LifeSave KuPono, an air ambulance company in Hawaii, is now shuttered after its parent company decided to close several bases nationwide, leaving the isles with only one other major provider for the service.
Air Methods, which is headquartered in Colorado, confirmed it closed LifeSave KuPono on Wednesday, among other locations, citing inflation and the “significant under reimbursement from Medicare,” which it said the government has not updated in nearly 20 years.
The company also cited tremendous pressure from the new “No Surprises Act,” which went into effect in January, as a factor in the closures. The act establishes new federal protections against surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers, which often occur when patients receive emergency care.
“The decision to close a base is never taken lightly as we understand this further impacts access to critical healthcare services in communities that greatly depend on them,” said the company in a statement. “Therefore, Air Methods conducted extensive financial analysis and explored every option at our disposal for nearly a year but ultimately determined that keeping these bases open is simply unsustainable.”
LifeSave KuPono operated fixed-wing aircraft from three bases, including Honolulu, Kahului and Hilo, and flew patients from neighbor isles to major hospitals such as The Queen’s Medical Center and Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. Air Methods said when it acquired LifeSave KuPono in January 2021, the company was already in operation, and that at closing there were 48 employees across the three bases.
Air Methods continues to operate more than 300 bases serving 49 states.
The shuttering leaves Hawaii with one other major air ambulance service, Hawaii Life Flight, which is owned by American Medical Response Hawaii.
Speedy Bailey, regional director for AMR Hawaii, said the company is already offering positions to former staff at LifeSave KuPono.
Bailey said he was confident Hawaii Life Flight, which operates eight aircraft, would be able to provide coverage for the state.
“We’ve been here before,” said Bailey. “I’ve been doing EMS for 40-plus years, and there have been periods of time when there’s been one air provider or two, so it’s not that foreign a territory. We believe that we have the resources, the personnel and capacity so that services will be maintained to our communities.”
Bailey said all health care services have been affected by inflation, including the skyrocketing costs of fuel and supplies, as well as the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he said Hawaii Life Flight would deal with these challenges.
“We have been here for 40-plus years and we are very confident that are going to be here and taking care of our communities,” he said. “We’ve done it before, and we’re going to continue to do it.”
