Financial analysis of an inner-city helicopter service: Charges versus collections for patients transferred from another acute care facility

Emergency helicopter services provided by trauma centers are now being perceived as contributing to the financial burden of the hospital because of recent changes in trauma reimbursement under the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) and because of the general perception that collection rates are lower among trauma patients. The use of helicopters to transfer patients from one acute care facility to another may also be concentrating the patients with low collection rates at the receiving hospital. We examined retrospectively the demographic and clinical factors associated with the collection experience in a series of 288 trauma patients transferred by helicopter from another acute care facility to an inner-city hospital. Factors affecting payment at 180 and 360 days included patient age, insurance class, discharge status, and size of the hospital charge. As long as reimbursement continues to be cost-based for nonMedicare patients, collection rates remain an important consideration in determining the financial viability of using helicopters to transfer patients.