Better Business Bureau Rules on Competitor's Complaints

The appeal filed by Air Methods Corporation with the National Advertising Review Board has been partially upheld, resulting in a mixed, but mostly negative bag for the air ambulance service.

The board is the appellate advertising law body of the Better Business Bureau's National Programs, and has ultimately returned a verdict that recommended that Air Methods modify some of its claims in advertising, discontinue others, and modify a limited number. 

The dispute arose from Global Medical Response and its subsidiary Air Evac EMS, who went before the advertising review board in protest of the comportment of Air Methods advertising that they felt cast subtle allegations about their services. Air Methods advertised memberships in their air medical transport plans with taglines like "Living Shouldn't Require a Membership" and "Patient care decisions should never be made on the basis of membership", which seemed to Air Evac to teach customers that non-members would be abandoned to their fates if requiring medical airlift. The panel found those claims merited, noting that medical service is required to be provided when summoned by professionals regardless of membership status. The panel also agreed that "no membership required" could not convey a message about Air Methods' competitors, allowing the phrase to be used only in reference to the company itself going forward. 

Other claims used in Air Methods adverts included implications surrounding the effective date of the No Surprises Act's prohibition on balance billing for privately insured patients. NARB concluded that the company said the act "eliminates" the need for an air medical membership, when it would be more accurate to "advise consumers that the Act makes medical memberships less appealing or cost effective." Other, more minor claims to be discontinued relate to out-of-pocket expenses and quality of outcomes. 

FMI: www.airmethods.com, https://bbbprograms.org/media-center/news/air-methods-appeal