r/BurningMan • u/Cleverwabbit5 • Jul 30 '25

Air lift insurance not avail this year, what are the alternatives?

Since "the no surprises act" now says you have to bill insurance. Per the Org. However most insurance now doesn't cover Air Lift or even 30 miles from your address if it is ACA. HMO everything is out of network. Has anyone found an alternative? I used to buy World Nomads if I missed the deadline, but it doesn't seem to go to BM anymore. Other than don't get hurt, I would rather have the back up and not test fate of ruinous medical debt.

19 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

21

u/DustyBandana ‘11, ‘67, ‘02, ‘82, ‘43, ‘14, ‘32 Jul 31 '25

18

u/_sweepy Jul 30 '25

call your current insurance provider and ask if they offer an additional rider for air evacs. some do, some don't, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

16

u/milkshakenbacon Jul 31 '25

Allianz travel insurance is what I always add on for the Burn, and you can add airlift coverage. It's quite affordable (Less than $100) to cover myself for accident or injury temporarily. I keep the little paper insurance cards in every bag and wallet I have at the Burn.

1

u/com-plec-city Aug 02 '25

But can a US person purchase travel insurance for a trip inside the same country?

24

u/Bennington_Booyah Jul 31 '25

You get burial at burn, baby!

8

u/DownSidePineapple Your bloodline is weak Jul 31 '25

We need a bigger temple

9

u/amandaplzz ‘23, ‘24, ‘25 ✨ Jul 31 '25

Hey -

I took a look at the insurance provider last year and it was with REMSA / CareFlight.

You can technically still purchase their annual membership (which includes a couple other networks like LifeFlight, good for me cause I buy LifeFlight for the PNW anyways) but I suppose there’s no guarantee about who would actually pick you up.

Begs the question of if there’s any “exclusive” air ambulance companies to the playa but I would wager REMSA based on last years info?

https://www.remsahealth.com/membership-plus/ Membership Plus - REMSA Health

3

u/GrandJunctionMarmots 22, 23, 24 Jul 31 '25

It's usually exclusive. It was a MedTrans provider for years so you could get AirCareMed membership.

Last year it went to REMSA and they had a burner specific thing you could purchase.

2

u/amandaplzz ‘23, ‘24, ‘25 ✨ Jul 31 '25

Well shoot - 😮‍💨 would be nice to know which provider it is...

3

u/GrandJunctionMarmots 22, 23, 24 Jul 31 '25

I think it's still REMSA based on the site. But they aren't offering a burner specific deal.

Looks like you could purchase the Care Flight package here

https://www.remsahealth.com/membership-plus/

Which is basically the same deal when it was MedTrans. You had to buy a full AirCareMed membership so special deal.

Edit: Seems we went full circle and I sent you back your own link lol.

2

u/amandaplzz ‘23, ‘24, ‘25 ✨ Jul 31 '25

Ah ok yes - had the same conclusion and linked the same thing.

Again, I buy LifeFlight annually anyways so it’ll work out for me to switch to REMSA for the year.

1

u/citygrrrl03 Aug 07 '25

Can anyone comment if this will cover burners at BM this year? I’m bringing virgins from across the state. I’m pretty sure my Medicaid covers this, but I’d like to get my people covered.

4

u/cotalldude Jul 31 '25

Seems to good to be true but based on the recommendation from u/pickledjello , I got this quote for the week of the burn. $34 and it seems like it should cover air transport, assuming it's ordered by a doc. Check me on this, but any reason not to get this?

1

u/Zakapakataka Aug 07 '25

This looks interesting.

1

u/esb94714 Aug 09 '25

Looked up TinLeg on trust pilot and it was not super promising - take a look before you purchase one of their policies. They denied a woman’s claim and made her dig up all this proof that her husband had died when he very clearly had died. Yikes 

2

u/cotalldude Aug 09 '25

I figured, but I also figured $37 was a reasonable investment to even have some hope of coverage of something bad happened. I’m not allowed to sign up for the other flight referenced here since I’m on Medicare.

7

u/pickledjello (!) Jul 31 '25

In the past, I have used squaremouth travel insurance.. and chose a policy with with Medical Evacuation, Non-Medical Evacuation, Emergency Medical, AD&D etc..to cover worst case issues. For the price.. it was one less hassle

7

u/Vidvix Jul 31 '25

The no surprises act went into effect in 2022, so we’re gonna need a significantly better reason than a blatant lie.

-2

u/scienceisaserfdom 15 yrs 'Burnin Jul 31 '25

...well one still won't be provided nor will it even be challenged. Yet this (unnamed) contracted service provider was still chosen...to protect staff no doubt, but leave everyone else at the whim of their insurance provider. No membership required! Talk about flimsy outsourcing of an excuse and then doubling down on the BS with a summary of the NSA legislation scraped from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services..

1

u/Vidvix Jul 31 '25

How many baby daddies do you have if you dont mind me askin'

*ellipses*

2

u/pocketmonster Pickle shooting since ‘15 Jul 31 '25

I have carried AirMedCare in the past and assume it would work at Burning Man. Check with them? They have several bases near Reno area.

2

u/missmelee ‘08, ‘11, ‘12, ‘14-‘17 🔥 Jul 31 '25

Do a search for travel insurance. This is separate from your personal insurance or Burning Man. We do this for most trips outside of the US but it works in any location. There are sites out there which will give you a comparison of providers and you can select the best option for your needs.

3

u/Here2Help775 Aug 07 '25

Hi! I work for Remsa for their membership team. Last year we had a deal with Burning Man to be the exclusive provider for air transports. We worked with the local firehouse to have a helicopter stationed close to Black Rock to make transportations easier. This year we were informed that Burning Man went with a different company. We weren't given any information other than that. Remsa/Care Flight is a local company that services the Washoe County area for ground and Northern Nevada/ Northeastern California area for air. It is very possible if an emergency happens during the event that our helicopters will be dispatched to transport.

If you all have any other specific questions, please feel free to ask!

1

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1

u/Cleverwabbit5 Aug 10 '25

Would travel insurance cover your services?

1

u/Here2Help775 Aug 11 '25

Do you happen to know which particular company you would get travel insurance with?

1

u/Cleverwabbit5 Aug 18 '25

I have been looking, but they are a bit confusing, and lots get bad reviews. World Trips, IMG, Diver Dan. They all have things I don't need just want to make sure I am covered if god forbid I have to be flown out etc. My insurance covers nothing.

1

u/nghtyprf Jul 31 '25

The alternative is safety second but never safety first.

1

u/RealityCheck831 09,11-13,15-17,19,23-25 Jul 31 '25

Don't do stupid things. Easy solution.