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Private medical cover

Private medical cover

Old Feb 25th 2004, 9:49 am
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Default Private medical cover

Just wondering what the consensus is amongst people with regard to obtaining private medical cover.

In our household there are myself and my wife (both soon to hit 30) and two young children (3 and 4).

At the moment we are in good health, but know that we get a surcharge after we hit 30.

Is it worth us getting cover? If so with provider? What benefit cover should we include?

Sorry we are totally in the dark with health options. Any help greatly welcome.

Cheers
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Old Feb 25th 2004, 10:37 am
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Default Re: Private medical cover

Originally posted by Westside
Just wondering what the consensus is amongst people with regard to obtaining private medical cover.

In our household there are myself and my wife (both soon to hit 30) and two young children (3 and 4).

At the moment we are in good health, but know that we get a surcharge after we hit 30.

Is it worth us getting cover? If so with provider? What benefit cover should we include?

Sorry we are totally in the dark with health options. Any help greatly welcome.

Cheers
Heres a web site
http://www.iselect.com.au/ to give you an idea on costs for health insurance.

A search on this site will reveal various answers, both for and against private cover. If your wages are above a certain figure it can be worth it to avoid the medicare surcharge.
 
Old Feb 25th 2004, 2:56 pm
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Default Re: Private medical cover

Originally posted by ABCDiamond
Heres a web site
http://www.iselect.com.au/ to give you an idea on costs for health insurance.

A search on this site will reveal various answers, both for and against private cover. If your wages are above a certain figure it can be worth it to avoid the medicare surcharge.
Tried the site but after filling in all the data - nothing! Just the status line saying "Done"

Perhaps I'm uninsurable and they don't want to say
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 2:53 am
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Default Re: Private medical cover

Hi

We have looked into private heath cover, and for now decided to stick to medicare, one reason for this is the following.

Our 9 year old daughter broke both her wrists 6 months ago. We took her to the local casualty department ( Very quickly!!) and were seen straight away. We were asked if we were private or medicare. I said medicare, and asked if her treatment would be any different from a private patient. It wasnt. To cut a very long story short. she was operated on that night by the same surgeon who would have done it if we had been private, I stayed with her that night, got a meal, bed and use of a shower and was treated like royalty. She had lots of X-rays and follow-up appointments. This all cost us nothing. We have been told if we were private patients the gap for the surgeon alone would have been $500, not to mention the X-rays and followups.

This has put us off going private for now, maybe when we are older and headling for hip replacements ect we will re- think.

One thing I would get covered for is Ambulence Cover, This cost us $60 for all the family for the year. If we were to call an ambulence from where we live the cost is $600.

Mrs Brox
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 3:26 am
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About the lifetime health cover surcharge: This only applies to the HOSPITAL potion of the insurance, not on the extras (dental, eyecare, ambulance etc etc), and is currently a 2% loading for every year of age OVER 30. If there are 2 of you, then the average age is used.

One tip here is to go with an excess on your policy, since the excesses generally are on the hospital portion. I am with HCF and have a $50 per day per hospital stay, up to a max of 8 days.

If you do the sums, the reduction in LHC on the hospital premium works out roughly the same as the MAXIMUM excess payable in one year (these figures are with HCF).

Some good news however, The Health department here is shortly to introduce an exception for migrants, as long as you take out cover within a certain time. Its not in as yet, but will shortly be announced. The removal of LHC for migrants will NOT however be backdated, but once its been announced, you can have the surcharge removed from your premium
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 3:55 am
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Default Re: Private medical cover

Originally posted by Westside
Just wondering what the consensus is amongst people with regard to obtaining private medical cover.

In our household there are myself and my wife (both soon to hit 30) and two young children (3 and 4).

In a similar position to you and not taken any private out after a year. If the only extra is 'hotel' costs and speed of referral I'll take my chances with Medicare for now
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 5:24 am
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Default Re: Private medical cover

Dont forget income over $50,000 for a single or $100,000 for a family attracts an additional income tax levy if you dont have health cover. Think its 1% unless thats gone up too.

I'd also consider the health facilites where you are going to live. Friends now in Cairns with a cleft pal kid have to travel to Bris for appointments with a specialist. Up here (sunshine coast) one of the fastest growing areas in OZ, there is no public hospital Cancer treatment, they put people on a bus to Bris. Might pay to check things out.
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 10:16 am
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>>Some good news however, The Health department here is shortly to introduce an exception for migrants, as long as you take out cover within a certain time. Its not in as yet, but will shortly be announced. The removal of LHC for migrants will NOT however be backdated, but once its been announced, you can have the surcharge removed from your premium <<

That's very interesting - as a wrinkly my loading will be 60-odd %. Do you have any references for that so that I can read up on it and not make a big mistake when I arrive?
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 11:14 am
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Here ya go Rog, this is taken from the Health department website. I have pasted it in full as it is something of obvious interest to all us wrinklies who have recently migrated, or are thinking of migrating

The URL for this is http://www.health.gov.au/privateheal...t.htm#migrated


There are no special provisions for migrants who arrived after 1 July 2000, who are not refugees.

