NickyC

You're quite right. You can be better off buying the cheapest, basic, Hospital cover (you don't have to use it) just to avoid paying the extra 1% Medicare levy.

The threshhold is only $50k for single people - it rises to $100k if you have children.

woodyinoz

When you get the hang of Medicare it seems pretty efficient.
I have now been able to locate a bulk billing doctor that doesn't charge anything for kids. The same for the optician and the girls are also into the school dental programme, where $20 covers all costs.
My daughter also needed an xray which was done at the local hospital again all on Medicare.
Thankfully I haven't needed to use any of the services so I can't say how it goes for an adult.

Ian12

Victoria Dentists v. NSW
Your post confirms what our local dentist told us that in Victoria most children use the school dental service which costs very little. Here the school dental service only offers assistance to families who are on one form of welfare or another. Everyone has to go privately. To this end we are trying to find the best insurance that will cover children's orthodontics. I have looked at "I selects" but it would appear that even with private cover one only gets a limited amount of refund (max $2,400) for this treatment, when in fact I have been told that an average treatment for orthodontics is somewhere between $5,000 - $7,000. I'd be interested to know what other people are doing about their own and their children's dental costs.

arkon

Getting all his teeth removed like they do to woman in Ireland for their wedding present and replacing them with false teeth. Save him a fortune over the years. I'm sure he will grow up to thank me for it.

janeyray

[QUOTE=arkon]

I'm probably not the best person to ask as I think the entire way the health system works and is paid for out here is utter tosh.


The reason I'm being vague is as the wife was pregnant when we arived we had a whole gamult of experiences when it came to paying for doctors and scans.

QUOTE]

MMmmm tell me about it. I couldn't find a doctors close to us that bulk billed. In the end I went to one that 'sort' of bulk billed ! I had to pay $10 each visit, which I suppose is better than $200 !

I was also pregnant whilst there and not a happy experience regarding payments and doctors etc.

Also some medicines aren't on the PBS list so may cost anything from $50 upwards. I use a nasal spray for allergies and it cost $70 a bottle !!!!

Also dental visits aren't free whilst pregnant like they are here.

OH YES.... and something a lot of people forget is that ....

YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR AN AMBULANCE IF YOU CALL ONE IN AN EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hubby hurt his back very badly in Margaret River whilst we were on holiday (when we lived in Perth) and we paid $300 for the ambulance to drive about 12k to the hospital!! We didn't realise you had to pay, why should we no one had said otherwise! Stupid I know, but we just didn't know you should take out ambulance insurance!!
The drivers were also volenteers and very unprofessional, they stood around for ages wondering how to get my hubby on a stretcher from a standing position!!! They also were interested in buying our car and one of them wanted to test drive it !!!! HELLO !! Funny looking back over it now though!!!

Badge

The only problem i had with a doctor here was one that was not very confidence inspiring. She tried to explain something to my wife that i had already sussed out. The problem was, she spent about 10 mins trying to explain it to my wife (my wife was OK, it was the doctor making a dog's dinner out of it) I was practically prompting her, pulling faces. All I needed was an autocue. I don't think I've ever been in such a fustrating situation with my wife in an environment like that.

My wife has now found a doctor she really likes which doesn't BB but he is reasonable and explains in great detail; loads of techical diagrams which I found interesting - I like learning how things work.

Doctors - they take years to learn all the details but the internet has really taken the smoke and mirrors and mystique out of their profession the poor sods. They're great for diagnosing, of course, but the explanation, theatricals , and patter you can save time (and money) on elsewhere. lol. So if you do have to pay for a doctor, time them, and only pay for the history and the diagnosis, not them looking at you studiously over their glasses,or pretending to read your notes, taking your BP, RR which you could have done yourself to save them the bother. There's only room for 1 ego in the room, and that's me. They don't have to try and compete

I love the medical profession, its quite interesting all told.

It must be fustrating for a doctor for a bloke with just basic medic training coming in and taking all their glory...did I tell you about the time in the hospital this girl thought I was a doctor? All you need is a bit of a bedside manner, to be a good analyst (what I'm paid for), and listener, and all of a sudden you have a girl telling another doctor "that's just what that doctor said" (pointing at me). He looked quite surprised. All I'd been doing was passing the time of day, and offering assurance whilst my wife was in the bog! Makes me smile just thinking back.

Of course, my wife asked me why I'm not a doctor, and I said, well I earn as much as one - and we don't have any student loans to pay back. Fair dos.

cheers

Badge

Badge

This is, I thought, what happened. It says, '30mins AUSxx ', '60mins AUSxx' or something.

Badge

arkon

Nothing in the last couple we've been too. In fact come to think about it I've only ever seen a menu of prices once and that was at the port mcq pediatrician.

FVC

Hi, sorry to hijack your thread, but we too have just arrived in Melbourne and we need to register for Medicare.

Can you tell me what you have to do. I have looked in the white pages for medicare and really don't know where to start.

Thanks for your help.

Princess Leia

That's exactly right. To be honest though I really like the choice that you get over here - you can be more active in your own treatment and the specialists seem to listen much more to you. I've got quite a few medical issues and am really fussy about who I see. so I'll do my research about the specialists and then go to my GP and ask for my referral to see my preferred specialist.

I have a completely bulk billed GP and even better he lives at the top of my street. All my blood tests to date with him have been bulk billed as well. So they do exist! I do like that you can see a number of different GPs at once - great for getting a second opinion or if one doctor happens to be better for children and another better for adults.

Princess Leia

arkon

Just go to a medicare center with proof of address and your passport with PR visa in it. Almost every shopping mall or town has a medicare center, they do it all on the spot and you get your medicare card sent to you in the post.

jad n rich

Waitng lists for operations on medicare are extremely long in many cases, qld has just been named and shamed but most states are exactly the same, some worse.

Gaps, the trick is doing your homework before you go in, each fund should have member hospitals, which will minimise gaps in some cases eliminate them, when you enrol in a fund, read the fineprint, and ask for list of hospitals docs dentists whatever you think you will use that have arrangements with the fund.

Also when seeing a specialist, or dentist ask them for the item number of the service they will be providing, receptionists can get stroppy but you have the right, then ring your insurance provider and see what % you are able to claim back, at least you know if you can afford it there and then or need to save for it.

Back to hospitals, Townsville and I think it was the PA in bris had 14.000 and 22,000 on waiting lists, often if you need surgery its years on medicare and weeks on private.

Stephen

I suppose if you have only experienced the UK way of life, where in my opinion most Brits have no idea what the reality of life is outside State run comprehensive health service system, then moving abroad would seem hard as you say on encountering such costs.

I learnt this on moving to ireland 7 years ago from Scotland.

First thing they ask you for at A&E is how will you be paying, credit card or cash? Its about €50 to visit casualty. GP is about €50 per visit for any age (I have 5 kids and it costs a fortune). Prescriptions are full cost...not a flat rate like the UK. You can easily pay another €50-100 for the prescription on top of the GP fee. Each night in a filthy dark ages run down hospital (sorry about that) it costs about €50.

So my experience has opened my eyes to the fact that many Brits are stounded that they have to pay for health care at all.