Request for Reimbursement of Ambulance Evacuation or Transfer Expenses

According to the National Health Insurance Law (Hebrew), HMO members are eligible for partial or whole reimbursement from HMOs for the expense of emergency ambulance evacuation or mobile intensive care unit evacuation, in the following cases:

Emergency evacuation to a hospital

• Evacuation and hospitalization in a hospital – any person who was taken by a regular Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance or a mobile intensive care unit and was hospitalized is entitled to whole reimbursement of the expense of transfer by the HMO against presentation of a receipt.
• Evacuation without hospitalization:
  • Any person who was evacuated by a mobile intensive care unit and not hospitalized – is entitled to 50% reimbursement of the cost of transfer by the HMO.
  • Any person who was evacuated by a regular ambulance and not hospitalized – is not entitled to reimbursement for the transfer expenses.
• Any person who was found semi-conscious and suspected to be a victim of sexual assault and evacuated by ambulance to a SAFE center is entitled to full reimbursement of the cost of transfer by the HMO.
• Any person who was transported to hospital by a mobile intensive care unit or ambulance and died before their hospitalization – will receive full reimbursement of the cost of transfer from the HMO. This up to the amount of the fee set forth in the Magen David Adom Regulations (emergency ambulance transport fees (Hebrew)) against a receipt.

Transfer between hospitals and other medical facilities

• Transfer from the ER to another hospital - where a patient who has been examined in one hospital’s emergency room, and the medical staff decided to transfer the patient to another hospital - the patient is entitled to full reimbursement of the transfer costs by the HMO.
• Transfer from one hospital to another – a patient who is hospitalized in one general hospital who requires medical service that is unavailable in that hospital is entitled to full reimbursement of the cost of their transfer to a different general hospital by the hospital from which they are being transferred.
• Transfer form a hospital to a rehabilitation or complex long-term care facility – any person who was discharged from a hospital and the HMO decided to transfer to a rehabilitation or complex long-term care facility, and whose medical condition requires their transfer by ambulance – is entitled to full reimbursement of the cost of transfer by the HMO.
• Transfer from a long-term care facility to a hospital – any patient who is hospitalized in a long-term care facility and receives assistance in financing their hospitalization form the Ministry of Health (“Hospitalization by Code”) is entitled to full reimbursement of the cost of transfer by the hospitalizing institution.

Transport of oncological and dialysis patients

• Oncological or dialysis patients who travel for treatment in a hospital in an ambulance (or taxi) – will receive  50% reimbursement of the Magen David Adom (MDA) rate or of the actual cost of travel by ambulance (whichever is lower) from the HMO.

Transporting patients aged 80 and older

• Any person who is 80 years old or older and entitled to a long-term care allowance and assured income allowance who is transported to hospital by a mobile intensive care unit or by ambulance will receive 50% reimbursement of the transport expenses from the HMO up to an amount equivalent to 50% of the fee set in the Emergency Ambulance Transport Fees Regulations (Hebrew).