How much is a medical evacuation?

Just curious if anyone knows how much a medical evacuation from the ship to nearest island (pick any) is?

If it's the US Coast Guard, there is no charge.

Several years ago, a medical evac from Grenada to Florida was $19,000.

it can total tens of thousands though especially if you have to get BACK from that tropical island via extraordinary means(medivac flight, cost of hospital stay, etc)

Free if it's to a US island.

Virtually any government agency (coast guard, military) from any country will provide medevac for free. What costs is repatriation to the US, possibly with a medical suite onboard a charter airplane.

I always purchase the premium insurance. This includes air evac back to the US.

Free if it's to a US island.

not unless the Coast Guard does the evac

not unless the Coast Guard does the evac

That's who would do the evacuation if it was to a US island.

That's who would do the evacuation if it was to a US island.

Army medievac can do them as well... we train to land on ships. We don't do it often but we can.

Army medievac can do them as well... we train to land on ships. We don't do it often but we can.

I'm guessing that would be free as well?

I'm guessing that would be free as well?

I believe any US govenment agency evac would be free.

I'm guessing that would be free as well?

I would guess. I have heard of instances where the government will charge. I don't know though, I've never had to do a civilian medevac :)

That's who would do the evacuation if it was to a US island.

This is a case of the USCG taking a pax to Nassau.

http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guard-aircrew-medevacs-ailing-woman-from-cruise-ship-carnival-liberty-off-the-coast-of-cat-island-bahamas/2014/04/29/

My step father was taken off a cruise ship on day two of a 10 day day land/sea vacation in Alaska. I believe the Coast Guard did the initial airlift off the ship, however, there was not an adequate hospital close by (I assume in Alaska) to accommodate his needs so he was then transported to Seattle. The bill was in the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, they did not have trip/cruise insurance.

Free if it's to a US island.

That's only for the USA Coast Guard to evacuate from the ship to the nearest hospital. If the person needs to be transferred from the nearest hospital back to the USA that's not free and runs into the 10's of thousands of dollars.

I have seen an Air Ambulance bill for off of a ship $42,651.24. It was fully covered by the persons insurance. It was off a cruise ship. The person had fallen down some stairs (drunk). Broke an arm and a leg.

We are on the 5-year-plan for MedjetAssist. Let's hope we never need it. It's from hospital to hospital, so you may still need something to get a patient off the ship.

We left a cruise 5 days into a 9 night cruise. Costs for the Ambulance, hospital on the island, two airline tickets and retreiving our car from the port, as well as charges on the ship were in the neighborhood of $ 10,000. I used to be a flight medic on a fixed wing transport aircraft and remember, in 2005, charging $ 18,000 for a flight from NYC to Texas.

So, buy the insurance. All the money we had paid the insurance company has been recouped on that one trip.

That's only for the USA Coast Guard to evacuate from the ship to the nearest hospital. If the person needs to be transferred from the nearest hospital back to the USA that's not free and runs into the 10's of thousands of dollars.

I'm thinking that if it's the USA Coast Guard, that they would be transporting the person to the USA.

Note that some others here have pointed out that it's not just he USA Coast Guard that would do it for free. At least one other branch of the military would too. Also others have pointed out that some other countries would do it for free as well, so it's not just the US.

I have a good friend who is a flight nurse based in Miami, she does medical evacuations all the time so I asked her about it. If the U.S. Coast Guard does it, no cost. Any other form will cost A LOT of money!!

She "checks-in" on Facebook whenever she flies to get someone so I get to see all the places she flies. She does cruise/ Caribbean island evacs at least every other week.

Typical costs:

• Air ambulance service typically is covered by health insurance in certain types of emergencies or if a doctor certifies that air transport is medically necessary, and if a patient is going to the nearest appropriate facility. If transport is being done for convenience, such as to relocate nearer to family, it might not be covered. For example, BlueCross Blue Shield of Alabama[1] covers air transport on many of its policies, including transportation to a hospital near home for patients injured or hospitalized more than 200 miles from home. For patients with health insurance, out-of-pocket costs typically consist of a copay of less than $50 to $500 or more, or coinsurance of 10 % to 50% or more for a total that could reach the yearly out-of-pocket maximum.
  
