Snaphappy in Oz

Hi there
What advice does everyone have on the above mentioned.
We have been here 7 months now.
Our best friend is a nurse here and her advice on medical cover was...don't bother. If you need anything doing and you have cover you end up paying a gap fee where as if you don't have cover you pay nothing! O.K.....cover means you may get seen a little quicker and can have a private room but you can have a private consultation even without cover and claim a good deal of it back on medicare, and if the problem is in need of quick attention you will still get it for nothing, not having cover! Does anyone have any different ideas on this?
Now for dentists. Thats a different story!
Soon after arriving I chipped my front tooth...part of a bridge! Also I had extreme sensativity in a back tooth. And when I say sensitivity, boy do I mean it! I have been to hell and back. The result is a root canal. My dentist is a lovely man and did all he could to determine the cause before resorting to a root canal, but had he done it in the first place he would have saved me a LOT of pain. He was trying to save me money, so I can't be too cross!
Dentistry here is MEGA money. The chipped bridge is going to cost in excess of $3,000 The root canal around $1,700-thats including the crown that will no doubt have to be fitted eventually.And those prices are WITH cover. I don't qualify for an actual refund yet but you do get charged a cheaper price if you have cover...something worth knowing. I have to wait 12 months to qualify for major dental, 2 months for general. Had I registered for dental within 2 months of getting here I would not have had to have a qualifying period at all, because we had HSA cover in U.K. and if I could have proved that they waiver the waiting period-thats worth knowing! There are so many things to do when you first get here, but if you had some cover in U.K. make it a priopirty to sort it out...it can save you heaps! The cover I took gives general and major dental, ambulance(which everyone needs), optical, physio, chiro, and several others. I'm pleased with it so far.
Anyone have stories to tell?

NKSK version 2

Not from first hand experience but I'd say about 80% (note not 100%) of the teachers that I work with (many of whom are Perth born and bred) say you simply must get health cover - especially if you have a young family.

We lasted 7 months without but have now bitten the bullet. Primarily our reasoning was not so much what we could claim back but how much we could queue jump if we needed anything doing.

Keeping this philosophy in mind, we opted for a relatively high excess ($250) but top hospital cover and standard extras.

Most of the people that I work with seem to think it's a positive thing although granted it ain't going to cover everything.

Another thing, don't be afraid of playing one fund off against another to get the deal you want. I agreed to have payroll deduction and got instant hospital and extras cover without the qualifying periods.

My feeling is that you should get cover as soon as you can. If after a year or so, it seems that it's not worth it, stop paying. It is easier to do it this way around then trying to start at a later date with higher premiums.

annqldau

Ambulances come off your electric bill so medical cover doesn't make any difference as you still get normal ambulance.

From my experience so far locals recommend cover to jump operation que and also people with private cover more likely to get few days in hopsital post illness to get better as it's paid for.

Dentists I'm not sure on, but have also heard they cost a fortune so brush well... :scared: .

NKSK version 2

Don't think ambulances are paid for via electric bills in WA. Think you have to pay separately.

annqldau

Must be a strange QLD thing as def on the lecci bill.

ABCDiamond

It is only Queensland that do it via the Electric Bill



A useful document on Medical cover is http://www.phiac.gov.au/insurenotsure/pdf/insure.pdf

(It is a PDF file.)

Medical