Volume 10 Edition 2
Financial Care Services Newsletter
Volume 10 Edition 2 – 28 February 2020
Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles
Free ambulance for Pensioners
Your Pensioner Concession Card allows you free ambulance services when essential for your wellbeing.
This means that you would not be charged for ‘clinically necessary’ ambulance services if you hold a Pensioner Concession Card.
Ambulance services are a State government responsibility.
This article refers to the ambulance service in Victoria.
If you live in another State then you could check the ambulance costs and any concessions for non-Pensioners in your State.
Please be aware that you would be billed personally by Ambulance Victoria if you need an ambulance whilst visiting Victoria.
Ambulance services is not just transport of a patient to a medical facility. Ambulance Victoria charges a fee where treatment has been provided to a patient on scene without the patient being transported by ambulance. Treatment may include professional medical assessment, care or advice for the benefit of the patient.
You can relax , you do not have to pay when an ambulance was called by a stranger or ‘third party’ without your consent and you did not need to be transported by the ambulance.
For example, if you fall over in the street and a passer-by calls an ambulance then you would not be charged if you can take yourself home.
But if you fall over at home and your partner calls the ambulance services to get you upright again, you will be charged for an ambulance service. The attending ambulance team will lift you up and check that you are not injured as well as assessing if your fall was the result of a medical incident rather than a simple trip.
Remember that the ambulance service is not a free taxi for when you are feeling unwell.
Nor do you get free ambulance transport from a private healthcare facility in Victoria. If you do need to travel from a registered private hospital or registered private day procedure centre to another medical facility then the sending private facility is responsible for paying the ambulance fees. The private healthcare facility then decides whether or not to pass this cost onto the patient.
Ambulance transport from one hospital to another medical facility nearer your home is not ‘free’ even if being in your own community would provide you with more emotional and social support.
Your Pensioner Concession Card only covers ‘clinically necessary’ ambulance services to transport you to where appropriate medical care is available.
Am I eligible for a Pensioner Concession Card
Pensioner Concession Cards are issued to adults who are paid a Disability Support Pension or an Age Pension or a Carer Pension. DVA Service Pensioners and seniors receiving means tested DVA Pensions also have Pensioner Concession Cards.
Read more about the Age Pension in the Financial Care Services Age Pension Guide
The calculation of your Age Pension amount, if any, can be challenging. The easy route is to ask for the Age Pension Illustration Personal Data form as a checklist of essential data and then arrange for a ‘$99 Special Age Pension Illustration Short Consultation’ with Christine Hopper of Financial Care Services.
If the Income and/or Assets Tests would exclude you from the Age Pension, Christine could help you check whether you would qualify for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
Christine Hopper of Financial Care Services offers Short Consultations for ‘personal factual financial information’ in the form of an Illustration of the amount of Centrelink Age Pension you could receive today provided that you satisfied the age and residency conditions for a Centrelink Age Pension.
Contact Christine at Financial Care Services to obtain the Age Pension Illustration Personal Data form. You will also receive our Client Services Guide that provides essential information about Christine Hopper of Financial Care Services.
Alternatively you could search through the Centrelink website for clues about Pension rates and means tests then do the sums yourself.
But if you do not hold a Pensioner Concession Card or an eligible Health Card then you will be billed for any ambulance services.
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card does not provide you with free ambulance services in Victoria.
The Ambulance Victoria website states that “The cost of one emergency road transport is in excess of $1,200.”
Next steps if you are not receiving a Centrelink Pension or hold a Low Income Health Card.
If you are absolutely sure that you would never become seriously ill or sustain an injury that needs urgent medical care or assessment then you could just ignore the potential for an ambulance bill.
Or you might rely on your private health insurer to pay for any ambulance services that you use. Please remember to read the fine print re the ambulance cover section of your private health insurance.
Others might prefer the peace of mind that comes from a subscription to the Ambulance Victoria.
Currently the cost is about fifty dollars per year for a single person. Yes for less than one dollar per week, you can save yourself from worrying about emergency ambulance costs. You can pay by the month, or once a year or once for five years.
Ambulance Victoria are ready to set up your ambulance subscription before you have a mishap.
Commonwealth Seniors Health Card benefits
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card does provide two benefits.
Firstly holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card are eligible for the MyPost Concession postage stamps.
Secondly, holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card are eligible for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions at the Pensioner Concession Rates. Just having prescription medicines at the reduced Pension Concession prices could make a difference to your regular expenses.
The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card has no asset test. The Income Test for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is based on your ‘adjusted taxable income’.
Seniors with limited incomes but who are excluded from the Age Pension because they still own that beach house might qualify for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
Some State governments offer additional price concessions to holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
Alas Victoria only offers a discount on some property transfer stamp duties to the holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
If you hold both the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and the Low Income Health Card then you could be eligible for concessions on your utility bills. The Low Income Health Card has a different Income Test from the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.
For the Low Income Health Card a single person must demonstrate an ‘assessable income’ of not more than $4,512 over an eight week period. Low Income Health Card holders must requalify for that card every six months.
Christine at Financial Care Services your independent adviser
Financial Care Services is an independent advisory service specialising in retirees of modest means and aged care entrants.
Our core values include working with clients in claiming DVA and Centrelink entitlements.
The team at Financial Care Services are here to answer your Age Pension questions and guide your understanding of aged care costs.
Help with Centrelink challenges is available from Christine Hopper at Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles.
Christine has neat handwriting just right for inserting your data into small printed spaces. She helps clients complete Centrelink forms.
Christine could help you with collating your supporting documents and then mailing your form to Centrelink.
Assistance with completing the Commonwealth aged care means testing forms is available to clients of Financial Care Services.
Christine charges fees based on the work involved in advising you about pensions and aged care fee solutions.
To make an appointment for confidential, independent and professional advice about aged care, retirement lifestyle costs, granny flat or Age Pension issues please contact Christine Hopper or call +61 3 9808 0338.
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Christine Hopper
Financial Care Services Pty Ltd
Independent aged care, strategic lifestyle and Social Security advice for seniors in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Telephone – call +61 3 9808 0338
Email – contact info@financialcareservices.com.au
Address – mail to 172 Warrigal Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124
Website – visit financialcareservices.com.au
LinkedIn – connect https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinehopper1
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Past newsletters – see http://financialcareservices.com.au/newsletters/
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”.
All eligibility for Commonwealth benefits will be determined by Centrelink or DVA, based on your personal position as documented and the legislation and Regulations in force at that time.
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