audrey426

Hi all

Completely confused as to what i get for my money re medibank.
going on a 457 visa, and taken their basic package for approx $200 for the visa requirement.
Should I up it to the full cover/no excess for approx $450, I want to be covered for all eventuallitys as have 4 children! (ie emergency surgery etc) Dont understand all this stuff as regards to being from uk , that i get some cover automatically?
Have read all docs, looked up some threads and still cant fathom what exactly do I need? Which is why I went for the basic one.

daunted

Hi Audrey. We have medibank private insurance (advantage plus i think its called) which has come in handy for daughters glasses/contact lenses and chiro stuff. It also includes St Johns ambulance cover which is very important to get either with insurance or direct from St Johns. I know people who have had very very large bills for transport to hospital.
Other than that we havent had to use it (and fingers crossed we wont) AND since we been here (nearly 3 years) this family has had 1 broken ankle, 2 broken hands, 1 broken tibia, 1 kidney infection resulting in hospital admission, 1 hospital admission or a gynae procedure. All of this was done on Medicare and hasnt cost us a cent. The level of care we have received has been fantastic. I think the time private cover really comes into its own is if you need to go into hosp for a procedure where there are long waiting lists.

audrey426

Hi there,

Thanks for getting back to me! Is that the full whack cover you have then?

Pollyana

If you are moving to Queensland (looks like it from previous threads) forget ambulance cover. In Qld you pay for ambulance cover as part of your electric bill so you don't need extra cover for it.

Bernieboy

Electric ambo

goldchoccycoin

Right - I'll have a go at this!

As a UK resident you are entitled to recipricol care under the agreement between the NHS and Medicare (Aus equivalent of NHS)

Medibank (as opposed to Medicare) is a private health insurer.

If you have an emergency - broken leg, appedicitis etc. - you can rock up at any A&E (Emergency) and get immediate FREE care.

However, medicare has no coverage for 457 holders for dental, optical, non-emergency cover (so no cover for knee reconstructions etc.)

So, you need health insurance to get a 457 - part of the rules - but it's your chocie as to the level of cover you get.

If you get all the bells and whistles hospital cover you can usually choose which hospital/surgeon etc if you need an op - and often get a private room. However there are often 'excess' and 'gap' fees to pay so it's not ALL covered.

You also can get 'extras' cover - which may cover a percentage of the costs of things like physio, chiro, optical and dentistry - but not all.

In summary - it's a personal choice. Some people who are generally healthy don't feel they need any private health (or just get the minimum) and then just pay out for things as they need them (like a dentist check up) as it's cheaper than a full premium for insurance.

As a 457 holder I believe you are not required to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge which is a large factor in many people having Private Health in Aus (me anyway!) so that's not applicable.

You are also somewhat restricted to a limited number of Health Insurance providers and cannot claim the Rebate.

I think Daunted has only used her insurance for optical etc. and the other things she was talking about were covered by the recipricol agreement.

Basically, it's complicated - you'll have to search out which providers offer cover and which is usitable for you. Otherwise get the basic cover and save up a bit for dentist etc.

This is a good link: http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/heal...as/457visa.htm

asher

it depends if its in your contract from your employer that you need to have medical insurance otherwise on a 457 it's your employers responsibility says so in your visa!
however most companies add it to your contract small print that you have responsibility for this

take out the basic, most kids stuff will be emergencies which are free , dont forget with private health insurance there's a 6 month to 1 year waiting limit for most things before you can use the darn thing!

AlliF

Also make sure you get the visitors cover - on a 457 you are obviously not a permanent resident and therefore entitled to less cover from medicare. The visitors cover costs a little bit more than the basic.
We were on the wrong cover from Medibank for a whole year and only discovered when we went to claim for something that we weren't adequately covered (and that was despite me having queried them about it when we took the policy out initially). So we got nowt back!

audrey426

Thanks for all your replies, crystal clear now!
One more question re UK life insurance policys, Me and partner both have life cover (had for 4 years) its a good one, did you all continue your uk life policys when you went to oz?
(Just in case we get eaten by croc ,jelly fish or great white attack, fatally attacked by vicious emus etc etc should we dare venture townsville beach!)

goldchoccycoin

You probably need to check the terms of your life cover - mine doesn't cover me now I'm resident in Aus - may well be different for you as you are 'temporary residents'.