showdan

Hi all

Been here (in Brisbane) for almost a year and need to decide whether to get private medical or stick with medicare.

When we were in th UK we were happy with the NHS, and if Medicare offer a similar service we wouldn't bother going private, so what I'm after is the main differences between the NHS & Medicare.

Would also like to hear from those that were NHS in the UK but went private in OZ, what were the main reasons?

Thanks
showdan

bridie

Assuming you mean hospital care, I dont think there's much difference at all.

Reasons we went private: beating the every lengthening queues should we have to have something done, private room, choice of consultant.

Think that about sums it up, probably something I forgot

Kim67

yep - that about sums it up. If you're having elective surgery under Medicare system, you can wait years (and I mean years) but under private health you will get in within a month or two max.

goldchoccycoin

Private health also gives rebates for things like dental which is cheap/free under NHS but not under Medicare unless you're a low-income earner/pensioner. Just to give an example I was quoted $300 for x-rays, clean and polish! Luckily my health fund rebated about 50%. Still expensive!

I also like the idea of having options and not waiting too long.

Margaret3

tis true, although i am glad to say the gov are trying to do something about it, in the public hosp i work in we are currently doing elective ops on the weekend to try to cut the waiting lists, however i worked in this scenerio in the nhs for around 10-12 years and the waiting lists just kept creeping back up once the weekend work had stopped.

they are also trying to establish better day surgery units in a bid to cut waiting lists.

youngy73

with private you dont always get your choice of consultant. generally you have to use the ones your health fund has an agreement with to avoid paying gap cover.

showdan

Thanks for all the replies.

So would I be correct in thinking that (under medicare) if I or any of my family have an accident and need hospital treatment that we won't get a big bill at the end of it

thanks
showdan

bridie

shouldnt do. I had to go in for a small procedure, had it done in the public hospital, cost nothing. also had been into A&E and that cost nothing.

one thing you must MUST sort out though is ambulance cover - contact your local St John Ambulance and sort it out, it cost us abou $90 or so - basically it covers you for any ambulance (including air) anywhere in Australia. Even if you have private health cover it's worth getting as not all funds cover you if you dont get admitted to hospital at the other end.

jad n rich

My FIL just had a colonoscopy, the wait for a freebie on medicare was so long they advised him he could be dead before an appointment came up. Love the bedside manner

His 2 other options were go as a walk in that is pay and claim what you can from
medicare, he would have been $485 out of pocket. wait for appointment 3 weeks.

Or use his private insurance, suddenly he was fitted in the next week at the same clinic (day procedure ) , pay the gap on his private cover of $200,but as he had already been in hospital this year, the gap on admission to hospital on his policy is a once only fee so he got it done at no out of pocket cost.

I think with every ailment you really need to ring around and see whos charging what and whats going to be the best/ cheapest / quickest way of going about it.

GinaUK

Going by the posters on here, it also seems to vary a lot dependng on where you live. I've noticed that people in WA and SA by and large seem to get prompt, efficient and free medical care, whereas people in Queensland seem to have great difficulty.

Gina

showdan

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think here in Queensland we automatically get charged an ambulance levy on our electric bill so we already have ambulance cover.

bridie

i think that's right, dont know why other states dont do the same really...

Kim67

Yep all Queenslanders are covered by a levy charged to them on their electricity account. My son had an accident at school, ambulance was called and never saw an ambulance bill.

ossigeno

There is also the medicare surcharge to consider.