Sounds good. Trouble is, like the UK, they can no longer afford their health system - hence the deficits

I am quite sure they would get this principle. Why wouldn't they?

This is another vital point - in serious conditions, a normal doctor will sort it anyhow. Are you suggesting that as soon as you tick Private then you are kept waiting whilst a private person rocks up? Are you not taken to a public hospital to start with- and a private transfer happens later if you opt-in? Who asks you if you are not in a state to respond or ask? Sort of an example - but skewed to childbirth : We looked at private for childbirth and then realised it was all a cash cow for the doctors, and you ended up with a c-section. We figured that the midwives really knew what they were doing, not the doctors who tend to see it as a medical issue they can 'solve' rather than something that midwives get you through.

I figure that there must be some sort of triage whereby if you really need it, you get expedited - the issue is knowing how bad you can get with a, b and c before time runs out..

Sounds like the European system in some countries is fine, how does Medicare compare to the US?
Remember they pay more tax, surely?

So really, all health systems are a bit of a nightmare. It's a modern problem.
States built health systems after WW2 and they started to creak within 2 generations.

Look at most of the wealthy countries of Europe that have huge deficits. Where has all their money gone? Basically on welfare. They have nothing to show for it except debt. In the UK's case, they have almost totally squandered their oil wealth. The money was spent on welfare and not on infrastructure or wealth creation.

Unfortunately we're heading the same way.

My son was in the royal children's hosp for two stressful weeks last year, two operations and still an outpatient, thank goodness we don't have private healthcare, no idea what it would have cost..... The surgeons , the nurses and staff are amazing, we have nothing but praise for the service we received.... They saved my sons leg.

The main thing is folks,look after and never ignore all yer aches n pains,a pre-emptive strike at the problem will save you grief later

Back to the OP - Are you using doctors/dentists from your insurer's recommended list? I think that can make quite a difference.

How can we tell whether we should act? The only ache and pain I get is the one I get after I hear the voice of a thousand expats who have not found what they are looking for..

no seriously - I get an ache in my legs the day after I've ran around the oval too fast(!)

Run slower

I had private health cover while I was there. Found it didn't cost me much for my outlay on the policy once the medicare levy, plus the allowances towards optical and dental were taken into account each year (but of course you have to spend to get). Mind you, I took it out without having any loading as a fit and healthy 30 year old with no troubling medical history. I did find myself out of pocket one year to the tune of around a grand for a load of tests which (thankfully) led to nothing but an all clear. On the whole though, I think it gave me a little peace of mind, whether it was warranted or not. I'll take it out again upon my return.

I suppose it's a gamble on what you expect to use it for (and so what cover you take out), and therefore also on whether the s*it hits the fan big time. If it's something very serious then you'd hope the public system would do the job, but having private should give you a choice that hopefully doesn't bankrupt you with the fee gaps. And if the public wait is too long for something non life threatening then at least you have the choice of a partially cost covered private diagnosis/care/treatment/operation.

I worked for a company who had 4 members of the same (Australian) family working there, either full time or as contractors. Their incomes would have all been over where the taxman started to take an extra slice for not having private cover (considerably so in the case of the 2 parents). They'd never had private cover and instead ran by the principle (hope?) of putting whatever they'd have spent on cover away in an invested fund to cover any medical eventualities that they'd want/need to go private for. It had worked for them...so far.

Check your policies carefully, think about your required cover, and compare the gaps. Then shop around for your medical practitioner/provider (if you have the chance or choice) should you ever be unfortunate enough to need to use it for something major.

I found NIB competitive and just fine for me, but I've also heard others slate them. As I say, I never needed to use my insurance for anything serious though, and I hope I never will!

I have mainly used ours for dental.

I had a fair bit of work done last year, I would have been hit with a bit of $480 per visit (took 5 visits).

I ended up paying $30 and some work I didn't pay anything.

Ok so I have probably paid more in to the plan over time, but knowing that I won't get whacked with a massive dental bill makes it worth it for me. I don't know how people can afford dental work without medical cover for it, especially with a family, it is sooooooooooooooooooooo expensive!!!!

I am with BUPA by the way and they are very good, we were with them in the UK as well.

So for a single person with no dependants living in Oz what would be a good private health plan ?

It's been so long since I've compared plans that I couldn't really answer you. All I would say is cut out the cover for the things you (think you) obviously won't need ie; I didn't have cover for any baby related stuff (as my partner at the time wasn't remotely broody), and I didn't have cover for things like hip replacements and wotnot. I figured at 30 something then I wouldn't be needing things like that yet, so why pay for it? You can always tailor your cover from year to year as your age and plans or needs for partners and families progresses.

If I remember rightly then I was only paying around $500 a year more than the Medicare levy would have been for me. As I had allowances towards this, that, and the other then it just seemed to make sense to take out cover at the time, especially as it saved me any future loading by not doing so immediately.

Sure loads of others on here can point you in the right direction, Bernie. I wouldn't want to tell you a load of crock though. (I'm trying to remember if the Australian Government had an official comparison site between policy providers and their policies/cover. I'm fairly sure there used to be one...)

Cheers mate

I used to work for one company and to be honest a lot of plans are similar - or they were. I think ISELECT was a good one to compare.

I checked Medibank and what they covered and a lot of their mid to top level stuff is stuff like plastic surgery, kidney operations. To be honest, I don't expect my kidneys to fail..

I really wonder if all you need is basic - which is sort of 'sprains' and 'bangs' injuries and just to be able to see a specialist because you want to get back into sport. I've given up some of the sports that involve the sort of stuff that seriously effs your knees...(etc) I still feel that if you were admitted to a public hospital in a bad way that you'd get yourself sorted out.