St John to increase ambulance charges
‘‘The part charge increase will help return St John to a financially sustainable position.’’
As of next month the cost to take an ambulance to the hospital will be nearly $100.
St John has been forced to increase its user charges for an ambulance trip to the hospital as it looks to turn around a $7.5 million deficit. In August the cost for using a St John ambulance anywhere in the country will go up to $98 – an increase of $10. That is in response to back-to-back deficits.
St John chief executive Peter Bradley said they reported an underlying deficit of $7.5 million for the 2014/15 financial year.
‘‘We project another deficit for the 2015/16 year. The part charge increase will help return St John to a financially sustainable position.’’
The $98 represents about 16 per cent of the total cost of an ambulance callout. ACC still covers this charge in the case of accident injuries.
‘‘As is the case for much of the health sector, St John faces the impacts of increasing demand, rising costs and an ageing population,’’ Bradley said.
‘‘This means that even though we’ve made significant advances in increasing income, reducing costs and modernising our service delivery methods, we require additional funding to simply stand still.’’
St John provides 90 per cent of emergency road ambulance services, covering all of New Zea- land except Wellington and Wairarapa, which are covered by Wellington Free Ambulance. The cost to St John for a typical ambu- lance callout is $615.
Ministry of Health national services purchasing acting director Joy Cooper said the ministry approved St John’s request to increase its part charge to help offset financial pressures. Part charges were not always applied; maternity cases are free where an ambulance transfer is requested by a health professional.
Around 70 per cent of St John’s operating costs are provided by the Ministry of Health, ACC and DHBs. The 30 per cent shortfall is covered from other income sources, including ambulance part charges, fundraising and commercial activities such as first aid training.
The Ministry of Health and ACC have jointly commissioned an independent review to provide recommendations on funding arrangements.