pickled

Hello there,

A long story, but I will try to keep it short. My daughter, son-in-law and their two boys moved to Melbourne in May 2009. (I have spoken about them before) Son-in-law has been ill and a few months ago, had to have an operation for hemorrhoids. He didn't seem to pick up after the op and further tests showed that he had cancer. He had to have his prostate and bladder lining removed, but more tests have shown that the cancer is a very aggressive one and he now need the whole of the bladder removed followed by 12 weeks of chemotherapy, or he will die. They are really struggling for money and we wondered if (as they are British Citizens) they could get any help with medical fees from the NHS in this country. Hubby rang the NHS but didn't really get anywhere.

I was wondering if anyone knew if this was a possibility. Any help and advice would be much appreciated please.

Cheers

Pollyana

What visa are they on? Is it temporary or permanent?

pickled

I believe they went on a 457, but they now have residency. Does that help? Son-in-law works as a Tutor at Melbourne University who sponsored him.

Bermudashorts

I am afraid I think it is very doubtful that the NHS is going to assist unless they moved back to the UK for good. To qualify for NHS care one has to be habitually resident.

Sorry that is not the answer you are looking for.

pickled

No, that is not the answer I was looking for, but if i'm honest, it was the answer I was expecting.

Thank you for taking the time to answer me Bermudsahorts.

Pollyana

And if they now have permanent residency then they are dependent on the Australian system unfortunately. Presumably they had health insurance when on the 457 - was that cancelled?

pickled

Thank you Pollyana, I dont think they would have cancelled any insurance they had with the 457, but my daughter was telling me this morning that they will have to pay 40% of some of the costs and 100% of others. I may have got this wrong though as I'm having a job taking in that son-in-law is so ill really.

quoll

He should be covered by medicare - there may be occasional things to pay for which arent covered as this is a co-pay system but I would have thought that for something as serious, there wouldnt be that much to pay. Hospital treatment is going to be free even under the reciprocal arrangement as it is necessary treatment and as they are now PR there would be no quibbling at all.

If they still have the insurance from their 457 days then there may be a repatriation capacity for returning him to UK with support but I dont know that the treatment would be any better, just a bit cheaper but the costs of moving would be huge.

{{{hugs}}} this must be a really difficult time for you all

jad n rich

Is this because of the visa or because many medical costs in OZ are not free

Cancer patients ( like any illness in OZ ) may have to pay for some treatments/tests and then try to claim a partial refund from medicare if that item is covered. There is a schedule fee set by the govt and a % of that may be refunded, the patient then pays the balance between the schedule fee and what the consultant/pathology lab etc charges minus the medicare refund. Cancer patients often also elect to have private treatment so as not to go on a waiting list for free treatment, sadly that is very common.

Once in a public hospital the treatment/care/even outpatients is usually free.

It is quite different here from the NHS. I hope this helps you understand it a bit.

pickled

Thank you quoll and jad n rich

It has helped me to understand it a bit more and I thank you for taking the time to reply. It is difficult being this far away from them, I just hope he survives everything.

fish.01

For cancer treatment I have found it exactly the same as the nhs. If they attend a public hospital almost everything is free. Maybe they have gone private and that might explain their costs. Treatment for cancer has almost always been very prompt on the public system in my experience and maybe they should consider it if they haven't already.

pickled

Thank you fish, unfortunately they were advised to go private which probably explains whey it is costing them so much.

Pollyana

Thats the answer then, and the NHS certainly wouldn't help out with the cost of private care, not even under any reciprocal arrangements.

fish.01

If they haven't already make sure they ask to be treated as No Gap patients. The private specialists are under no obligation but they often agree...always have with me....this means there will be little or no gap between what private insurance covers and the specialists fees. The private insurers website lists which doctors have previously agreed to No Gap with their patients.

There is often another option called "intermediate". This is where you are treated by a private specialist in a public hospital. Helps to reduce those private costs. They should also explore switching back to public if suitable....they could claim ignorance of the system maybe?

pickled

Thank you fish, there are some good suggestions there. I will pass this information on to them straight away.