• For patients without health insurance, the cost of air ambulance service typically depends on: the current cost of jet fuel, the type of aircraft used, the distance flown and the type of medical staff required. The total can be less than $2,000 for a short flight to almost $50,000 for a longer domestic flight to $200,000 or more for an international flight. For example, Air Ambulance 1[2] charges about $2,500 for a 55-mile flight on a twin-engine propeller plane, staffed by paramedics, from Saint Joseph, MO, to Kansas City, MO. Air Ambulance 1 charges about $25,000 for a flight on a light jet, staffed by paramedics, from Kansas City to Los Angeles. National Air Ambulance charges about $37,400 for a flight from New York to California staffed by a nurse and paramedic. For a flight from Arizona to Australia, Air Ambulance 1 charges about $155,000 on a light jet, if staffed by paramedics (about $160,000 if staffed by a doctor and nurse) or about $177,000 on a mid-sized jet (about $182,000 if staffed by a doctor and nurse).
  

Typical costs:

• Air ambulance service typically is covered by health insurance in certain types of emergencies or if a doctor certifies that air transport is medically necessary, and if a patient is going to the nearest appropriate facility. If transport is being done for convenience, such as to relocate nearer to family, it might not be covered. For example, BlueCross Blue Shield of Alabama[1] covers air transport on many of its policies, including transportation to a hospital near home for patients injured or hospitalized more than 200 miles from home. For patients with health insurance, out-of-pocket costs typically consist of a copay of less than $50 to $500 or more, or coinsurance of 10 % to 50% or more for a total that could reach the yearly out-of-pocket maximum.
  
• For patients without health insurance, the cost of air ambulance service typically depends on: the current cost of jet fuel, the type of aircraft used, the distance flown and the type of medical staff required. The total can be less than $2,000 for a short flight to almost $50,000 for a longer domestic flight to $200,000 or more for an international flight. For example, Air Ambulance 1[2] charges about $2,500 for a 55-mile flight on a twin-engine propeller plane, staffed by paramedics, from Saint Joseph, MO, to Kansas City, MO. Air Ambulance 1 charges about $25,000 for a flight on a light jet, staffed by paramedics, from Kansas City to Los Angeles. National Air Ambulance charges about $37,400 for a flight from New York to California staffed by a nurse and paramedic. For a flight from Arizona to Australia, Air Ambulance 1 charges about $155,000 on a light jet, if staffed by paramedics (about $160,000 if staffed by a doctor and nurse) or about $177,000 on a mid-sized jet (about $182,000 if staffed by a doctor and nurse).
  

The figures you quote are quite accurate. You do not just pay a one-way charge for the plane and crew, you pay for the plane to get to you, get you where you are going, and for the plane to get back home. If you are on a jet, anywhere from $2500 to $8,000 an hour is possible, depending on the aircraft.

I have a good friend who is a flight nurse based in Miami, she does medical evacuations all the time so I asked her about it. If the U.S. Coast Guard does it, no cost. Any other form will cost A LOT of money!!

 

She "checks-in" on Facebook whenever she flies to get someone so I get to see all the places she flies. She does cruise/ Caribbean island evacs at least every other week.

Interesting. Others on this thread have pointed out that at least the Army (and possibly other branches) would do it for free as well. Also some have pointed out that other countries do it for free too.

Interesting. Others on this thread have pointed out that at least the Army (and possibly other branches) would do it for free as well. Also some have pointed out that other countries do it for free too.

I think the key here is that a medevac is from the ship to the nearest hospital facility. Whether that is by CG or some other governmental unit, it would only be the tip of the iceberg as far as costs go. I expect the CG (for example operating out of Puerto Rico) would most likely take you to either the USVI or San Juan, regardless of where your embarkation port was located. Likewise, CG operating out of Florida may very well take you to Key West or Miami - even if you sailed out of another Florida port, if that is the quickest way to get medical attention.

Once their rotors stop, you're on the hook for everything else until you're back home - and that's where the bucks start to rack up.