Private health cover & sir495 prov visas

[redfoxy]

Hi all,

I think most will agree this is a mine field !!

As State independent regional visa 495 holders we are all entitiled to reciprocal health care which covers your GP and emergency treatment at A & E.

However, IF we get a proper physical complaint and need our patient treatment and / or an operation I understand that we have to pay for it. What have others found ? Is this true ??

Also, are there any other couples in their 40's out there with this type of visa who have taken private medical cover ? if so what have you taken ? as it is so complicated !!

As we dont see the need for a private hosptial, we just dont want to have to pay if we need an operation in the future, such as for example, an ear or eye operation or god forbid even such as heart surgery.

We feel this is a worry that needs to be addressed !!

We would welcome other persons experience in this matter, if you would be kind enough to share it .

Thanks
:)

[norah battie]

if you need a knee replacement then yes you need to wait...if an emergency then you will be seen as soon as possible

[redfoxy]

Thanks for that.

What I mean is we have to pay for an operation unless we have private medical cover ??

[Flutterby]

My understanding is that the reciprocal cover will cover you for any treatment you might need before you return to your country of origin. So emergency treatment is anything that cannot wait until then not just accident & emergency stuff such as broken leg etc.

[redfoxy]

My understanding is that the reciprocal cover will cover you for any treatment you might need before you return to your country of origin. So emergency treatment is anything that cannot wait until then not just accident & emergency stuff such as broken leg etc.

So if we had to have an operation we dont have to pay ?

[Flutterby]

Redfoxy

This is the link to the medicare explanation of what the reciprocal agreement covers for visitors from the UK

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

Reciprocal health care agreements cover treatment that is medically necessary. Medically necessary treatment means any ill-health or injury which occurs while you are in Australia and requires treatment before you return home.

My interpretation of this is that you are covered for anything that you need before you return home, so your example of a hospital operation on your ear would be covered under the agreement, anything cosmetic probably wouldn't be.

Hope that makes things clearer for you. If you are from the UK on a provision visa with a reciprocal medicare card you only need extras cover (dental/optical) rather than full private healthcare.

[theforrests]

We are on the same visa and when we spoke to Mutual Community and Medibank they told us that we would only be eligible for 'Overseas Cover' - which is not full heathcare - at full rate (the prov visa means that we are not eligible for the 30% rebate that citizens and permanent residents are entitled to). In addition, both companies told us that stays in hospital would not be covered by the reciprocal medicare cover. We decided that we would prefer to be safe rather than sorry, so we have hospital, ambulance and extras cover under the 'overseas' scheme.

Hope that helps.
:-)

[andy and lindsey]

Friends of ours are on the same visa and they have hospital and extra's cover with Medibank which does not cost much more than ours (we are PR), it is rather expensive but if you can afford it I would have it!

Lindsey