Insurers Withhold Payments on Surprise Billing Awards
Wisconsin air-ambulance and out-of-network providers face delayed collections as Anthem halts $2.1 million in owed payments.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Healthcare
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Anthem has stopped paying Flight for Life for emergency helicopter flights, leaving $2.1 million unpaid, as health insurers withhold payments on arbitration awards under the federal surprise medical billing law. The dispute affects air-ambulance providers that transport patients into southeastern Wisconsin hospitals.
Why it matters
The surprise billing law, in effect since 2022, sends disputed out-of-network charges to arbitrators, and some doctors have won awards far above typical insurer rates. Health plans are now withholding money in response, which puts providers' receivables at risk while arbitration is pending.
Anthem owes Flight for Life $2.1 million for helicopter flights, with each emergency flight billed between $9,382 and $62,373. The payments stopped in late 2025 after Anthem had historically paid these bills.
The players
Anthem
Anthem is a large national health insurer whose business model centers on managing commercial and Medicaid health plans, and it is a central payer in Wisconsin's insurance market.
Flight for Life
Flight for Life is an air-ambulance provider that transports patients by helicopter to hospitals, operating in southeastern Wisconsin.
The details
Under the federal surprise medical billing law, when an out-of-network provider and an insurer cannot agree on payment, an arbitrator decides the appropriate reimbursement. Anthem has stopped paying Flight for Life while those disputes remain pending, leaving the provider to carry the unpaid balances. The law has produced millions of such disputes, and some doctors have won settlements that far exceeded usual insurer rates.
Timeline
The federal surprise medical billing law took effect in 2022.
Anthem stopped paying Flight for Life in late 2025.
Flight for Life airlifted patients to Wisconsin hospitals over the past two years.
Market Landscape
The surprise billing law's arbitration process was designed to resolve out-of-network payment disputes, but the outcomes now include awards that exceed typical insurer rates. Insurers' decision to withhold payments on these awards is shifting the leverage between providers and health plans in the state's market.
Healthcare providers that bill out-of-network should track unpaid arbitration awards and factor possible delayed collections into cash-flow planning. Operators in the affected supply chain should consult qualified counsel or an accountant about how pending disputes affect receivables.
The takeaway
Air-ambulance and out-of-network providers should watch for insurers withholding arbitration payments and review receivables tied to pending disputes. Consult qualified counsel or an accountant before deciding how to respond to unpaid awards.
Further reading
For more on how these payment fights reach the wider industry, see Healthcare coverage across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The New York Times.
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