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

:hello: Hi all,

I thought i would pop this thread here as it could possibly save 'some' members alot of money and unneccessary stress if they rang an ambulance due to being seriously ill, an accident or going into fast labour with bub, etc :pray:

A couple of weeks ago my DP had to call an ambulance for me and i had both female paramedics look after me for some time at home, later one of the paramedics stayed with me whilst the other spoke with my DP in the hallway and amongst converstation she told my DP how Ambulance Cover through *some* Private Health Insurance companies ONLY covers the Lights & Sirens of the ambulance and then the patient is hit with the rest of the massive ambulance bill :o

Sadly she said 10% of patients that call an ambulance DON'T know this and then are hit with the big $$$$ bill :(

DP and i later discussed what a nightmare that would be if you rang an ambulance due to being seriously ill or a terrible accident then you not long later get hit with an unexpected big bill, we thought how shocking and distressing that would be to anyone :shakehead:

So i thought i'd warn anyone that automatically thinks their health insurance covers them 100% for ambulance cover that it might be worthwhle to check it out if you haven't already for peace of mind !!!

(phew, thankfully i was covered 100% :rolleyes:)

I have heard a few horror stories on this topic. Our health insurance does cover but there are some weird exceptions, so i just get an ambulance membership too. I like to cover all bases. :)

My DH & I had this very same discussion a few years ago - we decided that cause we couldn't find the actual information easily, we'd stick with both sets of cover (Ambulance is relatively cheap for what you get too!!!!). And I don't know what you've seen, but the libs are promising half-price ambulance cover if they win in Vic this weekend!


Glad you were OK hun :hug:

( i wouldn't vote for them even if they made ambulance cover free. :p :lol: )

(The advantage of voting before they put out all the "sweeteners" is that you get the raw deal to judge!)

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( i wouldn't vote for them even if they made ambulance cover free. :p :lol: )

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:rofl:

I went in an ambulance earlier this year, and was gobsmacled when we got the bill!! Luckily, DF and I have HCC, so it was covered. For what you get, buying Ambo cover is sooo worth it, we will be next year even with our HCC, it's not worth the risk!

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I have heard a few horror stories on this topic. Our health insurance does cover but there are some weird exceptions, so i just get an ambulance membership too. I like to cover all bases. :)

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me too JungleMum i have Ambulance Membership on top of my ambulance cover with my health insurance as my DP and DD don't have health insurance (only sadly i due to serious health in the past and i had it before i met my DP, still not much of an excuse as i do feel so guilty they don't have it as we can't afford to for them ... my DP jokes i 'need' it most as i'm so much older then them) and the Ambulance Family membership cover amount is enough to cover me too (if that makes sense !) !!

Our Ambulance Membership was overdue to pay and i wasn't covered with it the day we called an ambulance for me, thankfully i had MY health insurance and it truly taught us a massive lesson to never let ourselves not be covered for Ambulance Membership, OMG thankfully it was me ill and not my DD or DP it wouldv'e been a massive ambo bill as we hadn't paid it yet :doh:

I did know that. It's ridiculous!

Are you ok SMiley? :hug:

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I did know that. It's ridiculous!

Are you ok SMiley? :hug:

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yeh all better now Tinks :thumbsup:

DP was awesome with me and he was rewarded when the ambo turned up with the hottest looking blonde paramedic on the planet (we won't mention the other frumpy one) and he was totally gobsmacked ... Even me that was totally sick and nearly passing out with my t.shirt nightie on with the words on the front " World's Greatest Mummy " opened my eyes wide open for a moment and thought " OMGgg She'ssss HOTTTT " :rofl: She looked like a female version of a guy in one of those sexy blue racing car suits ;)

She had long blonde hair in a big ponytail with the bluest eyes and a body to die for ... and to think i was so ill to get an ambo i noticed her !

never called an ambulance in all my years and i have been covered since i was 18yo, so that's a darn long time yeh ;)

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!

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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!

