Transport for Health
Who is eligible for IPTAAS? | How to make a claim? | Other Transport for Health servicesTransport for Health provides a range of transport and travel assistance to people who cannot use or have difficulty using public and/or private transport or who are disadvantaged by distance. Transport for Health includes the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS).
Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS)
IPTAAS is a subsidy program, which provides financial assistance to help with travel and accommodation costs for people (and eligible escorts) who need to travel long distances to access specialist treatment not available locally.
Previously, only patients travelling a distance of at least 100km each way were eligible to apply. Changes announced by the Minister of Health in September 2011 mean that from 1st January 2012, any patient travelling a cumulative distance of 200km in a week to access specialist medical treatment will also be eligible for IPTAAS subsidies.
The full details of the changes to IPTAAS, which come into effect from 1st January 2012, are:
- Increase in fuel subsidy from 15 to 19 cents / km
- Increase in commercial accommodation subsidy from $33 per night single room, $46 per night double room to $43 and $60 per night respectively
- Increase in private accommodation subsidy from $30 per week to $140 per week, and the current one-week exclusion period discontinued
- The $40 co-contribution levied on each claim made by non-pensioners / non-health care card holders is to remain, but will be capped once a patient’s IPTAAS subsidies reach $1,000 within a one year period. This will benefit those travelling regularly, such as patients requiring specialist treatment for a chronic disease
Claims are to be processed within 30 days of their receipt. Currently, the time limit for processing claims is 45 days.
Who is eligible for IPTAAS?
To be eligible for the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme you must:
- be a resident of New South Wales who is eligible for Medicare benefits
- be required to travel at least 100km each way, or a cumulative distance of at least 200km a week, from your usual place of residence to access the nearest available medical specialist
- be referred by a medical practitioner to the nearest treating specialist for specialist treatment
- claim the maximum available benefits from your private health fund first
- not be eligible for any assistance under any other government assistance scheme
How to make a claim?
To apply for financial assistance through IPTAAS, eligible patients must complete an IPTAAS Application Form, which should be signed by the referring practitioner and treating specialist. Subsequent visits to the same specialist within a year of referral may be claimed by completing the travel diary, which should also be signed by the treating specialist (or his/ her representative), and submitted together with original receipts for travel by public transport or accommodation, to the relevant local IPTAAS office.
You cannot use the Travel Diary if:
- The referring practitioner has certified that air travel is necessary on medical grounds.
- You are travelling to see a different specialist for the first time
- The referring practitioner has certified for the first time that an escort is necessary on medical grounds
- Any of your personal details (such as name, address, bank details) change after you have submitted an IPTAAS Application form.
In all the above cases, you must submit a new IPTAAS Application Form. Subsequent visits to the same specialist within a year of referral may be claimed by completing the Travel Diary.
The Application Form and Travel Diary can be accessed using the link on the right hand side of this page. Alternatively, the Application Form and Travel Diary can be obtained by contacting your nearest IPTAAS office.
Other Transport for Health services
The other Transport for Health services are: the Statewide Infant Screening-Hearing (SWISH) Travel program; the Health Related Transport Program; and inter-facility transport services.
The SWISH Travel program entitles babies and a parent, who live more than 100 km one way from one of the three SWISH assessment facilities, to be reimbursed for travel if the baby has been identified for follow-up diagnostic audiology services following screening for hearing under the SWISH program
Eligibility for other Transport for Health Services is based on a patient’s inability to reasonably gain access to local health services by either public or private transport, or their need to be transported between hospital facilities.