Private health insurance overseas does not count towards Lifetime Health Cover. This is because any private health insurance held overseas does not contribute to the support of community rating, as Australian private health insurance is required to do. Community rating requires Australian private health funds to charge everyone the same premium regardless of health status and claims history.

If you were born on or before 1 July 1934, you are not affected by Lifetime Health Cover. This means, that if you don't have health insurance now but think you want to take it out in the future, you can do so at any time and only pay the base rate premium, that is, the same premium a 30 year old would pay.

The Minister recently announced a number of reforms to private health that include changes to Lifetime Health Cover. The Government is aware that some migrants have, until now been liable for the additional premiums required by Lifetime Health Cover. This will no longer be the case and in the future new migrants will have twelve months from the day they become eligible for Medicare in which to purchase private health insurance without incurring the Lifetime Health Cover loadings.


These changes are subject to the passage of legislation.

If you wish to take out hospital cover, you will pay a premium based on the age you are when you first take out private hospital cover. You will be required to pay a 2 per cent loading on top of the base rate for every year you delay taking out hospital cover over the age of 30. For example, a person who delays joining until the age of 40 will pay 20 per cent more than someone who joined at the age of 30. The maximum loading that a person can be required to pay is 70 per cent. This is the loading that a person first taking out hospital cover at age 65 is required to pay.

Migrants granted permanent visas before 1 July 2000 and who were overseas on 1 July 2000 come under the expatriate provision. They are given a certified age at entry of 30 on 1 July 2000 and are entitled to pay the base rate premium.

Migrants in this situation need only prove to the health fund that they were a holder of a permanent visa on 1 July 2000 and that they were overseas on 1 July 2000. Their passports and visas will contain this information.

People in this situation do not need documentation from the department.
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 11:39 am
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Trev:

Thanks. The wording is a bit on the obscure side, isn't it?!

From what I can see we won't come under the provisions: we are both 61 and will be arriving permanently sometime later this year. But the paragraphs do jump from one thing to another and it's not at all clear which people will be included and which not.

And, of course, Oz has quite a history of legislation being fanfared and then quietly dropped.........

Will try and keep up with this one!
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 11:43 am
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Originally posted by Rog Williams
Trev:

Thanks. The wording is a bit on the obscure side, isn't it?!

From what I can see we won't come under the provisions: we are both 61 and will be arriving permanently sometime later this year. But the paragraphs do jump from one thing to another and it's not at all clear which people will be included and which not.

And, of course, Oz has quite a history of legislation being fanfared and then quietly dropped.........

Will try and keep up with this one!
I agree with you Rog
We are in our 50s and it still seems unclear what our position will be.
I have read the above and still don't know unless I am a bit thick.

G
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 7:14 pm
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We're hoping to be there on 410 retirement visas which means we have no entitlement to Medicare. We've costed the necessary insurance and if we include all possible options it comes to about $4000pa for both of us - ie including dental care, optician etc etc. This is less than we are currently paying in the UK private cover with PPP, which doesn't include dental charges. Only thing I'm not sure about is the cost of prescriptions. Anyone know?

Lesley
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 7:24 pm
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Default Re: Private medical cover

Originally posted by Westside
Just wondering what the consensus is amongst people with regard to obtaining private medical cover.

In our household there are myself and my wife (both soon to hit 30) and two young children (3 and 4).

At the moment we are in good health, but know that we get a surcharge after we hit 30.

Is it worth us getting cover? If so with provider? What benefit cover should we include?

Sorry we are totally in the dark with health options. Any help greatly welcome.

Cheers
Have just asked this question to all our friends in Oz and same reply from each, Medicare is sufficient enough and all happy with service they had, from having babies to broken bones etc....this from Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast and Melbourne.

All did have private ambulance cover as Brox mentioned before.
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Old Feb 26th 2004, 7:55 pm
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>>Only thing I'm not sure about is the cost of prescriptions. Anyone know?<<

That of course is the big question!

You are thinking in terms of the "prescription" being a fixed charge a la NHS. This disguises the real cost of the drugs prescribed.

I have to take antibiotics once or twice a year. Until I got to 60 the "prescription" cost was - what is it? six pounds? Now of course it's zilch.

But I have also had antibiotics prescribed for the same thing in the States and paid nearly $300 for a five day course one time, $170 and $75 others.
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