Health insurance explained

HBF Ambulance Care covers non-urgent ambulance services throughout Australia, where provided by an HBF approved provider. Please contact us to obtain a current list of HBF approved ambulance providers.

Yes. No matter where you are in Australia, HBF will fully cover the cost of any on-site emergency ambulance treatment and medically necessary ambulance transport by road to a hospital emergency department where provided by an approved HBF provider.

With Ambulance Care, you will be fully covered for the cost of non-urgent ambulance services (by road) when provided by an HBF approved ambulance provider.

Non-urgent ambulance services include transport from home to the hospital and transfers between hospitals. Call-outs are also covered, regardless of whether or not you are transported to hospital.

Ambulance Care does not cover all ambulance services, such as: air ambulance services, transport between a public hospital to your home (including transport from all emergency departments to your home), and transport not provided by ambulance.

HBF Urgent Ambulance insurance covers ambulance transport by road or on-site treatment, for circumstances classified as emergency or urgent by an approved HBF provider. The ambulance provider is responsible for determining whether or not your incident is classified as urgent, emergency or non-urgent.

The most common urgent ambulance service is a call-out that requires a trip to a hospital emergency department. Emergency or urgent treatment performed by paramedics at the scene, such as resuscitation, are also considered an urgent ambulance service.

The following are not included under HBF Urgent Ambulance insurance:

• Situations where the service is not classified as emergency or urgent and you are not transported to, and received by, an emergency department, including transport to medical appointments.
• Any transport not by road, including air ambulance services.
• Situations where the benefit or cost is subsidised by a state scheme or is payable by a third party, including inter-hospital transfers.
• Any transport between public hospitals.

'Urgent' and 'non-urgent' are two terms used to indicate how quickly you need an ambulance.

When you call for an ambulance, the operator will use the information you provide to figure out how fast the ambulance needs to get to you. Based on this information, you will be assigned as priority 1 (emergency call), priority 2 (urgent call) or priority 3 (non-urgent call).

HBF Urgent Ambulance will cover you for emergency and urgent ambulance transport by road. It will not cover non-urgent ambulance services, or ambulance transfers between your home and hospital.

That's where HBF Ambulance Care steps in — it covers non-urgent ambulance services, as well as transfers.