Air Ambulance Opinion

On January 31, 2018, the 3rd District Court of Appeals released its air ambulance opinion.  The issue is whether Texas law (Texas Fee Schedule) can limit the amount of reimbursement for an air ambulance provider.  The Court held that “the statutes and rules that attempt to regulate the reimbursement that may be obtained by [an air ambulance provider] (1) are preempted by the ADA’s prohibition on state attempts to regulate an air carrier’s price, route or service and (2) are not “reverse-preempted” by the McCarran-Ferguson Act.  Basically, the Texas Fee Schedule does not apply to these medical bills and the providers will be entitled to a higher amount of reimbursement.  The cases will not be remanded to the trial court for another determination consistent with this opinion.  You can read the full opinion here.