University of Iowa expands Air Methods partnership, opening Quad Cities helicopter base

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa Health Care announced Wednesday it is expanding its air transport partnership with Air Methods — a private medical helicopter company that recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

News of UIHC’s partnership with Air Methods to open a new helicopter base in Davenport at a yet-unannounced location comes months after the Colorado-based company emerged from a restructuring that cut about $1.7 billion out of the $2.24 billion in debt it took into its October 2023 bankruptcy filing.

The business — with which UIHC has partnered for a decade — was struggling due to rising interest rates, increasing labor costs, and a federal law banning “surprise” medical bills like those that transported patients unwittingly to out-of-network providers that an insurance company wouldn’t cover in full or at all, according to Reuters.

UIHC patients have in the past complained to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office about exorbitant bills — like one man’s $35,000 charge for a flight transport from Des Moines in 2014. And Air Methods — which started in 1980 in Denver and grew into the country’s largest air medical transport services provider, with more than 100,000 annual transports — has faced lawsuits alleging price gouging.

When Air Methods filed for bankruptcy, it reported owing several Iowa-based hospitals millions in “unsecured claims.” It owed the UI $1.3 million, according to court records, as well as $2.1 million to Mercy Medical Center and $679,443 to UnityPoint Health, giving Des Moines addresses for both. UIHC officials have not said how much, if any, of that claim has been paid to the hospital.

In response to questions about the upcoming Quad Cities expansion, UIHC in August told a state lawmaker that UIHC doesn’t own any of its own helicopters or planes and that Air Methods “has been a reliable partner of AirCare’s for 45 years.”

“Air Methods provides pilots, mechanics, and staff dedicated to operating AirCare on a daily basis,” according to the UIHC statement. “Air Methods has a strong safety culture that is evident in the daily practices of safety huddles, consistent application of standard operating procedures that place safety ahead of profit, and they are dedicated to helping AirCare maintain Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (“CAMTS”) certification.“

Air Methods’ “culture of safety” has kept it accident-free for 45 years, the university said.

‘Right in their backyard’

UIHC launched its AirCare enterprise in 1979 — making it the first hospital-based air ambulance in Iowa and the 11th nationally.

It added a second helicopter in 1987 and moved it to Waterloo a year later — with AirCare II stationed at Covenant Medical Center. AirCare III debuted at MercyOne in Dubuque in 2016, and the new base in Davenport is expected to open this fall, according to a UIHC news release.

“If you or a loved one are involved in a life-threatening accident or medical emergency, seconds matter,” Andrew Nugent, chair and departmental executive officer for UIHC’s Department of Emergency Medicine, said in a statement. “AirCare’s new helicopter base in Davenport means people living in the Quad Cities will now have the latest medical transport technology right in their backyard.

“Our teams’ expertise means patients receive swift and specialized care during transport, significantly improving chances of recovery and survival.”

The new base will host physicians, flight nurses, pilots and other professionals and offer rapid transport for trauma victims, neonates, pediatric patients and patients experiencing time-sensitive or complex medical conditions.

All flights are operated by Air Methods, according to the university. Location details are being finalized, according to the university, reporting, “The base is expected to be operational in the coming weeks.”

“The opening of a fourth AirCare base is a milestone in our mission to extend lifesaving care to high-risk patients facing time-sensitive and complex medical needs,” Nugent said. “We hope that the Quad Cities region is as excited for access to this patient care service as we are.”

The university’s AirCare operation already collaborates with 100 emergency medical services, fire and law enforcement entities across Iowa and the region, and expanding to the Quad Cities “further supports UI Health Care’s long-term goals of supporting access to health care across the state.”

UIHC last week announced a $280 million acquisition of the 43-year-old Des Moines-based “Mission Cancer + Blood” — expanding its cancer care reach into Central and Western Iowa.

It also is increasing its physical footprint — with plans to open a new orthopedics-centered hospital and emergency room in North Liberty next year and build a new $1 billion inpatient tower on its main Iowa City campus.

UIHC earlier this year bought the former Mercy Iowa City community hospital for $28 million in a bankruptcy auction.

‘A thorough review’

Although the university didn’t provide lawmakers the amount Air Methods pays it per month, officials laid out the pay structure.

“Air Methods pays UI Health Care for the clinical care and medical direction services UI Health Care provides,” officials said. “Air Methods bills the patients for the transport, including the clinical care provided by UI Health Care. UI Health Care does not bill patients for its services.”

Its current Air Methods contract runs through 2030, and the university at that time “anticipates a thorough review of qualifications of potential partners that best positions AirCare to continue to save Iowans’ lives.”

To questions of who pays for fuel, hanger space, flight hours, maintenance and dispatching fees, the university reported that Air Methods does.

To the question of what impact Air Methods’ bankruptcy has had on UIHC’s AirCare program, officials reported, “none.”

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