No free rides as SA Ambulance claws back millions lost in dispute

Industrial action cost the service millions in the lead up to last March’s election — now it is sending invoices to unsuspecting patients.

The SA Ambulance Service has begun to claw back $4m lost when paramedics took industrial action prior to last March’s election and stopped billing patients for transport to hospital.

Almost a year after some were transported, invoices for more than $2m have been sent to thousands of people caught in the dispute, surprising those under the impression they had received a free ride.

One woman who did not want to be identified was shocked to receive a bill for $1094.50 almost a year after she was transported to hospital.

“I didn’t get an ambulance because it was a freebie, I got one because it was a genuine emergency,” she said.

“Then after a month passed with no bill, I heard the ambulance service was not charging for that period.

“I’m now unemployed, and this is a big bill when you are not expecting it.”

SA Ambulance Service invoice.

Amid pre-election chalking on ambulances and Labor’s Ash the Ambo ramping ad which Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry found to be misleading, the Ambulance Employees Association paramedics stopped collecting patients’ billing information until the union received a “reasonable” enterprise bargaining offer.

Mr Sherry’s finding was against Labor’s ad. It was not suggested paramedic Ashleigh Frier had done anything wrong.

A SA Employment Tribunal hearing last March was told by SAAS officials that between February 4, 2022 when the ban took effect, and March 3, 2022 “the total loss of revenue was likely to exceed $4m”.

“Based on the four-week period described, the revenue lost … is about $140,000 per day,” the SAET judgment which ordered billing be resumed found.

Now SAAS has used other data matching sources to identify patients who were transported but not billed and so far has sent out invoices for $2m.

A spokesman said SAAS is required to operate a partial user-pay service.

“While many patients may have ambulance cover or an ambulance insurance product, some patients may have been told their information would not be recorded,” the spokesman said.

“Patient records, known as case cards, are normally used to generate an account, however, SAAS does not rely solely on this information, especially where a patients identity is unknown or they may not be able to speak with the paramedics at the time.

“This process can take longer and as a result some patients may have encountered a delay in receiving their account.

“While SAAS will see a reduction in revenue, the service has raised invoices for over $2m of the originally estimated $4m.”

Ambulance paramedic Ashleigh ‘Ash the Ambo’ Frier.

Opposition spokeswoman Penny Pratt said: “The refusal to take payment was part of an aggressive political campaign in support of Peter Malinauskas’ promise to fix ramping — almost 12 months on, we have the worst ramping figures in state history and the Labor Government is now callously, and sneakily, charging for the ambulance fees during this period that should not have cost a cent.”

A government spokesman said SAAS was always going to bill patients transported during the union action, adding: “It’s outrageous … that former Premier Steven Marshall and former Health Minister Stephen Wade failed to publicly communicate this at the time of the industrial action in the lead-up to the election.

“The then-Government should have made this clear to the public at the time. The Liberals are responsible for any confusion.”