5th Circuit Says Federal Law Preempts State Price Caps on Air Ambulance Services

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Airline Deregulation Act preempts state price caps on air ambulance reimbursements and are not saved by the McCarran-Ferguson Act. Case: Air Evac EMS Inc. v. Sullivan, No. 18-50722, 08/04/2021, published. Facts and procedural history: The Texas Workers’ Compensation Act regulates the prices that private insurers must pay health care providers for treating workers injured on the job. The act also prohibits providers from engaging in balance billing — attempting to collect any remaining balance from the employer or empl...