Use flight information form for non-emergency air ambulance authorization requests

As a reminder, effective for dates of service on or after April 2, 2018, all non-emergency air ambulance transports for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan PPO commercial and Blue Care Network HMO^SM commercial members require authorization.

Requests to authorize non-emergency flights must be submitted to and approved by Alacura Medical Transportation Management LLC before the flight. This requirement applies to both in-state and out-of-state air ambulance transports.

Emergency flights — when the patient can’t safely wait six hours for the flight to take off — don’t require authorization. This includes situations that involve delays due to weather or stabilizing the patient. When it’s an emergency, just transport the patient.

How to request an authorization for non-emergency flights

To contact Alacura about authorizing a non-emergency flight request, do the following:

• Complete the Air ambulance flight information (non-emergency) form and fax it, along with clinical documentation in support of the request, to Alacura at 1-844-608-3572.
• Call Alacura at 1-844-608-3676 to obtain an authorization number.

Reason for authorization requirement

Air ambulance transports that aren’t medically necessary or that are flown by noncontracted providers expose Blue Cross and BCN members to significantly greater out-of-pocket costs and are much costlier for the plan. The requirement for authorization prior to non-emergency flights is expected to lower costs for Blue Cross and BCN members and customers.

Additional information

Additional details about this change are available in the original articles published on this topic:

• In the March 2018 issue of The Record, in the article titled Starting April 2, 2018, non-emergency air ambulance services require authorization for commercial members.
• In the March-April 2018 issue of BCN Provider News, in the article titled Non-emergency air ambulance services require authorization starting April 2, 2018, for commercial members, on Page 41.