Just a few years ago the price for my ambulance cover was just over $70 and it is now nearing the $90 mark which is a ridiculous increase in price and is making me question whether I should even keep paying for it. The problem isn't even the money itself but how much they keep increasing it every year.
How much do you pay and at what point would you consider it not worth the cost?
What state are you in? In QLD it automatically covered (I think it's paid by house owners rates)
WA
I can't directly answer your question as my Ambulance Cover is included in my Private Health Insurance, but I can tell you that last year I needed the ambulance 3 times (first time in almost 60 years I needed one at all then 3 times in 10 months!) and the cost for each trip would have been about $2500.
(first time in almost 60 years I needed one at all then 3 times in 10 months!) and the cost for each trip would have been about $2500.
I haven't done the NPV calculations, but I feel like you're probably about even, if you've been paying for ambulance cover for 60 years.
Of course, private health insurance hasn't been around that long and ambulances were probably "free" for some part of the 60 years, so maybe my argument doesn't hold very well.
I was covered under my parents policy until I finished my education, so I guess I was paying for about 35 years. Still, I think Ambulance Cover is good value.
$2500 is ridiculous unless you’re talking about air ambulance which then will be absurd!
Costs a heck of a lot more to need an ambulance without cover! (Or without PH that covers it fully)
Doesn't it cost $500
I think what's ridiculous is that they have a waiting period.. which by itself is fine.. but they expect you to pay for the waiting period. So they're making you pay for… nothing.
If a company wants you to wait, fine, but don't charge people a fee while they're waiting.
How long is the waiting period? In Vic you’re covered from 5pm the next day.
There's actually a 14 day waiting period in Vic for pre-existing conditions. I almost learnt the hard way (but thankfully, they waived the bill).
Oh wow! I don’t have any so didn’t think to check. glad they waived it for you.
are you a single, couple or family, OP?
In Vic it’s Family/Couple for $96.70 and Single for $48.35.
single, how tf do i pay nearly as much as a couple/family >:(
If you are older, then it is worth paying for the insurance, but young ones might as well YOLO it if you have a hospital nearby where you live and work.
*Caveat, if you decide to visit rural australia; you'll be dinged ~$4 per kilometer…
$4 per kilometer… Thats just taxi rates
You don't need ambulance cover until you do..
I don’t know about WA where it says you are but in Vic it is easy to get a big bill for an ambulance. WA looks the same but how the cover actually works is very confusing. It appears to be that you buy it through your health insurance and you can add on country cover through St Johns
Regardless IMO $90 ain’t a lot if you need to get urgent medical care. At the end of the day, it isn’t really about making money, prices go up each year. That is normal.
SA it’s $208 for family cover for all of Australia.
Whatever the cost, it's cheaper than the cost of an air-ambulance ride I needed when I broke my leg….
If u have private health insurance it’s usually included in it.
When I didn’t have private health years ago it was about $90 p.a. for a single person. I consider that cheap! You never know when you’ll need it.
a lot of junk policies don't include it.
Or don’t include parts of it.
My policy includes it for emergencies, but I’m not covered for non-emergency transfers between hospitals and some other things. I pay the $50 for a single p/a for that for peace of mind.
**** i didn't realize mine didn't include non-emergency!
Thanks need to purchase full cover now.
just can't believe this ducking country.
pay for Medicare
pay for private hospital cover
pay for dental cover and optical (which I think should be distinct from other extras)
pay for ambulance cover
pay for extras
then you still have to pay for a ishload of medical scans, tests and treatments that are not covered by any of it.
I know I'm off topic, but the paying for an ambulance gets me fired up. it's not like anyone would think paying for police assistance would be justified
To be fair, private hospital cover is 100% optional.
well everything other than Medicare is """"optional""""
Except PHI isn't really optional if a) you have to pay MLS otherwise and/or b) you have health conditions that make PHI the intelligent choice because the public health system is entirely inadequate. My old fart parents get amazing free care via the public health system. I, on the other hand, have had an unfortunate reliance on private hospital multiple times because our public health care system is hugely flawed (at times with and without PHI)
you should go to United State of America if you think it is bad here.
yes, because that's always the answer to "our health system is inherently flawed and while one may receive exceptional free care, another can be failed by the system".
I'm in SA, Bupa is currently $87/yr for my whole family.
I had ambulance cover a while back when it was around $50/yr and had some health issues. That was when I first started working full time and was no longer covered by the centrelink health care card. I converted to extras the following year because it had more value for money.
I'm with HIF/saver option and it's approx $310/yr. It's great value. They cover all emergency ambulance costs with a $50 co-payment for non-emergency ambulance. I go for general dental twice a year (with a no gaps dentist), pay a bit out of pocket for new glasses/contacts, get a free flu jab (introduced this year) and had some medication costs covered. I think it also partly covers a gym membership.