Our private health insurance is costing us a bomb and we're thinking about cancelling it. However, from what we can see online and info from the SA Ambulance Service there's no way to get national ambulance cover unless its part of a private health insurance package. A search on the forum archives returns pretty old discussions and we were wondering how others cover themselves for using ambulance services?
In WA we can join St John Ambo Service for around $80 a couple if under 65. As Betty said, over 65 coverage is free, coverage is national. Call your local ambulance depot & ask them.
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Neil & Lynne
Pinjarra
Western Australia
MY23.5 Ford Wildtrak V6 Dual Cab / 21' Silverline 21-65.3
Hi Dave
Think very hard before cancelling your health insurance, especially once you are retired, you may never need to use it but not having it removes the option getting treatment in a private hospital unless you can cover all the charges from your own pocket.
Since we retired we have used our private cover at least 6 times for treatment in a private hospital one stay would have cost in excess of $75000 none of this treatment has been for emergencies, but would have entailed long waits to receive entry to the public system, in my case it may have meant my no longer being alive as my cancer was only discovered during surgery, which if I had to have waited for public hospital treatment may have meant that the cancer might have advanced too far.
Also in my Sue's case she was able to be treated by a top surgeon who doesn't operate in the public hospital system.
OK you may never need to use your private health cover but if you do it may make a great difference to the outcome.
Some of our friends that have no private cover have had to wait long periods for treatment in the public system, while being in extreme pain while waiting.
Cheers
David
Ambulance cover is not expensive and is a must when travelling. eg - in Tasmania it cost us quite a sum when the free service was revealed only as them treating you at the site. Transport to Hospital was not free and my was wife was transported from Poatina to Launceston Hospital. In Qld my wife was transferred by the RFDS from Weipa to Cairns - free - by ambulance from Cairns Airport to Cairns Hospital was near $900. We had insurance so it was covered. Like any insurance policy it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it as the costs of ambulance transport are very pricey.
we were forced into early retirement by the company I worked for going bung and we're too young to get an age pension and healthcare card. We couldn't afford to continue paying $200 a fortnight for our health insurance so we now just have ambulance cover through Medibank which costs us about $70 pa
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Cheers Bruce
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