What is the callout cost for a NSW ambulance for foreign visitors/workers?

Question

The other weekend I met up with a friend of mine who comes from Nepal for a few drinks. As it turns out she was already way too drunk and she was soon passed out in the toilet in a club. I had to drag her out into an alleyway and after repeated attempts to wake her up and given that she had already vomited while barely conscious, I decided to call an ambulance.

The trip to hospital went smoothly enough and after an hour she had sobered up enough to wake up and they allowed us to leave. But I remember one of the paramedics briefly asked to look at her ID. I remembered looking through her purse beforehand and all she had on her was a bit of cash, her debit card and her NSW learner driving licence, but nothing with her current address.

My question is whether they will be able to charge her for the ambulance callout - will they need a current address to do it? And how much would it cost? I know that NSW residents will have to pay around $200-300 plus additional charges by each km the ambulance travels.

I'm not certain of her situation (whether she is a permanent resident or not) or whether she actually has any health insurance or medicare. I know she works full time. But it's been a week and so far she hasn't heard back from the hospital or anything.

Answer 1

Ambulance Cost Nsw

Answer 2

Have a look at the link I have attached which is available on the Ambulance website. A callout cost (just for the ambulance turning up at the location after you called them) is $320. Then additional fees are added for distance travelled ($2.98 per km) transporting the patient to the hospital.



Without a specific exemption from paying fees (pensioners, health care card holders, veterans) it is expected that the patient pay for the cost of transport and NSW Ambulance Service will send an account to be paid to the patients address (listed on their licence). Generally, it will take a bit longer than a week to get the bill. If the account is not paid (just like any bill you don't pay) then they can take legal action to recover the money and add significant legal charges to be paid as well.



The best way to avoid having to pay for an ambulance is to ensure you have appropriate ambulance cover with a private health insurer. But absolutely, the NSW Ambulance Service will do whatever it takes to recover the money they are owed from your friend.

Answer 3

My son took an ambulance holiday while he fell on the mall and a baseball sized lump formed on the front of his head in approximately 2 minutes (no comedian tale regarding the dimensions). We have been given a bill approximately 3 months later. It replaced into approximately $one hundred forty five. It relatively made us mad. We pay a definite value to the interior of sight ambulance/fireplace branch each and every 365 days $seven-hundred. this is meant to disguise a million loose ambulance holiday and if our homestead ever caught fireplace we does not could pay any extra expenditures. We argued with the ambulance human beings yet they does not budge. It replaced into very disappointing.