FAQS

Most health insurance plans only cover a portion of ambulance charges, leaving you with a balance to pay. Mercy Flights membership helps ease that financial burden. If your insurance pays any amount for your Mercy Flights service, we will write off your patient portion. Mercy Flights membership also provides a unique benefit. We can provide non-emergency air and ground ambulance transport. Your membership entitles you to a significant savings on this type of service, which is usually not covered by insurance plans.

Mercy Flights’ membership program allows for quality emergency care at little or no cost to our members. Mercy Flights will bill a member’s insurance company for services we provide. As a member of Mercy Flights, the insurance payment or payments will be considered payment in full.

If an Oregon resident member does not have insurance or their insurance denies payment, their bill will be reduced by 50%. This 50% Oregon member discount also applies to non-emergency ambulance transportation and non-transport services. Click here for more details.

California residents should call our membership office to discuss the details of California member benefits: 541-858-2646. Click here to see our CA Membership agreement.

Mercy Flights is based in Medford, Oregon. Our membership is open to anyone. It is especially important to those people living within our service areas.

Mercy Flights is the (9-1-1) emergency ground ambulance provider for the majority of Jackson County, Oregon, not including the Rogue River District and Ashland Fire and Rescue’s service areas. We have reciprocal agreements with these fire department’s ground ambulance providers, along with the American Medical Response in Josephine County and Glendale Ambulance Service in Douglas County.

Our Emergency Medical Transport Helicopter Ambulance serves Southern Oregon within 150 nautical miles of Medford, Oregon and Northern California (as designated by the Sierra-Sacramento EMS Authority).

Our Fixed Wing Critical Care Air Ambulance serves the Western United States within 1,000 nautical miles of Medford, Oregon , within the continental United States.

Individual or Family (Under Age 62) – $100

Individual or Family (Over Age 62) – $85

Air – Only Mercy Flights Membership (CA & OR) – $70

Mercy Flights Lifetime Membership – $1500

Membership benefits are available for eligible household members listed on the membership record at the time of transport if
the transport is an emergent, medically necessary transport to the most suitable facility, performed by Mercy Flights or reciprocal partners (subject to
the reciprocal program’s rules).

Eligible households consist of all persons who are dependents on your tax form or permanent residents of the same single‐family occupancy, non‐
commercial residence, living together as a family unit. In addition, disabled children and physically dependent parents will continue their membership
if they move from the household into a care facility

Your membership becomes effective 15 days after receipt of your application and payment.

Please call our Membership Department at 541-858-2646 with any other questions. Or click here to send a question or comment to our Membership Department. We will be happy to answer any question you may have about our membership program.

Many health insurance policies, auto policies and workers’ compensation plans provide some coverage for emergency air and ground transport services. We work hard to advocate for our patients when it comes to contacting insurance companies for coverage.

Yes, the helicopter costs more to operate. With every request, we are committed to matching your medical needs with the most affordable and appropriate aircraft available at the time of transport.

Mercy Flights complies with federal regulations that make it very difficult for us to enter into formal partnerships with other air medical transport agencies. Whenever possible, we partner with trusted providers on a case-by-case basis to meet the needs of our patients. However Mercy Flights member benefits are not extended to these providers.

If you are transported by Glendale Ambulance District in Douglas County, Rogue River Fire District, or Ashland Fire and Rescue, please notify their business office that you are a Mercy Flights member. They will confirm your ground membership and then honor it in accordance with their program’s membership benefits. Mercy Flights does not have reciprocal agreements with other medical air transport services. Your air membership is for services provided by Mercy Flights only.

Mercy Flights is a nonprofit ambulance provider.  Our service area is most of Jackson County.  Our medical teams and Communication Center are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to handle any kind of medical emergency. It is an expensive service to provide. When 911 is called Mercy Flights is part of the medical team called to respond and treat the medical emergency.  Sometimes we provide aide, assess and take vitals but the patient decides not to be transported by ambulance. There is a cost to provide this service for our community.  These charges are approved by Jackson County.  It is much less than the charge for ambulance transport.  Medicare does not cover non-transports.

In Oregon emergency ground ambulance is assigned to specific service areas.  There is only one provider per service area.  Mercy Flights, like most other ambulance companies, is not contracted with any particular insurance company.  Your claim should be paid as billed with no discounts from your insurance company.

Most insurance companies and Medicare require that you go to the closest facility that is able to provide the specific care needed.

As a non-profit Mercy Flights offers a membership to community households.  For a small annual fee you can cover your household and receive significant financial relief.  See the details under membership.  We also accept payment plans on our larger account balances.  Please contact our billing office at 541-858-2645 for more information.

Mercy Flights bills all insurance carriers as a courtesy to our patients.  Call our office to supply insurance information or if you have questions.

Auto Accidents:  Oregon is a no fault state and we are required to bill your auto insurance.  Please file a claim with your auto insurance and call us with the name of the insurance carrier, claim number, address to bill, adjustor name and phone number.

Not always.  Is it reasonable and medically necessary that you are transported by ambulance?  Each insurance company has specific coverage rules.  Check with your insurance company.

Medicare says this:

10.2.1 – Necessity for the Service

Medical necessity is established when the patient’s condition is such that use of any other method of transportation is contraindicated. In any case in which some means of transportation other than an ambulance could be used without endangering the individual’s health, whether or not such other transportation is actually available, no payment may be made for ambulance services.  It is important to note that the presence (or absence) of a physician’s order for a transport by ambulance does not necessarily prove (or disprove) whether the transport was medically necessary.