Ambulance Cover via Health Insurance ... OMG did you know this ?

[black_rose]

I fully covered with my phi, just as well as I was skiing and dislocated my knee, it was a two hour ambulance trip and also a regional area so the bill was huge! Can't remember how much but it was thousands.

[smiles4u]

When we took out health insurance we were told by the company that ambulance may not be covered in certain situations (cant remember what the exact wording was) so DH and I kept our ambulance cover. I have had ambulance cover since I was 17 and talked DH into getting it when we first started datinng.

that's a good point, never knew that ... yep reckon i will stick with my Ambulance membership too (like most PHI members the ambo usage it's not my main concern but all the other stuff PHI offers which i've put to some good use with a few surgeries, etc) !

[Beatrix]

i have general extras private health (no hospital) but on top of that I also have ambo cover..

SA ambulance cover through st johns or who ever it is is $130 per year for a fmaily..

ambo cover is a eatra $60 a yr through PHI...

[Bathsheba]

Yep, I learnt the hard way when I was about 22. Dislocated my knee. House-mates called an ambo. The hospital was only about 2 blocks away but it was over $400... and that was back in 1992. Actually, come to think of it because I had a Health Care Card I don't think I ended up having to pay... but I strongly remember the shock of getting the bill in the mail.

Smiles: I have a friend who is an ambo worker and looks like how you describe but I'm pretty sure she works in rural NSW now. Her first name begins with L. She makes Barbie look frumpy.

[fionas]

I remember been completely gobsmacked when I came here from the UK that you have to have ambo cover. All free in the UK as are visits to the doctor. No mucking around with bulk billing, gaps, safety nets blah blah blah. I still find it hard to get my head around it all sometimes. I'm not saying it's better, just simpler for an anti-faff person like me.

[TeniBear]

Eight hundred something early last year for me - it would have been a five minute drive but I was stubborn and said I couldn't sit in the car (for $800 I would've done a fricken handstand!)

Worst bit was, if I hadn't been honest and said I wasn't living with my parents, I would have been covered by my mum's family membership - and it was the first time I "officially" gave my address as the place I was in with Scott

[Floweryfields]

All Queenslanders have ambulance cover, the government added it onto the electricity bills a number of years ago. I always had it before they attached it to the electricity bill though. Definitely worth it!

Yes it's good, but, beinga single, I have to cop the same amount on my electric bill as a family does - before when I paid for my own cover, it was cheaper being a single. Also if you have a house of 8 peeople unrelated living together, they are all covered for the same amount as little ole me - pretty unfair.

[Lulliloo]

thats what i love about qld.
but are we then covered if we are in an accident down south??

[Enchanted]

We have always had Ambo cover. For such a minimal amount you are crazy not to have it!

On the PHI thing I was chatting to a gf the other day who has a very short cervix so needs to take it easy throughout pregnancy. So when she was talking with her OB he told her to check her PHI and exactly what it covers in relation to Ambos. She found out that her PHI didn't cover transfers between hospitals. So if she was taken to the closest hospital to birth and then bub had to be moved to a better equipped hossy they would have copped a bill as it only covers the one trip! So they have just signed up for Ambo Cover too now!

[Visitor7]

thats what i love about qld.
but are we then covered if we are in an accident down south??

Do you mean if you're visiting in another state? I don't think you are. It's state by state by my knowledge.

[Lulliloo]

jodi.... so if im holidaying in vic and fall ill enough to need transport of hosp they won't cover me???
that doesn't sound right.. we are still paying for the service so you would think that it would be inclusive of all states.

[Visitor7]

Found it

Are Queenslanders travelling around Australia on holidays for an extended length of time still covered?

Show Answer:



Hide Answer:

If it is the person’s intention to return to Queensland within two years, and they have not established a permanent residence elsewhere, then they will still be considered a resident of Queensland.
If a person is away from Queensland for more than two years and is living in a permanent residential arrangement (including in a travelling caravan), they will not be considered as a resident of Queensland. This is the case regardless of whether they are enrolled in a Queensland electorate or whether it is their intention to eventually return.
If a person no longer has a principal place of residence in Queensland or takes up residence in another State or Territory then they cease to be a Queensland resident and will not be covered.

[berrme]

As Jodi posted, you are covered all over Australia as long as you are still a permanent resident of QLD. Holidays are definitely covered.

[Amity]

It's all state-based. I'm in Victoria. I have PHI which covers ambulance (and I should know, I've used it about six times in the last four years!!!) But I also have ambulance cover, independently of my PHI. It's about $120 a year for families. (I think it's $80 or so for singles).

I see it as a "donation" to a well-deserving cause. Ambos are underpaid, overworked and underappreciated (IMHO) especially by the government. I have always really appreciated the ambos (particularly the good looking ones) who have helped me and my sons.

[~Raven~]

Yes I was aware of this. It's classed as non emergency transport via an ambulance or something.

When I was touring the hospital, the midwife pointed to a door and said ambulance arrivals come in through there and make sure you have ambulance cover because the PHI only covers it if you give birth in the ambulance! Even if you birth 5 mins after your arrival it isn't classed as an emergency

Hope you are OK Smiles xox

[smiles4u]

Hope you are OK Smiles xox

Rav thanks for asking, YEP feeling super now ... Ads should become a nurse after that day and needless to say i don't think i have to buy him a Xmas present this year after the HOT looking paramdeic arriving and he getting a good perv LOL at my expense, reckon all his Xmas's came at once that day regardless of how cr@p i looked

[widdly]

thanks for the heads up Lorelle, I was considering getting health cover instead of ambulance cover, now I will make sure I have ambulance cover as well

[Cupcake]

All Queenslanders have ambulance cover, the government added it onto the electricity bills a number of years ago. I always had it before they attached it to the electricity bill though. Definitely worth it!

Im glad you said that ... i was a bit confused for a second with all this ambulance cover talk! Lol.