Air Ambulance From Hawaii to the Mainland United States

Long-range overwater critical care transport from Honolulu, Maui, Kona, Hilo and Lihue to the US mainland. A domestic transport, which changes what insurance pays.

This is a domestic transport, and that matters for coverage

Hawaii to the mainland is a domestic US transport, so Medicare Part B and Medicare Advantage can cover it. That is the opposite of every international corridor we fly, where Medicare pays nothing, and it is the single most important thing for a Hawaii family to understand. If the patient needs a level of care that is not available in the islands and the treating physician documents that, Medicare, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the commercial plans all have a clear path to covering the flight.

Kaiser Permanente has a substantial presence in Hawaii, and Kaiser members transferring to a mainland Kaiser facility are among the most straightforward authorizations in the whole market. Tell us at the first call if the patient is a Kaiser member.

2,400 nautical miles of open water

Honolulu to Los Angeles is about 2,200 nautical miles, to San Francisco slightly more, to Seattle more again, with no alternate airport for most of the crossing. This is not a mission for a light jet. It requires a long-range aircraft, an augmented flight crew for duty time, specific overwater survival equipment, and a medical crew configured for a flight where diversion is not an option for several hours.

We also fly inter-island where a patient on Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai or the Big Island needs to reach Honolulu first, and we handle that leg and the mainland leg as one mission rather than two handoffs.

Where we fly from and to

Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, Hilo, Lihue and Molokai, to Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Houston and onward to any mainland centre the patient needs, including transplant and specialist burn, cardiac and neurosurgical programmes.

When the islands cannot provide the care

Hawaii has excellent hospitals, but it is an island chain 2,400 miles from the nearest alternative. Transplant work-ups, certain paediatric subspecialties, complex burn care, some oncology protocols and some cardiac and neurosurgical procedures require the mainland. When that is the clinical reality, documenting it properly is what gets the transport authorized, and we handle that with the treating physician.

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. This route is the exception: Hawaii to the mainland is a domestic US transport, so Medicare and Medicare Advantage can cover it.

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 Caribbean to the United States

Air ambulance Central America to the United States

Air ambulance South America to the 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.