The number of Orange patients being pursued for not paying for ambulance trips has increased with about $310,000 currently owed.
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The latest figures from Revenue NSW revealed that 858 ambulance trips in the past six months had not been paid for on time and had been referred to government debt collectors.
A Revenue NSW spokesman said the figure exceeded the number for all of 2015-16 [523] and was nearing the 2016-17 total [1104].
He said the total unpaid debt for Orange was $310,029 which included enforcement costs of $115,180.
They arose when people who did not pay were charged an extra $65 fee recovery charge plus any costs arising from the case.
The figures showed the debt for Orange is higher than in Bathurst, but lower than for Dubbo.
The spokesman said $256,319 was owed by Bathurst patients while $398,351 was owed by Dubbo patients.
An average ambulance trip costs about $400.
That is based on a $372 call out fee plus $3.35 per kilometre.
It can be covered by taking out private health insurance or paying for ambulance-only cover [about $100 a year for a family].
Pensioners, healthcare card holders and veterans are among those exempt from having to pay the fee.
However, the NSW Ambulance website said 9 per cent [68,000] people in NSW did not pay every year and were pursued by the State Debt Recovery Office and the Sheriff.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said 51 per cent of the trip fee was subsidised for NSW residents by the state government.
“The patient call out fee is 100 percent reinvested in NSW Ambulance,” he said.