sormesher

hi there,
we are trying to work out all the costs for our up coming move. now i always thought that you had to have private medical insurance but now my husband said that the majority of people dont.
can anyone help with this grey area?
i will have to received thyroid meds as i have had mine out which will also mean regular blood tests to make sure i am getting the right dose. so that is one cost i know about.
ambulance cover and dental cover can these be separate insurance costs or are they included in the health insurance?
is there a comparison website to find out what the costs maybe?
thanks

JAJ

Understand the Medicare levy surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover before making your decision.

sormesher

okay i will do a internet search and i am sure i will find some info on that, its all very confusing.

quoll

It all depends on the visa you will be coming on as well - if you are temporary residents then your employer may insist.

JAJ gave good advice! It's very much a personal decision.

harrip

The comparison site usually quoted is iselect.com.au - however some of the major companies are not included in the comparisons so I would also recommend checking out MBF.com.au and medibank.com.au.

I've considered not using private health insurance, but for me, if I don't have it I have to pay a higher medicare levi (more tax) so I'm actually better off having the insurance. Also, if you don't take the insurance and choose to opt in at a later stage in life there will be an extra loading which increases with age.

ABCDiamond

Ambulance Cover is available separately, and not needed in some States. This will depend on your location, but may be about $100 for a family, in the States that need it. Most Hospital covers will include it automatically.

Dental cover is normally an optional extra to Hospital cover, and can be done on its own for those who choose not to have Hospital cover.

At March 2009, 44.6% of the population had Hospital Cover. In June 1998 it was only 30.6%.

pawpaw

just gotten my permanent visa- also considering the same issue- PRIVATE INSURANCE or not .

My considerations are different from the thread starter "sormesher" (hope you don't mind me posting here- if yes, I'll start a new thread)

I am planning to start a family and consider to go private hospital for the delivery. I know that the waiting time for the most pregnancy cover is 12months- I think I can wait (factoring in the 10months gestation and trying to conceive period).

I won't make the move to Australia due to the economy, and cannot register for medicare (no local address). Am I eligible to buy the private insurance (without registering for medicare 1st and not living in Aust yet)?

This medicare and health insurance thing are so complicated.... not anything lesser than my visa application!!

DadAgain

You might want to consider that carefully.

PRO-PRIVATE
===========
1) Less hanging around for pre-natal check-ups
2) Continuity of care - same obstetrician every time you visit.
3) Less likely to share a room (although private rooms are NOT guaranteed in a private hospital)

PRO-PUBLIC
===========
1) Cheaper (even after insurance premiums, your out of pocket expenses for private will be considerable)
2) More midwife-led care instead of obstetrician. (i.e. non-medicalised - you arent sick, why need a doctor?)
3) Dramatically lower caesar rates (see above point - less doctor involvment, means less cutting!)
4) Less chance of DYING!!!! (natural births are inherently less risky than surgery - the US has the highest caesar rate and nearly the highest maternal mortality rate in the OECD - Australia's private sector is not far behind)
5) Higher chance of a 'positive borth experience' according to most studies published in reputable medical journals.

Sorry if that comes across as preaching - I'll declare my bias: My wife is a public midwife and is constantly LIVID by the destruction of quality birth experiences by obstetricians in a hurry to deliver quickly when theres no sign of any problem (using forceps, suction - or emergency caesars) when all that is needed is a little more patience.

I've had the journal articles thrust in front of me and the evidence looks compelling to me - things are seriously screwed up.
- Dont take my word for it

look at "The Business of Being born" documentary, or ask around on http://www.essentialbaby.com.au forums....

gedge

I agree with DA on this. Experience has shown that private more often than not results in doctors taking a hand in the delivery when midwives and unassisted delivery would suffice. With this in mind I've known friends to opt for public even though having private cover.

ABCDiamond

I have seen and heard that same comment from many people over the years.

James516

Yep, we had our first over here on the public and since then have got private cover that does NOT include obstetrics, as we were very happy with public and will go that way again. Mind you, a big part of that positive experience is the new Mater Mothers here in Brisbane, which is max 2 mums to a room even in public, which makes a big difference from the old days when a public maternity hospital had 6 or 8 to a room.

fish.01

A few more reasons to go public:

- Anecdotal, but an independent agency nurse told my sister last week that one private hospital on the inner southside of Brisbane (not the Mater Private) had a far too high patient to nurse ratio to the point it was dangerous. The same nurse and another both recommended the big public hospitals (PA, RBH, Mater).

- If you go public you usually have access to the registrars and residents when your specialist is busy - this is not usually the case in the private hospitals.

- You might have to be transferred to a public hospital anyway for serious cases as the private hospital won't have the facilities or staff to treat you.


Cost wise, even if you feel it is worth your while to get private insurance due to the medicare levy surcharge you are better not to use it if you have an accident - just say "public please" if you are conscious This way you avoid potential large gap payments for exactly the same treatment you would have got in the public hospital.


A few more reasons to go private:

- Awesome meal trolley with wine brought around each night new mum is in hospital - can have nice meal together in your room.

- Your ob can just sign mum in for extra nights if breastfeeding is not working out or something like that.

- If you know a fantastic ob you can use them.

- Own room can help when sick and don't want to be sharing a room with people dying/snoring/in pain/crazy etc.

- Elective surgery - though public system elective surgery waiting lists are not always bad - depends on the where you are and what needs to be done.

goldchoccycoin

A very good site to understand Medicare Levy Surcharge and Lifetime Health Loading is www.privatehealth.gov.au (official Gov website) you can also do a search for cover on there

Smartinis

The problem is you never know whats around the corner. We have full private cover for the family, never thought we would use it that much at the moment but we're not getting any younger But last year our then 19 year old son had to have a knee reconstruction after playing indoor soccer!! If we'd not had the cover we may have had no choice but make him wait for a public bed, although I guess we'd have tried to cover the cost ourselves as it could have been 18 months plus as it isn't life threatening, but no fun being on crutches either, especially as he started uni in January. The op in the end along with the years physio so far has cost about $8-9000. We have paid about $1500 in out of pocket expenses. On the day the surgeon and private hospital were fantastic, he had a private room, it was local, I was well looked after while he was in surgery (Very important) and they did a fantastic job, you couldn't even notice the scars now they were so minimal. I had wondered about the cost on the cover, but they've covered our payments for a while now, with what we'd have paid out.

Petals

My hobby horse, given thatmost private hospitals do not want to treat you if you become a problem that is likely to require overnight medical supervision and therefore get you moved to the public hospital why bother.

At the moment my husband is having problems we do not have health insurance. He has had cat scans bulk billed, xrays and is having a lung biopsy on Thursday in a private hospital and we will just pay what medicare doesn't cover. We are quite happy. The specialist bulk billed too not all do this of course and we are happy to pay the difference anyway.

If a person has a chronic condition the gap fees can be crucifying with private health insurance.

Private health is good for having a baby if you want to be induced, get a spinal or have a ceser. Knees, hips, by passes that may or may not be needed.

If you have public you get the bypass you need plus any other ops if there is no need you do not get them.