ambulance or emergent ground, which does not necessarily mean that the total cost of the transport will be covered. For example, even after insurance pays, you may have a remaining balance due to co-pay, deductible, co-insurance, or because your insurance’s allowable amount does not cover the total charges. Additionally, people frequently change insurance companies and plan designs. You may want to check with your individual insurance company to find out exactly how much they will cover in the case of a Priority Air Ambulance transport. Lastly, your insurance may decide that the flight does not fit a specific parameter covered under your policy and deny payment. Membership will cover the cost of the flight for you, even if your insurance does not.