Helicopter evacuation from White Canyon, or: How I got 37 pieces of flair

[TheMountainRabbit]

Curious whether you have the SAR insurance through Garmin? My mom had a stroke while doing trail maintenance, and ended having to pay $30K out of pocket for air transport after insurance. It's why I carry backcounty evac insurance.

My buddy that got airlifted out to the Bridger-Teton in WY this year didn't get billed at all for the ride - but I think he lucked out and got a government helicopter, rather than a private company. (His hospital stay was another story - but that at least was on regular health insurance.)

I carry evacuation insurance as well, since it seems like a crap-shoot and I don't want to risk it.

 

[Gretchen Millward]

Curious whether you have the SAR insurance through Garmin?

I don’t, and I’ve never looked into it. It’s certainly plausible that will be a lesson learned. I will try to remember to do a financial update once things have settled.

 

[regehr]

Super appreciate frank discussion of the $$$ issues here. None of us wants to die out there, but none of us wants our family bankrupted either. It's just mind-boggling, the amount of fake money (and also real money) flying around our insane health care system.

 

[TrailScot]

Yes, I’m still struggling to understand my decision-making process leading to the fall, and until I have some solid insight, I think the account is not yet complete.

I do feel that it was almost 100% my mistake, i.e., the rock did nothing surprising, I just shouldn’t have been there. Apparently I told someone at work a while ago that I try to stay 3 errors away from catastrophe, but I’d forgotten that, and I definitely wasn’t doing it here. That said, I think it was a lapse in judgement, not a lapse in values.

I think the SAR people were all volunteers. I do plan to reach out. I want to somehow acknowledge each individual who helped with the rescue and treatment (there are so many) and I keep procrastinating that spreadsheet....

I don't think you should be too hard on yourself here; I doubt you did anything 'wrong' at all ... you were off-trail, exploring a new route, and having an adventure ... then you had a moment of real bad-luck, when the rock collapsed. I doubt if there is a single person on the forum who has read your story and not thought 'there but for the grace of God, go I'. All of us have had a stumble or a tumble, at some point, and mostly, and very luckily, just dusted ourselves off, and moved on (hoping that no-one saw the fall ). Your account hasn't put me off seeking out remote areas to explore, but it has definitely made me make sure that I am better prepared in future, should an emergency situation arise.

Having recently had a small tumble descending a slippery slope, it does make you realise just how much more vulnerable you are when carrying a full pack. On a day-hike, you have a split second to adjust and recover, but with a heavy pack, the instantaneous shift in momentum makes it very difficult to stop the fall.

Regarding the SAR volunteers, and reaching out ... I wonder if your rescue featured in any local press. Would it be worth contacting the Moab newspapers for example, with your story ? That might give you the chance to mention all the folks who helped you.

 

[Rockskipper]

San Juan Record

 

[fossana]

I just went to look at Moab's newspapers for a potential place to post a SAR thank you, and saw a link to this guy's Reddit post about being rescued by SAR after having been trapped in quicksand on the Hayduke.

 

[SteveR]

This is a really interesting question w.r.t. the bananapants American health care system. I’m fortunate enough to have good health care coverage, and we’ve already met our out-of-pocket maximum for the year, so we haven’t paid a cent for health care, with one exception. The topline number so far is something like $300,000 USD ($5 million CAD), though how much money is actually changing hands is utterly baffling to me.

The exception is ambulance transport from Grand Junction to Santa Fe. This was around $4k. We spent a week or more trying to coordinate two hospitals, the transport company, and health insurance and get me moved, and finally said f— it, paid out of pocket, and put in an insurance claim that may or may not get covered.

As for the rescue, nobody has sent us a bill. The helicopter was another $73k and covered by our health insurance, I think (the charge’s status does not seem to have stabilized).

My work benefits also include disability insurance, so we haven’t missed any paychecks, though dealing with this (other) insurance company is a big hassle.

No idea what the implications for Canucks are, other than insurance companies really really don’t want to actually give you any money, i.e. collecting benefits is likely to be significant effort and I would read the contract really carefully.


