In a novel experiment, the Pentagon is going to pay civilian ambulances for lifesaving blood

The US military is trying something new, reimbursing civilian ambulances for blood provided to those needing life-saving intervention prior to reaching the hospital. FDNY The Pentagon will reimburse civilian ambulances for blood before patients reach a hospital. Military trauma surgeons say earlier blood transfusions save lives but remain rare in civilian EMS. Experts hope the pilot persuades Medicare and private insurers to adopt similar payment models. American ambulances arrive at car crashes and shootings carrying oxygen, medications, defibrillators, and other tools to open an airway or relieve pressure around a collapsed lung. But the vast majority lack one of the most precious resources for a hemorrhaging trauma patient — blood. In an unusual experiment born from the lessons of two decades of war in the Middle East, the Pentagon's health insurance program will test whether paying ambulance providers separately for blood transfusions can help change that.