As the cost of ambulance services in Australia isn’t covered by Medicare1, you may have to pay a fee2 if you need to be transported or treated by ambulance, and you don’t have private health insurance.
Although this fee depends on which State you live in (with some State governments covering the amount2), it can be costly - in fact, health insurer nib found the average emergency ambulance claim amount for their customers in 2016/17 was a hefty $8743.
Having ambulance cover included as part of your private health insurance means you can avoid the fees involved, if you find yourself needing emergency ambulance services.
nib is one of Australia’s fastest-growing health insurers4, providing a range of private health insurance solutions to over 1 million Australian and New Zealand residents4.
In addition, nib provides private health insurance to more than 160,000 overseas students and workers in Australia4, as well as cover for expats working and travelling internationally.
nib provides emergency ambulance cover as standard* across all its Hospital cover options, as well as all its Extras cover options.
This means if you choose nib Hospital cover (whether as a single, couple, family, single parent family, or overseas student/visitor/worker), you’ll have emergency ambulance cover within Australia included in your policy. This applies to all four of nib’s Hospital cover options5:
Similarly, if you opt for any one of nib’s Extras options (with or without Hospital cover), ambulance cover will be included as part of your policy. This applies to all four of nib’s Extras cover options:
*Residents of Queensland and Tasmania are not covered, as ambulance services in these States are provided by the State Ambulance Scheme.
When you take out Hospital or Extras cover with nib, emergency ambulance cover will be included in your policy, regardless of which level of cover you choose.
This means if you need immediate medical attention and can’t be transported in another way due to your condition, you’ll be covered for6:
The following are not covered by nib ambulance cover6:
In addition, you may not be covered for:
The waiting period for nib ambulance cover is 1 day, so you can use your cover almost immediately8.
Unless you live in Queensland or Tasmania (where the cost of ambulance services is covered by the State government), or are exempt from paying ambulance fees in your State, you could benefit from taking out ambulance cover - as this means you won’t have to pay the cost of emergency ambulance services.
For example, residents of Victoria may have to pay over $1,234 for emergency road transport and even more for air transport9 - so nib ambulance cover in Victoria could prove to be a valuable investment.
If you’d like to find out more about purchasing private health insurance - including ambulance cover - with nib, call the iSelect team now on 13 19 20. We can help you compare policies, and choose the cover that’s best for your needs.
Sources:
1. https://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/whatiscovered/medicare.htm
2. https://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/whatiscovered/ambulance.htm
3. https://www.nib.com.au/the-checkup/health-cover/how-much-does-it-cost-for-an-emergency-ambulance-ride
4. https://www.nib.com.au/about-us
5. https://www.nib.com.au/health-insurance/quote/welcome
6. https://www.nib.com.au/docs/policy-booklet
7. https://www.nib.com.au/health-information/going-to-hospital/excess
8. https://www.nib.com.au/health-information/member-services/waiting-periods
9. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/hospitals-and-health-services/patient-care/ambulance-and-nept/ambulance-fees/
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