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.
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