Wol

No, you are a little mixed up.

Put simply, everyone pays a medicare levy with their income tax: currently 1.5%. Those who earn above a certain amount ALSO pay an extra 1% UNLESS they have private insurance. (It's a bribe by government to persuade people not to use Medicare).

Another incentive is to make people pay an EXTRA 2% of their private insurance premium for every year they are over 30 when they take out the insurance. (So that you don't leave it until you are dribbling and will cost the insurance a lot more.) But as a concession, if you take out private insurance within a year of first taking permanent residence, you are treated as if you are 30 - no loading.

Health insurance here isn't much like the UK - or anywhere else for that matter. In some ways it's like another arm of government - Canberra makes most of the rules and sets allowable premium increases etc. Most of the competition revolves around the small print exceptions and inclusions.

Hope this makes it a bit more clear.

claretandblue

Thanks Wol,
I might not know what to do yet but now understand a little more

Sherlock Holmes

As with all things, this may rely on location and your circumstances. If I may bore you to death for a moment....I live in a small town...pop 1500. We have our own hospital. We are 70 ks in any direction to the next medium sized town. As long as you have ambulance cover, if they need to ferry you about, it's all free. In Victoria anyway, once you are admitted to the public system, once there, everything is free. I had an "episode" 2 years back, to this day no one knows what it was. But the local hosp thought it was a heart condition. I was taken to Hamilton, admitted and they did every test on earth plus a scan of my bonce. All free. Not a bean.

I had an op for inguinal hernia repair. Had to pay 40% of the initial consultation with the surgeon. That was all. If I had gone private, it would have been the same surgeon.

It is worth bearing in mind that private or public, the surgeons are the same. There is a place round here somewhere, you are admitted to the public hosp, if you go private the doc walks across the road with you to the private one across the way!

We may be lucky here, our local, Hamilton, Warnambool, and Melbourne are all very good.

My surgeon for the hernia advised me that it wasn't worth going private unless you were likely to suffer from problems brought on by very severe obesity or serious gyno probs because you would then need to go to Melbourne and queue jumping and a private room would be good. All the wards around here now are two to a room or single rooms anyway.

SEAndy

Thanks for your reply Wol.

Cheers,
Andy

DadAgain

The trick for many of us is to HAVE private insurance (for tax minimisation and 'just in case') - but NOT to use it unless you're in a desperate hurry (and public health system deems it not to be a high priority) for whatever treatment you require!!!

If you're dying and need urgent treatment - public health will be fine
If you're basically fine and want some minor detail attenting to - public health will be ok

its the grey area inbetween where YOU think its urgent and health professionals say theres a 2 yr waiting list that might make it worth making and insurance claim.

IndieG

I just got this letter too and have to decide within the next 6 weeks. Could any one please recommend the cheapest and most basic health cover for me - just a stop gap arrangement until we decide which policy to go for finally and also so that I don't have to pay the extra o/a age loading.

I arrived here in Aug 2009 and I will have no income until December 2010. From Jan 2011, I will be giving myself an income of $45,000 and oh will be giving himself the same for the first year. Thanks

Dancingfield

Medicare is great but doesn'y cover regular medical expenses like dental and optometrist properly. Private care is essential for these - either that or a private savings account where you religiously put a monthly amount away, tagged for medical expenses. If you apply some basic investment ideas, and remain in good health, you end up with a good set of savings.

Also prevention is better than cure - make the most of manay funded health benefits - to keep in the best shape ever!

Wol

I can't agree with your second sentence. If you have a regular expenditure it can't (on average) be economic to "insure" it. The insurance company won't be operating at a loss and you will obviously have to pay their management expenses. Regular payments aren't like insuring against an unexpected one-off.

Swerv-o

I have found Frank Health Insurance to be the cheapest:

Frank Health Insurance

I am not with them - am with HCF - but intend to transfer when I find the time to attend to the paperwork. They are even cheaper than my partner's dedicated employer based fund.

If you just opt for the bargain basement cover you should at least get your name on the last before the due date so as not to start accruing penalty rates. You can transfer out/check all the details later on.


S

IndieG

Thank you Karma on its way!