Why Some Families Are Left With Ambulance Bills When Someone Dies | The Business | Abc News
Health advocates are calling for national cabinet to tackle massive inconsistencies in ambulance billing across the country. They say it is unnecessarily complex with patients getting regular bill shocks and private health insurance doesn't always pick up the tab. In some cases even the family members of people who've died unexpectedly are getting surprise invoices. Public ambulance costs vary widely across Australia with a maze of carve outs that are different in each state. It's free for residents in states like Queensland and Tasmania, but not for visitors. If someone has private health insurance, it gets even more complicated to avoid overlap with car and workplace insurance schemes, which are supposed to pick up the tab.
Business reporter Alison Branley speaks with widow Lyn Conder, who was left with a bill after her husband died at home while she was overseas and a neighbour called an ambulance. Often with an unexpected death, the coroner collects those who've died. But in regional areas like where Lyn lived, it can fall to ambulance services, with the bill paid for by the person's estate. Lyn and her husband had private health insurance, but a legal precedent means private health insurance dies with the patient.
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