Some Wyoming residents have received notices saying the state has taken away their ability to purchase a membership for air ambulance service. A membership pays for an air ambulance if needed.
Back in January 2019, the Wyoming legislature passed a bill that would try to have Medicaid cover air ambulance costs. Part of that bill said for an air ambulance company to continue to sell memberships, it needed to become certified with the state's Department of Insurance and essentially become an insurance provider. The deadline to provide services without that certification was April 1, 2020.
Gillette State Rep. Eric Barlow said since most air ambulance companies didn't do that, they can’t sell memberships anymore. He said this is the fault of the companies.
"In my view, the burden is that was actually on them. They knew the law. We believe they knew the law and obviously as evidenced by their notices, that they knew the law and knew when it changed, but they chose not to comply," said Barlow.
Barlow said the Department of Insurance sent out a couple of notices in the past months reminding air ambulance providers of the deadline. He said providers still can certify in the state if they wish to do so.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Kamila Kudelska, at kkudelsk@uwyo.edu.