Most private health insurance policies only cover you for the cost of emergency attendance and/or transport by SA Ambulance Service. But what about non-emergency transport by ambulance?
Many illnesses or injuries require additional patient transportation which are classified as ‘non-emergency’. For example, for tests, ongoing treatment or transfer to another hospital.
In fact, around a third of all ambulance transportation performed by SA Ambulance Service is classified as non-emergency.
Non-emergency transport fees start at $180. With Ambulance Covers Extras, for as little as $16.90 per year you’ll be fully covered.
Joining Ambulance Cover Extras is easy
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General enquiries. Email AmbulanceCover@health.sa.gov.au or call our Customer Service Centre on 1300 13 62 72.
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Mail. Download the application form and mail this to us with your credit card details, money order or cheque. Applications must be sent to:
Ambulance Cover
GPO Box 3
Adelaide
South Australia 5001
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Pay in person. Download the application form and use POST billpay at your nearest Post Office, pay at any pharmacy where you see the Ambulance Cover sign or come into our Head Office at 216 Greenhill Road, Eastwood.
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Pay online. Online payment will soon be available.
Ambulance Cover Extras Terms and Conditions
SA Ambulance have recently reviewed the Ambulance Cover Extras Terms and Conditions. These changes are effective as at 1 January 2011 for all subscribers renewing their membership after this date. If you have renewed your subscription since 1 January 2011, or have become a new member since 1 January 2011, the updated Terms and Conditions 2011 apply to your membership. If you are an existing member whose membership renewal date has not yet passed the 1 January 2011, the previous Terms and Conditions will still apply until you renew your subscription.
From time to time there may be minor modifications to the rules that do not justify sending all members a new copy of the Ambulance Cover Extras Terms and Conditions. A current set of rules, including all modifications, is available for inspection by any member during normal business hours at SA Ambulance Service Head Office, or by following the links provided above. Alternatively, a copy will be sent to any member free of charge upon request.
Current Ambulance Extras Cover Terms and Conditions (as at January 2011).
FAQ
Single cover entitles benefits to the person whose name appears on the Ambulance Cover Membership Card.
Note: Ambulance Cover is intended for permanent residents within South Australia. Non-South Australian residents may join Ambulance Cover at the discretion of SA Ambulance Service.
Family cover entitles benefits to the person whose name appears on the Ambulance Cover Membership Card, their spouse or co-habiting partner, their children or legal dependants under the age of 18 for the purpose of the Income Tax Assessment Act, and their children or legal dependants between the ages of 18 and 25 who are full-time students.
Non-student dependants turning 18 or student dependants turning 25 during the membership year are still covered for the term of the membership. To continue cover, new Single membership must be taken out at the end of the membership year.
For accidents or emergency cases, Ambulance Cover commences the day after joining. For non-emergency cases, Ambulance Cover commences two months after joining. This will be waived if you are transferring from an interstate ambulance cover scheme or upgrading your membership from Single to Family.
The following definitions apply to all Ambulance Cover products unless specified otherwise:
Ambulance transport/service is defined as any service (either interstate or domestic) provided by SAAS or a person whom it directs, or agrees to allow, to provide the service, or any transport by a recognised Interstate Ambulance Service. Ambulance transport will be by Road Ambulance or, where impractical, patients may be transported by Air Ambulance if approved by SAAS.
Recognised interstate ambulance services: Queensland Ambulance Service, St John Ambulance NT, St John Ambulance Western Australia, Ambulance Victoria, Ambulance Service of NSW, ACT Ambulance Service, Tasmanian Ambulance Service, Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Non-emergency ambulance transport (or elective ambulance transport) is where:
a pre-arranged booking for an ambulance transfer between a hospital, nursing home, residence, or other place providing medical treatment is authorised by the treating medical practitioner, and the authorisation is based on medical need.
The subscriber will not have to pay for the cost of non-emergency ambulance transport if:
the service is provided by SA Ambulance Service (SAAS), or
the ambulance transport originates in another State or Territory and is provided by a recognised Interstate ambulance service; or
for a transport service originating in South Australia, if:
SAAS directs or requests another person to provide non-emergency ambulance transport, or
after a request by the subscriber, SAAS, at its sole discretion, agrees in writing prior to the transport date that another person may provide the service, and that person is recognised under Part 6 of the Health Care Act 2008 (SA).
Medical need
Where a medical practitioner is authorising non-emergency ambulance transport, “medical need” means that the primary reason for the transport is medical, and that the subscriber is being transported to, or from, a facility where they are to receive, or have received, medical treatment and transport by ambulance is the only medically suitable form of transport.
Ambulance Cover Extras can be purchased by contacting the SAAS Customer Service Centre on 1300 13 62 72, visiting National Pharmacy or Australia Post bill pay outlets or other recognised payment outlets including online if available.
ACE Family Cover entitles benefits to the primary member named on the ACE Membership Card and, subject to the conditions set out below, to their spouse or co-habiting partner, their children or legal dependants under the age of 18, and any children or legal dependants they may have between the ages of 18 and 25 who are full-time students and residing at home.
ACE Family Cover is provided on the following basis:
- A non-student dependant who turns 18, or a student dependant who turns 25, during a membership year is still covered for the remainder of that membership year. To continue cover, a new single membership must be taken out at the end of the relevant membership year.
- In relation to student dependants, a current student ID card must be provided at the time of applying for membership or post transport for confirmation of student status.
- It is the responsibility of the primary member to ensure up-to-date membership details are maintained for all members who are included in their Family Cover Policy.
