South Australia’s next budget announcement is only days away and with the spotlight expected to be on health and the cost of living there are renewed calls for the government to scrap ambulance fees for pensioners. They're free for card holders in most states and territories and advocates say it's time for South Australia to catch up.
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TVTranscript
00:00You have to work out, you know, do I have to pay it? How do I pay it? Where do I get
00:07the money from?
00:08When Dio Laughlin started getting sick with pneumonia last year, she was hesitant to call
00:13an ambulance.
00:14I had a temperature of over 40 and I was a little bit in and out of being aware. And
00:21I had thought, I need to go to the hospital, but the kids are all in state overseas. I
00:27could get a taxi.
00:29When bills for about $1,400 rolled in soon after, her worries were confirmed. She says
00:35the cost is driving older South Australians without ambulance cover to put their health
00:40second.
00:41Is it a real emergency or will I get better? I'll just take some more Panadol and go back
00:47to bed and hope.
00:48In Queensland and Tasmania, call-outs are free for all residents. And most other parts
00:54of the country cover ambulance fees for pension concession card holders. So even though it
00:59would cost the budget bottom line for SA to follow suit, advocates believe it would save
01:05millions in the long run.
01:07There's a lot of data that shows that there is no impact on usage by making ambulance
01:12free. And the wonderful thing is we've got other states of Australia to show us that
01:17that is the case.
01:18This is a government that is putting billions of dollars into road projects. It could put
01:23the money into this, particularly in the middle of an economic crisis and in the middle
01:28of a health crisis.
01:30The Treasurer, Stephen Mulligan, says SA's ambulance service offers memberships with
01:34discounted fees for pensioners. They're $58 for singles and $115 for families. Pensioners
01:40may also be eligible to apply for a concession after they get their bill.
01:44There are things I can do, but they're not that easy. And when you're not feeling that
01:50brilliant, things go.
01:53A pressure Deo Lachlan hopes will be eased in Thursday's budget.