daveandsarah

I know it will vary depending on the all the personal factors, but would welcome any recommendations on health insurance providers for my 457 visa ??

And is it LAHFA deductable, seeing as we have to have it ... ??

ta

KJCherokee

Unless it is some strange visa requirement that I don't know about, private health insurance isn't compulsory - but you'd be a fool not to take it out for "Extras" as a minimum as dentistry is not covered by Medicare. Also if you are a high income earner you will have to pay an extra Medicare levy if you don't have private hospital cover.

I know people who have private cover but have elected to get treatment via the public system because of the number of costs in a private hospital which weren't covered.

No idea about LAFHA.

daveandsarah

Apparently, we need to have some form of cover in place before the visa will be approved.
Just what i'm told...
Can you define 'high earner' as regards the Medicare levy ??

ta

killerhales

We're with the NIB (www.nib.com.au), they seem OK, you get a bit of money back on dentistry, eye checks, physio and so on.

For family cover we pay in the order of $200 per month.

DadAgain

The trick with Private health insurance is not to use it!

The reality is that in a huge number of cases the quality of care you receive in thge public health system will be better than in the private system.

Private hospitals tend to be smaller, have fewer facilities and are run with a eye on the almighty bottom line, nurses and are paid less. Public hospitals are run on more a patient focus and nurses (although still overworked) are paid slightly more than their private counterparts.

Add to that that being treated for a minor procedure in a Private Hospital is likely to end up costing you over $1000 in extras beyond what your PHI covers (and it doesnt seem to matter who your insure with - even top level of covers always has gaps you need to pay) and Public treatment will set you back nothing and its easy to see why a huge and grwoing percentage of PHI holders chose not to use their insurance unless tthey develop a really *serious* need (i.e. a condition where the Public waiting list is measured in years).



Note - in some non-urban areas it may be true that Public Emergency Departments have long waits.... (Having said that my limited experience of Brisbane ER's has been perfectly acceptable in terms of waiting time and this has been in hopsitals that have been slammed by the press for having unacceptable ER perfromance)

(hint [joke] - Add "Chest Pain" to the list of your symptoms when you present at Emergency and you'll be whisked through without seeing the waiting room at all.... whichever hospital you're in!)

KJCherokee

$77,000 for individuals, $154,000 for families, add another $1500 for each child after the first.

If you earn over these limits you will pay 2.5% of taxable income to Medicare instead of the 1.5% everyone pays.

Note that these thresholds are taxable income. Reduce your taxable income (by salary sacrifice and other means) and you can avoid the surcharge.

daveandsarah

Thanks - as a family we will be under those limits.

As regards this response -
as we're on a 457 visa - i'm not entirely sure what we can access thru the regular public health system. ????

mvagusta

I got my 457 approved using an annual travel insurance policy and a covering letter from a health insurance provider. I didn't have to actually pay for the letter.

I will be using the reprociprical agreement when I arrive in Oz with possibly ambulance cover only. I believe that you go to your nearest medicare office and show your passport and in return you get a medicare card which is a different colour from the standard one.

As you have a family in may be beneficial for you to take medical insurance.

DadAgain

Surely as a 457 visa holder you are entitled either to Medicare OR to use the NHS/Medicare reciprical agreement? (I'm just guessing)

fish.01

No, only PR get full medicare...457 entitled to reciprocal only - if that's what you meant.

Fluid36

Whats the difference between full and reciprocal? - haven't noticed any myself and was always wondering if there was actually any?

fish.01

The key difference is that the reciprocal medicare agreement has this caveat:

"Medically necessary treatment means any ill-health or injury which occurs while you are in Australia and requires treatment before you return home." (my emphasis)

So I guess if you have some pre-existing condition or require treatment that they can argue does not need to be done before you go home then you may be refused.

In practice this probably comes down to individual interpretation when it is not clear cut. Anecdotally some clinics have ignored this rule altogether so it really is luck of the draw whether you are affected by this difference.

Source: http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/...isitors/uk.jsp

Fluid36

Ok - thanks fish, has anyone on this forum used reciprocal medicare for childbirth in a public hospital?

Dreamy

There was a thread on here about it not long ago, may be worth a search.

Here's one I found on the Immi forum - Elice has experience of giving birth on a 457 and she details her experiences on this thread.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ight=birth+457

Fluid36

Thanks Dreamy