Air Ambulance From the Caribbean to the United States

Getting a patient off an island is a time problem, not a distance problem

Most Caribbean islands are two hours or less from South Florida. The delay is almost never the flying. It is finding an aircraft that is already in the region, clearing customs and immigration at both ends, and securing a receiving hospital in the United States that will accept the patient before the aircraft departs.

We fly this corridor constantly and our aircraft are positioned in the region rather than ferried in from a US base, which routinely removes four to eight hours from the departure window. For a patient deteriorating in an island ICU with limited interventional capability, that is the whole decision.

Where we fly from

The Bahamas, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua, St Maarten, St Kitts and the British and US Virgin Islands.

Receiving hospitals are usually in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa or Orlando, chosen by proximity to the pickup point and by the clinical specialty the patient needs. Where the patient requires a specific centre further north, we fly them there directly rather than handing off.

Why island transfers get declined, and how we avoid it

Insurers decline Caribbean transports for one reason more than any other: no documented evidence that the local facility could not provide the care. An island hospital with no cardiac catheterisation lab, no neurosurgery, no burn unit or no interventional radiology is a clinical fact, and it must be stated by the treating physician in writing before the flight, not argued afterwards. We obtain that documentation as the first step, not the last.

Hurricane season adds a second problem. Between June and November, a storm can close a field for days and strand a patient who was stable when the decision was deferred. If the clinical picture is marginal and a system is approaching, move early.

Free with qualifying insurance

If the plan qualifies and the transport is medically necessary, the flight costs the patient nothing out of pocket. We verify the benefits at no charge, we document medical necessity with the treating physician, we obtain the authorization before the aircraft is released, and we bill the insurer under a signed assignment of benefits.

Kaiser Permanente and Blue Cross Blue Shield are among the most straightforward plans we deal with on this corridor. Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Anthem all cover medically necessary air ambulance under most plans. Federal and state employee plans and the large teacher plans tend to have the broadest benefits of any category. TRICARE covers it through the regional contractor or the Overseas Program.

Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for transport across an international border. Medical necessity must be documented by the treating physician before the aircraft is released.

Self-pay: one fixed price, agreed in writing

A large share of the people who call us have no coverage, or a plan that will not cover this route. We quote those flights as a single all-inclusive price before you commit: aircraft, flight crew, medical crew, equipment, ground ambulance at both ends, landing, handling and permits. One number. No post-flight invoice for extras, and no surprise balance.

We will also tell you when a medical escort on a commercial airline is clinically adequate for the patient. It costs a fraction of a dedicated aircraft, and recommending it when it fits costs us the larger sale, which is exactly why you can trust the recommendation.

For hospital case managers, administrators and discharge planners

If you are holding a patient who is medically stable, has no funding source and has nowhere to be discharged to, repatriation is usually the only discharge plan available to you. We run these transports constantly and we understand what you need: the bed released, the liability closed, and documentation that stands up to review.

We secure the receiving hospital bed in most of the countries we serve. A missing passport is not the blocker it is assumed to be. Mexico admits its own nationals as a constitutional right — Article 11 of the Mexican Constitution gives every person the right to enter the Republic without need of a safe-conduct, passport or similar requirement — so we repatriate patients there who hold no passport and no travel document at all. Where a destination does require one, we arrange the emergency travel document through the consulate. We locate relatives in the home country and obtain essential personal documents such as birth certificates when they are missing. We hold our own aircraft and our own ground ambulance capability rather than brokering them, which is why a receiving confirmation does not take days.

What we need from you: the current medical summary, the destination city or receiving facility, and whoever is authorizing the cost. What you get back the same day: a fixed quote, the aircraft and crew configuration, and a realistic departure window.

Where a commercial plan has no contracted operator able to fly the mission, we will negotiate a single-case agreement with the plan before departure. Case managers use these routinely and they are often the fastest route to an authorized, paid transport.

Where we fly

Each of these corridors has its own aircraft requirements, permit timelines and insurance pattern. The pages below set out what actually applies on each one.

Air ambulance Central America to the United States

Air ambulance South America to the United States

Air ambulance Hawaii to the mainland United States

Air ambulance Canada and the United States, both directions

Air ambulance Asia to the United States

Air ambulance Europe to the United States and Canada

Licensing and authority

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance operates as Med Jets USA, Inc. under Florida Department of Health EMS Service Provider licence AIR9505, status clear, verifiable on the State of Florida public licence register. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance is an indirect air carrier. All flights are operated by FAA Part 135 certificated direct air carriers or their foreign equivalents.

Speak to a mission coordinator

You will reach a mission coordinator, not a call centre. Send the insurance card front and back, the patient name and date of birth, the hospital they are in, and a short description of the medical situation. The benefits review is free and carries no obligation.