Danaamatrix

Hi guys,

I was wondering if you guys who are on or were on a 457 visa can help me?

What healthcare company are you with and what cover do you think I should get?

I am married with 2 young daughters aged 2 & 5.

Will I get 30% off the costs?

I am all confused!!!!

plantpot

GU health basic cover, not sure what you mean by 30% off? Ours is 100% rebate on any costs incurred.

RenShen

On a 457 visa standard healthcare insurance is not available. We are with Medibank, overseas visitors cover. Costs about 6K per year, employer pays.

asher

lots of companies do healthcare for 457 visas, shop around

medibank are fairly expensive, have a look at australian health plans as well they are cheaper but do a few less extras [email protected] my husband is with them I am with medibank as I want all the extras.

elice_in_oz

As a temporary visa holder, you are not entitled to the 30% rebate so no luck there. Insurance for 457 visa holders is usually classified as travel insurance as mentioned by RenShen, hence the lack of rebate. Would be good to check with your employer to see if they'll pay for it.

Make sure you shop around and even check overseas covers as they might be cheaper than Australian ones. We were never asked to show proof of cover while on our 457s (5 visas over 6 years!), and we got away with just the Medicare Reciprocal Agreement for a while. Not that I'm advocating a no private cover approach...

If you are from a country with the Reciprocal Agreement, you really just need the minimum amount of cover. I'm not sure if you can get away with having only repatriation cover for example. Might be worth checking...

paddyo

For all you 457 Visa holders, remember the rules changed last year. Your employer is no longer liable for providing helath care cover for you. This is why the OP is asking the question, maybe their prospective employer has not provided cover and they need to arrange themselves, this is how it works from now on for all 457 Visa applicants.
Definately worth shopping around but myt advice, for those from the UK, is to get the most minimal cost cover you can as you are eligible for reciprocal cover on the Medicare system which is free. If you are already in Oz and have to renew your 457 or similar, your Reciprocal Medicare cover is acceptable as health care cover!

elice_in_oz

That's great news!
Not applicable to us anymore, but good to know that they've changed the requirements.
That overseas visitors cover was a rip-off, especially since it didn't offer much more than Medicare.

paddyo

Yes, certainly makes my Visa extension more palatable!!

paddyo

Just been looking at my Private Health Care cover, it states:
"....you could save at least 30% on your extra's premiums with the Governments rebate on health insurance? The rebate is available if your'e from a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) and are issued with a Medicare card and is for extras cover only.."
Might mean therefore that you COULD get that rebate??

elice_in_oz

Sounds like it.
We've been PR for over a year now and didn't have private cover the last couple of years of our 457 so I'm not too up to date on the matter.

I do know that when we had 457 + overseas cover (from Australian Unity) with extras + RHCA a couple of years back, we got no rebate at all. We got hit with Medicare Levy Surcharge as well as full cost premiums.

This was a few years ago, so it could very well have changed. Best way to find out is to call the ATO direct and ask. Healthcare companies seem to talk out of their backsides when it comes to these things. Australian Unity told us we'd get no Surcharge if we took their poxy cover. I did give them a piece of my mind when tax return time came around and cancelled the cover!