- If a person other than the primary member wishes to change the membership details of a member of a Family Cover Policy (other than themselves), they must provide written proof that they are the legal guardian or otherwise have authority to change the membership details of that person.
- The primary member may notify SA Ambulance Service of the death of a member included in their Family Cover Policy by contacting the Customer Service Centre by email, fax or in writing. A person other than the primary member may only notify SA Ambulance Service of the death of a member in writing.
- All members must reside with the primary member to be covered under a Family Cover Policy. Where a country student has a city semester address for the purpose of attending study, they will be deemed to reside with the primary member for the purpose of their Family Cover Policy.
- Students residing interstate for the purpose of study will not be covered by the Family Cover Policy. It is recommended that cover is sought in the state of residence.
- If a legal dependant or child of the primary member has their own dependants, those dependants will not be covered under the primary member’s Family Cover Policy, regardless of their residence. In these circumstances, the legal dependant or child must have their own Ambulance Cover Policy for their dependants to be covered.
- ACE Single Cover entitles benefits to the person whose name appears on the ACE membership card.
Note: Ambulance Cover is intended for permanent residents of South Australia. Non-South Australian residents may join ACE at the discretion of SAAS.
ACE commences two months after the date of joining.
Once you are covered, you will not have to pay the cost of Non-emergency ambulance transport if:
- the service is provided by SAAS, or
- the ambulance transport originates in another State or Territory and is provided by a recognised Interstate ambulance service, or
for a transport service originating in South Australia, if:
- SAAS directs or requests another person to provide non-emergency ambulance services, or
- after a request by the subscriber, SAAS, at its sole discretion, agrees in writing prior to the transport date that another person may provide the service, and that person is recognised under Part 6 of the Health Care Act 2008 (SA).
ACE Members may change back to Ambulance Cover at any time without penalty, by advising SAAS and paying the difference between the two membership rates pro-rata, until the date of the next renewal.
You could lose your ACE:
- by not renewing your subscription by the due date. Note: You are not covered for the cost of ambulance transport whilst your subscription is overdue and unpaid; or
- by SAAS cancelling your subscription, without refund, if you or anyone under your Cover:
- provide false of misleading information on your application, or on renewal
- engage in activity with the purpose or effect of defrauding SAAS
- initiate nuisance call-outs or in any other way misuse the ambulance transport service; or
- act in a violent or threatening way to SAAS staff, SAAS’s agents, or any other person in the course of an ambulance transport.
ACE is payable in advance and is not refundable in part or in full.
When changing from Single to Family status, or from ACE to Ambulance Cover, you are only required to meet the difference between the two rates pro-rata, until the date of the next renewal.
It is the responsibility of the primary subscriber to ensure renewal of the subscription by the expiry date, whether a reminder notice is received or not.
SAAS reserves the right to:
- vary ACE fees and the terms and conditions of subscription, at any time, without prior notice, in relation to subsequent subscription periods
- seek written advice that any spouse, partner, child or dependants for whom benefits are sought, qualify under the terms and conditions of this cover
- invoice the member for ambulance transport charges where the conditions of the subscription have been breached
- not provide a service during riots, or civil commotion
- prohibit/cancel cover for any subscriber who is not normally a resident of South Australia, or who abuses their ACE through misuse of the services, or who fails to renew their subscription by the due date, or who breaches the conditions of the subscription
- prioritise services in accordance with demand and available resources
- not provide, or cancel, a service to a subscriber who is violent or otherwise poses a risk to other persons including SAAS officers.
Service responses and transport classifications will be determined by SAAS in its discretion in accordance with SAAS operating criteria.
SAAS collects and holds personal information that is provided by you on your application form when you join as a subscriber.
We need this information to make sure that your subscription details are correct and to contact you when necessary. Without this information, we may not be able to process (and therefore may reject) your application to be a subscriber.
You may seek access to the personal information held about you by SAAS at any time (although some requests may be denied in certain circumstances). You may advise us if you believe this information is inaccurate or incomplete, and we will make any amendments we consider necessary.
We may from time to time send you information about the SAAS and our services. Unless you request otherwise, you authorise us to send you this information. If you do not want to receive this information, or if you wish to change any of your personal information, you may instruct us by contacting our Customer Service Centre on 1300 13 62 72.
SAAS will only disclose your personal information to a third party where such disclosure is permitted in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and our Privacy Policy, including where:
- you have expressly or impliedly consented to the disclosure; or
- staff disclosing the information believe on reasonable grounds that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to life or health to you or to some other person; or
- the disclosure is authorised by or under law; or
- the disclosure is to agents or contractors that provide contracted services to SAAS (subject to privacy obligations); or
- the disclosure is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law or of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty or for the protection of the public revenue or for the interests of the government, statutory authority or statutory office holder as an employer.
Before providing us with any details about another individual, you must ensure that the individual is aware of:
- the proposed disclosure of their information to us and the purposes for which the information is collected and used by us; and
- the individual’s ability to request access to the information that we hold about them under the Privacy Act and to advise us if they think the information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
Full details of SAAS’s privacy practices regarding personal information are set out in its Privacy Policy. To request a copy of the Privacy Policy, please contact our Customer Service Centre.
For more information
SA Ambulance Service, GPO Box 3, Adelaide SA 5001.
Telephone: 1300 13 62 72 www.saambulance.com.au
Non-English speaking: for information in languages other than English, call the interpreting and translating centre and ask them to call SA Ambulance Service. This service is available at no cost to you, contact (08) 8226 1990.
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Ambulance Cover.
Because accidents happen.
Call 1300 13 62 72.