Accidents of all kinds can have physical, emotional, and financial repercussions, such as serious injury or medical bills. Some people may find themselves experiencing the misfortune of an auto accident initiated because due to another driver’s negligence. Other people may slip and fall in a grocery store, shopping mall, or other public places because of messy floors and a variety of safety hazards. In other cases, someone may hurt themselves on the job.
An injured person who experiences an emergency should get legal guidance from professionals on how to obtain reimbursement for property damage and medical care for a bodily injury. Australian residents can turn to The Personal Injury Lawyers, a law firm of experts that serves people living in Brisbane, The Gold Coast, New South Wales (NSW), and Victoria (VIC). For each personal injury claim, they provide legal advice tailored to clients’ situations. The Personal Injury Lawyers fight on behalf of their clients to get them the fair compensation they deserve for monetary loss and incurred expenses following injuries.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
When emergencies strike and threaten someone’s health, mobility, and well-being, they should seek medical services. If someone falls ill and collapses, has difficulty breathing, loses consciousness, has a heart attack, or has involvement in a car accident, they need an emergency room visit. An ambulance ride is an efficient way to transport the injured and sick to a hospital. Per The Australian Government Productivity Commission, over three million incidents requiring ambulance services occurred. The years 2017 and 2018 saw over four million ambulance services responses, dispatched to tend to an estimated three-and-a-half million patients (2019).
Ambulances have emergency equipment for providing care, containing stretchers, spine boards, defibrillators, oxygen, splints, bandages, medications, and intravenous (IV) fluids. In general, first responders, patient transport officers, or paramedics man ambulances. Paramedics are health professionals trained to deliver emergency assessment and medical treatment to people who may be having a heart attack or stroke, dealing with spinal injuries, overdosed on drugs, or those with a mental illness. Ambulance services provide efficient emergency care before and after a stay in the hospital. Depending on one’s condition, they may receive treatment onsite, at a hospital, or through alternative health services.
Ambulance cover can protect Australian residents from the costs incurred by calling an ambulance and receiving treatment from paramedics. Emergency transport via ambulance can cost hundreds of dollars, up to thousands. Such coverage is crucial, as people can’t predict when an emergency will occur. Australian residents seeking this coverage should know that Medicare doesn’t cover ambulance services and emergency transport. Still, they can obtain coverage through a health insurer, or from the state ambulance authority in some territories and states. People living in Australia should also be aware that, contrary to some assumptions, out-of-pocket expenses for emergency transport and ambulance coverage differs by state. While some states have ambulance cover, others don’t.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
People with private health insurance should know the extent of ambulance services included in their insurance plan. For example, some insurance coverage includes emergency ground transportation, but not air ambulance services, or non-emergency transport, such as transfers to different hospitals via ambulance. Coverage-seekers should examine their insurance funds and determine if they need additional ambulance cover.
Those who fund ambulance services and emergency transport themselves should look into cheaper ways to pay that fit the coverage options provided in their state. Tasmania and Queensland residents, for example, receive free emergency services from the government, while those living in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory don’t.
An online resource like iSelect provides coverage seekers with location-based information regarding ambulance cover. The use of the site enables coverage seekers to review their state’s emergency transport costs and any concessions toward ambulance cover arrangements. For the best coverage, Australians should keep factors like emergencies and non-emergencies, waiting periods, call-out fees, ambulance fee co-payments, and interstate travel in mind. To make a well-informed financial decision that prioritizes safety, search for ambulance cover with iSelect.
