Bupa Australia has made a bushfire relief package available to customers and the communities affected by the devastating bushfires across the nation.
Photo credit: © Nick Moir, Sydney Morning Herald
The relief package announcement comes after Bupa Australia evacuated some 200 residents at its aged care homes in Eden (South Coast, NSW), Tumut (Riverina, NSW) and Eastwood/Bairnsdale (East Gippsland, Victoria) to other Bupa aged care homes and alternative accommodation.
Bupa Australia has announced a range of measures to support employees, customers, residents and the community including:
- $100,000 donation to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund;
- six months of premium relief for eligible Bupa Health Insurance customers*;
- $10,000 donation to each local Rural Fire Service and Country Fire Authority where our homes have been impacted, starting with Eden, Tumut and Bairnsdale;
- up to 20 days paid community service leave for employees who are involved in the firefighting and disaster relief effort, along with counselling support for those who have been personally impacted;
- selected dental and optical services** for eligible Bupa customers from Bupa Optical and Bupa-owned dental practices; and
- expansion of our Workplace Giving campaign to support the Red Cross Relief and Recovery appeal and our volunteer fire fighting services, with all employee donations being matched by Bupa until the end of January.
Bupa Australia and New Zealand’s Chief Executive Officer, Hisham El-Ansary said Bupa was committed to helping in any way it could during the horrific bushfires.
“Bupa’s immediate focus has been on the safety and care of our aged care residents who live in the impacted areas. We have worked closely with the relevant authorities and acted quickly to ensure that some 200 of our residents have been moved to locations where they can be cared for safely” Mr El-Ansary said.
“Our hearts go out to those who have been impacted by some of the worst fires we have seen in recent times. Our disaster relief package is designed to lessen some of the burden that many will be feeling, while also supporting the efforts of the brave firefighters and emergency services volunteers. I also acknowledge the dedication of our nurses and carers, some of whom have been personally impacted, as they work to comfort our residents during this difficult time,” Mr El-Ansary said.
Notes to editor
*Terms and Conditions include: Bupa Health Insurance customers have held their policy at 1 January 2020 and who have received the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment following the recent bushfires. Customers can lodge their application from 7 January 2020 until 1 July 2020. Customers are required to provide evidence of receipt of their Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment from the Department of Human Services. Customers will be provided premium relief based on their level of cover as at 1 January 2020.
**Eligible Bupa Health Insurance customers will have access to no out-of-pocket (up to $300) for emergency dental treatments at Bupa-owned Platinum or Members First general dental clinics, while both eligible Bupa health insurance and existing Bupa Optical customers will have access to free prescription frames and prescription sunglasses (from a selected range), contact lenses and eye drops from Bupa Optical.
About Bupa
Bupa's purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world.
We are an international healthcare company serving over 31 million customers worldwide. With no shareholders, we reinvest profits into providing more and better healthcare for the benefit of current and future customers.
We directly employ around 85,000 people, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Chile, Poland, New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, the US, Middle East and Ireland. We also have associate businesses in Saudi Arabia and India.
