Bonanza Man wrote:

mtv wrote:
Pay them the same as a third class, and they shouldn’t care.


MTV

Check with your insurance company, you may be entitled to one physical a year as part of your coverage. I was so my Basic Med didn't cost me anything.

Scott,

My comment was directed at the gent who can’t find a doc to do basic med.

Your point is one of the beauties of basic med.....get the exam done at no cost.

MTV

My health insurance always covered the exam for my 3rd class medical.

On another forum I told about a friend here in Iowa using the same chiropractor that gave him his DOT truck driver physical. At first the doctor didn't believe me but......

I just checked this out with AOPA medical and there are several states in which chiropractors are considered "licensed physicians", and stand very, very surprised...

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia

That’s good to know about Chiropracters. Thanks for the update. Initially the FAA said no on them.

I think Basic Med will continue to evolve, and improve. The biggest thing we need to do is to educate our docs on this stuff. Liability is really not a big deal.

MTV

I do about 250 exams a year, about 3/4 of them are Class 2 and 3, the rest Basic Med.

Never had a problem and never give it a thought.

I do the right thing and rely on God not my insurance company.

Never had a problem, don't suspect I ever will.

Every year I debate stopping FAA exams. The Feds are a PIA from my point of view also. I just do them for the community. As it is I have pilots driving over 100 miles to see me; not many goos AME's in my area.

Mountain Doctor wrote:I do about 250 exams a year, about 3/4 of them are Class 2 and 3, the rest Basic Med.

Never had a problem and never give it a thought.

I do the right thing and rely on God not my insurance company.

Never had a problem, don't suspect I ever will.

Every year I debate stopping FAA exams. The Feds are a PIA from my point of view also. I just do them for the community. As it is I have pilots driving over 100 miles to see me; not many goos AME's in my area.

And thank God we have folks like you in aviation!

MTV

One thing I recommend to all my pilot friends is that if you currently hold an FAA medical they can also hold a Basic and should get one as well just in case.

That's a great idea. I assumed it one or the other. Mines coming up, I'll do that.

I’m not grasping the advantage of having both...if you get denied a medical certificate for some reason, I’d think you’d be hard pressed to skate by with Basic Med?

Would love to understand more, but I’m missing something!

Yes, IF you’re denied, you’re screwed. The point of holding both, however is that if you develop a condition which requires a special issuance under Third class, but NOT under Basic Med, you simply allow your third class medical to expire, and continue to operate under Basic Med, without having to complete a potentially expensive SI.

Example: In my case, I was diagnosed with Melanoma. The lesion was deep enough that the FAA required a SI each year for five years. The testing for that SI would have cost thousands of $$ each year. I allowed my medical to expire, sold my airplane and bought a LSA compliant airplane. This was before Basic Med.

Had Basic Med been in effect at that time, I could have continued to fly my 170 under Basic Med for those five years, then renewed my third class medical.

There are only a very few SI that are required under Basic Med......heart, stroke, etc.

But there are lots of conditions that require SI, but are waived under Basic Med.

MTV

Great points by MTV. My medical is expiring next month and I will definitely get both certificates. I am curious what happens if you search the airman database - Does it show both medical certificates?


https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/

Thanks MTV. That makes sense now. [emoji1360]

My friend that got his Basic Med here put this ad at our airport. Maybe if you're passing through Iowa sometime.....

I was under the impression that to issue a Basic med it had to be a Dr. or a Do. A chiropractor was not authorized to issue them.

Dup