Well ... In my almost 5 decades on this planet, this is the first time I’ve ever been summoned. I feel like it’s my turn, and I’m normally pretty civic minded, even more so after this experience, so just I filled out the paperwork. Also, it’s local and doesn’t start until January so it should be fine.

So pretty much the same as if it had happened in Alberta. The rescue part would have been covered completely by govt. funding of the search and rescue teams, even for someone who wasn't a Canadian resident. Where it can get a bit fuzzy is the patient transport once at roadside or a staging area, after the actual rescue work is done. For instance, SAR heli'ed a friend out of the backcountry after a skiing accident- no charge- but she was then transferred to a ground ambulance for an hour long ride to the nearest hospital, for which she was billed. I can't remember the amount, or whether that was eventually paid by Alberta Health Care (it happened in BC). As for the health care side of things- we have "universal" govt. funded health care here, which does a great job of urgent care, generally. Where our system can often be lacking is in ongoing care such as orthopediic surgery down the line, as the aforementioned friend had to wait in line two years for some remedial, "non urgent" surgery on the leg that was broken. As you say- you are fortunate to have good health care coverage. That $73,000 helicopter bill has me baffled. In the winter I work part-time managing a fly-in backcountry ski lodge, where the Bell 212's that we use for transport in and out go for about $5,000 per hour of flying time. Standby when not in the air is about $1,000, and that is in Canadian pesos. Sure, the EMT's are on the clock as well, but still...
Obviously I'm going to be scrutinizing the fine print of our supplemental insurance the next time we head south!

 

[jholmes01]

So pretty much the same as if it had happened in Alberta. The rescue part would have been covered completely by govt. funding of the search and rescue teams, even for someone who wasn't a Canadian resident. Where it can get a bit fuzzy is the patient transport once at roadside or a staging area, after the actual rescue work is done. For instance, SAR heli'ed a friend out of the backcountry after a skiing accident- no charge- but she was then transferred to a ground ambulance for an hour long ride to the nearest hospital, for which she was billed. I can't remember the amount, or whether that was eventually paid by Alberta Health Care (it happened in BC). As for the health care side of things- we have "universal" govt. funded health care here, which does a great job of urgent care, generally. Where our system can often be lacking is in ongoing care such as orthopediic surgery down the line, as the aforementioned friend had to wait in line two years for some remedial, "non urgent" surgery on the leg that was broken. As you say- you are fortunate to have good health care coverage. That $73,000 helicopter bill has me baffled. In the winter I work part-time managing a fly-in backcountry ski lodge, where the Bell 212's that we use for transport in and out go for about $5,000 per hour of flying time. Standby when not in the air is about $1,000, and that is in Canadian pesos. Sure, the EMT's are on the clock as well, but still...
Obviously I'm going to be scrutinizing the fine print of our supplemental insurance the next time we head south!

Regarding rescue costs (at least in Arizona), SAR teams and the local county sheriff's department that has responsibility for the rescue, do not charge. Similarly, government air assets used for the rescue (County-operated, State Department of Public Safety, CBP, and/or Air Force helicopters) do not charge. Private (i.e., air ambulance) helicopters are very rarely used during the actual rescue.

As @SteveR mentions in Canada, medical transport after the rescue will incur charges. This would include ground and/or air ambulances. In addition, if local fire departments are involved in the actual rescue, they would typically bill for their time and resources.

Jim
(long-time SAR volunteer in Southern Arizona)

 

[zionsky]

When I had my accident back in 2021, the rescue was handled by the local Zion SAR team and the helicopter evacuation was handled by the National Park Service out of Grand Canyon. I was not charged for either. I was billed about $1200 for the hour long ambulance ride to St George medical center but my insurance paid all but about $200. My subsequent hospital stay was about $35,000 but my insurance paid all but about $1000. I probably paid more out-of-pocket for PT visits over the next 6-7 months than I actually paid for the accident itself.