County to vote on Trauma Star waiver
but program stickers already in the mail
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
By the time these words come unstuck from these pages the Board of County Commissioners will have voted to decide whether or not to add property tax-paying, seasonal residents to a program designed to potentially save participants tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses.
The proposal would allow the aforementioned residents to catch a free, life-saving lift to mainland hospitals aboard the county-owned and operated Trauma Star helicopter, rather than the privately run, for-profit Life Net chopper, which can cost upwards of $50,000 for the one-way journey.
Already many Keys residents have begun receiving stickers in the mail that will allow them passage aboard the Trauma Star, and indicate this default inclination, should they become too incapacitated to verbalize their wishes.
“The enclosed stickers may be placed in a conspicuous place on a Driver’s License/ID or medical insurance card that hospital personnel would likely request, or find in your wallet, in the event you have an emergency and are unable to express your helicopter preference,” reads the accompanying letter.
The correspondence contains three small, oval-shaped stickers, emblazoned with a detail of the helicopter, and the words “Trauma Star First Option.” The envelopes the stickers arrive in will be clearly marked “Trauma Star.”
To qualify for the service, would-be passengers must have lived in the Keys for at least six month, according to District 4 Commissioner David Rice, who has been the driving force behind the proposal. And yes, that does mean that property-owning residents who pay the special Trauma Star tax, but don’t clock in at least a half-year residency in the county, won’t qualify.
Rice also said that in cases requiring transport to a mainland hospital, employees at Lower Keys Medical Center are instructed to call for the Life Net service first, making the stickers worth their weight in gold. Many full-time residents are unaware that they qualify for free Trauma Star service, he added.
The vote to extend the service to six-month, seasonal residents was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Hwy., in Marathon.

 

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