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WOW that's fantastic !! ... OMG to think we nearly moved to Qld recently, looks like might still be on the cards then ;)

I didn't have it until i was PG with DD1, thank god i got it just in time :rofl:
Had it every year since, i keep telling my brother to make sure he has it, he was in a football accident a few yrs back and was FLOWN to melbourne in helimed... LUCKILY he was still on my dads private health, it would have cost THOUSANDS.
I had a friend who ahd a car accident, no ambulance cover.. lets just say she wasn't buying any new shoes or clothes anytime soon.

It's one of those things i've found younger people say 18-20yr olds don't generally get.. and it's so so vital!

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WOW that's fantastic !! ... OMG to think we nearly moved to Qld recently, looks like might still be on the cards then ;)

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For $100 odd bucks a year, I don't know that it's really worth it, considering what it costs us to move. You'd have to live here for 20 years to make it worth your while. Not that I don't want you living here, of course!

I LOVE that it's free in Qld, especially that it's tacked onto your electricity bill. It's liek the Govt says "You know what? If you're hardcore enough to live without electricity, we'll give you free ambulance." :lol: Awesome.

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It's one of those things i've found younger people say 18-20yr olds don't generally get.. and it's so so vital!

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ZF that's a really good point as when i was 18yo i was nearly NOT going to get Ambo membership thinking i'm young as long as i don't have a car accident i will be alright but thankfully my BF at the time who had membership talked me into joining as he pointed out as i had no family to financially help me if i did get footed with a big bill i would then be on my own at 18yo+ to pay it ... so yep paid my ambulance membership at 18yo and can you believe back then it was only $17 for a single !!

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For $100 odd bucks a year, I don't know that it's really worth it, considering what it costs us to move. You'd have to live here for 20 years to make it worth your while. Not that I don't want you living here, of course!

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pmsl Audax that's the funniest :ROFL:... hey i reckon it would be worth my sanity as i can't hack the Ballarat weather here anymore, if i stay any longer i'm gonna need counceling and my health insurance doesn't cover that :lol:

Well I can attest to this...we've twice rang ambulances, once they came out, checked everythign was ok, left again (no transport $500), the other time I had a ride with lights n sirens and the green sucky pain tube, that was $700. Both times it was covered by our health insurance (we only had top extras) BUT in each state the bill was handled differently, ie our health insurance had a different arrangement with the ambulance service in each state. So you need to check how it works in your state.

I have had my own Ambulance cover since I moved out of home and would no longer be on mum and dads cover, DH didnt have it when we met so I took it out for him as a present as to me a silly thing not to have.

SIL took it out a few years ago as she was going to the snow for the weekend and just in case, day after she took out cover she got hit by a car on her bike! Very lucky or would have been costly.

Everyone should have it not $ for what you get!!

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.

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.

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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.

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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) !

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...

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.

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.

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 :doh:

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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!

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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.

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

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!

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

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

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.

Found it :)

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

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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.

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

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.

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 :o

:hug: Hope you are OK Smiles xox

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:hug: Hope you are OK Smiles xox

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Rav thanks for asking, YEP feeling super now :thumbsup: ... 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 ;)

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

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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!

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

I was a little worried there for a minute, thinking it was no longer on our electricity bill! phew!

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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.

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Yep, as PP have said, it is covered. My Dad had a major heart attack whilst travelling in rural SA and travelled in one ambulance and also the flying doctors. We got a huge huge ambulance bill and whilst it took some sorting out, it was eventually paid by Qld Ambulance as he was a Qld resident.

after reading this thread i double checked my health insurance. thankfully i've got full ambulance cover.
i'm with hcf...
http://www.hcf.com.au/Topics/details...ember_id=Guest

Luckily in Qld we are automatically covered. Well, sort of. We pay for it but we don't have to arrange it.

I'll remember that in other states though. How scary! I wonder... if you needed an ambulance in NSW but you were from QLD, would you have to pay?

ETA: Not wondering now, it's been answered :)