Ambulance explained

In life, there are good surprises (flowers? for us?) and not-so-good surprises. Here’s what you need to know about health insurance and ambulance cover.

Types of ambulance cover

More than 3 million Australians are assessed, treated or transported by ambulance services every year. The good news is that no matter which level of health cover you choose, when it comes to emergency ambulance, you’re good with ahm.

State by state

First up, if you live in Tasmania or Queensland, your states have their own ambulance schemes. That means you don’t need to organise your own ambulance cover, your state government have got you sorted. If you live in NSW or the ACT, your hospital cover includes a levy to the ambulance service. More about the Ambulance Levy Exemption.

Medically Necessary Ambulance

This is included on all ahm hospital and extras package insurance, after a one day waiting period.

It helps with the bill for ambulance fees when you medically need to be transported to the nearest hospital. It doesn’t cover ambulance rides that aren’t medically necessary (like if you simply need a ride to the hospital for tests) and doesn’t cover rides that are fully covered by a third party arrangement like WorkCover, for example. Remember to double check your cover information to see if there are any limits to the number of Ambulance services we can help with the bill for.

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Emergency Ambulance cover

This is included on all ahm extras only products, after a one day waiting period, and is more limited than Medically Necessary Ambulance cover.

It means we’ll pay for ambulance fees when you need to be taken to hospital in an emergency – due to a sudden or unexpected event, when the only practical way to get to hospital is by ambulance. It doesn’t cover ambulance rides that aren’t essential (like transfers between hospitals, or travelling from home to hospital just for tests). Remember to double check your cover information to see if there are any limits to the number of Ambulance services we can help with the bill for.

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Common questions

To hold valid ambulance cover with ahm, you simply need to hold an ahm hospital or package product, or an ahm extras cover, and have served the 1 day waiting period.

So no matter what kind of ahm cover you choose, you’ll get some form of Ambulance cover.

Hospital cover only or hospital and extras package cover = Medically Necessary ambulance cover.
Extras only cover = Emergency Ambulance Cover.

To claim ambulance fees back under your ambulance cover, just log on to your account and upload the invoice sent to you by your ambulance service. We’ll assess your claim based on your level of cover within 5 working days, and we’ll let you know if we need any more information from you. If you’ve already paid the invoice, please also send us the proof of payment.

Unfortunately we can’t pay any benefit towards overdue ambulance fees, so make sure you get this sorted within the payment period.

When you’re looking at ambulance cover, make sure you:

understand the difference between cover for emergency ambulance use only, and more comprehensive cover that provides for all medically necessary ambulance use.
know if your cover is valid when you’re travelling interstate, or whether it’s valid only in your home state of residence.
understand when ambulance fees won’t be paid by your cover – like when a different insurance scheme applies, like WorkCover.

You can find all this info in your product guide.

At ahm, we include ambulance cover on our hospital, packages and extras products, at two different levels.

ahm Medically Necessary Ambulance cover is included on all ahm hospital and package products, after a 1 day waiting period. ahm Unlimited Emergency Ambulance cover is included on all ahm extras only products, after a 1 day waiting period, and is more limited than Medically Necessary Ambulance cover. Remember to double check your cover information to see if there are any limits to the number of Ambulance services we can help with the bill for.

When you’re looking at ambulance cover, make sure you:

understand the difference between cover for emergency ambulance use only, and more comprehensive cover that provides for all medically necessary ambulance use.
know if your cover is valid when you’re travelling interstate, or whether it’s valid only in your home state of residence.
understand when ambulance fees won’t be paid by your cover – like when a different insurance scheme applies, like WorkCover.

You can find all this info in your product guide.

Ambulance cover is insurance for expenses you could incur when you’re being treated by paramedics and transported in an ambulance. There are different types of ambulance cover, with differently inclusions and limits. Why do you need it? Because payment for ambulance services isn’t covered by Medicare, leaving you with a significant bill if you don’t have private health insurance. Remember that if you’re a resident of Tasmania or Queensland, which have their own ambulance cover schemes. And if you live in NSW or the ACT, your hospital cover includes a levy to the ambulance service.

Learn more about the levy.

Find extras and hospital cover that suits your needs

Want both? We’ve got a range of extras and hospital cover options.

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