What is the best private Health care?

[Guest westie1972]

We will be hopefully arriving in Adelaide December 2010, we are now looking at healthcare and wondered what the best health care is? We have looked at Inman and Medibank. My hubby will be on a 457 visa and will be getting some sort of healthcare from work but we wanted to get our own too.

Thanks you for your replies in advance.

[Guest Aussie pat]

Aussie pat's other half here

 

We have not done an authoritative analysis, but I see no one else has jumped in. Just to put another name on your radar, you could also look at Mutual Community. We have found their service excellent. Their attitude is to help rather than hinder.

 

I can't give you an answer on the cheapest or best value for money. They all have different plans and you have to read the small print. It's a full time job keeping track of it! When you've had a look at all their offerings, you've got to take a deep breath and pick one.

 

Consensus on here seems to be that whoever you go with, extras are worth having.

 

Also, not sure what the implications of your visa are for health cover. Maybe someone else could put you right on that one.

[xzibit]

Any chance someone can explain the benefits of private medical here? As I can't seem to see the point in it, but could be missing something (and probably am).

 

My cousin has had two children here, had excellent care and didn't have to pay for the privilege. She doesn't have private cover. Where as her friend who does, her baby doctor (don't know the name I'm male lol) had a game of golf booked for her due date and wanted to induce her a few days early so it didn't mess up his plans. Is this common?

 

My Aunt had to have an operation on her legs last year. She doesn't have private either. She got the top leg doctor (again don't know the name lol) in the state, and he was there from the beginning and explained everything to her and did the operation himself. Why would you pay for the exact same service?

 

There may be other aspect I'm missing, but I don't see the point in paying for it. And to cut waiting times for consultations, I'd just do what I did in the UK and pay for a private consultation, which isn't expensive.

 

Should I get private cover??

[Rachiegarlo]

The benefit is that should you tear your rotator cuff whist wielding a golf club or similar, you can get it repaired asap with no waiting list. You can choose your surgeon. I'd say get the extras on their own if nothing else because dental treatment is very expensive here. dentists are the highest paid grads first year out of uni. Also worth having for podiatry and physio. Extras cover on its own is not exhorbitant.

[RockDr]

Public health care is fine for most things, the main advantage of the private cover is all the extras, opticians, dental, physio etc, as well as being able to get treatment quickly for things that might have a long waiting list in the public sector.

 

There is a medicare levy that high-income households have to pay if they don't have private health insurance, so if that's going to apply to you, it's probably worth getting the private (don't have to be the highest level of cover though).

 

Private care becomes more important as you get older, when you're more likely to need medical treatment, that may have long waiting times. I seem to recall being told that if you leave it until then to get private cover, that your premiums will be significantly higher and so it's worth starting private cover within the first year of getting PR. I could be wrong on this point.

 

I'm pretty sure that if you need an operation, even if you get it done in the public sector (which apparently often has the better doctors), there can be some extra costs that medicare doesn't cover, but the private would.

 

wrt pregnancy, I heard that the care given in the public hospitals is fine, but if you don't have private cover, you'll have to pay for all the scans etc, medicare only covers the delivery itself. Again, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to choose to have it done in the public sector, just have the private cover pay for the extras that medicare doesn't cover.

[Guest Aussie pat]

Rockdr

 

You are right that if you wait to get private cover, then you pay more with each passing year that you wait. I believe the clock starts ticking from grant of PR

 

Aussie pat's other half

[Guest guest3462]

Rock Dr, we are having a baby here and have no private health cover. I have paid for my initial gp appt ($34), 6week dating scan and 12 week scan and that is all (The first scan cost $120 and the 2nd $70 which is quite reasonable I thought). Everything else has been covered by medicare including the 20week anatomy scan and all the routine blood tests. As far as I am aware we won't have to pay for anything now that we have been allocated a public obstetrician, but I may be wrong?

[Diane]

We have no private health cover, and when I want to see a specialist I just book in privately, and then claim something like 80% back from Medicare. One specialist I tried to book in with recently though couldn't see me till next February - even privately, so private is no guarantee of quick I guess.

 

I looked into private cover - mainly for the kids in case they needed braces etc: touch wood, so far that's not on the cards, but when I looked at it, even with cover the amount I could get back each year is limited and in no way covered the costs. The plan was to put money aside regularly into a separate bank account as our own personal "medical cover" (although guess what, we've not done it! - but if you're better organised than us, that might be something worth considering)

 

I didn't get private cover in the end because of the "pre-existing conditions not covered" thing - although to be honest, I'm just assuming that clause is in the contracts here as it would be in the UK. For some reason the government sends me dental vouchers each year for the kids checkups, so it's just me an OH who have to pay - there is some tax thing though so if your bills add up to over a certain amount in a year, you can claim some back.

 

Overall it has been ok for us having no cover, but now I've written that, I've probably signed my own death and disability warrant!!!

[RockDr]

Yeah I agree, the only reason I and my partner have the private is because we both just creep into the high income bracket, so when you take into account the extra surcharge, and the amount we've got back on opticians, dentists etc, it's costing the same to have it as to not have it, so figure might as well. Ours doesn't actually cover pregnancy though, would have to upgrade to the next level, which I don't think will be worth it.

 

(actually the only reason I have it is because my partner already had it and added me, personally I probably wouldn't have bothered/known to look into it).

[Sears Family]

Hi could you advise what the higher income bracket is?

Thanks

Von x

[Guest Weez]

Rock Dr, we are having a baby here and have no private health cover. I have paid for my initial gp appt ($34), 6week dating scan and 12 week scan and that is all (The first scan cost $120 and the 2nd $70 which is quite reasonable I thought). Everything else has been covered by medicare including the 20week anatomy scan and all the routine blood tests. As far as I am aware we won't have to pay for anything now that we have been allocated a public obstetrician, but I may be wrong?

 

so are you going private?? i have had 8 scans, due to pop any day now and haven't had to pay a penny, they have been extremely thorough (if some what over the top) and i don't think private could have been any better.

x

[RockDr]

Hi could you advise what the higher income bracket is?

Thanks

Von x

 

Medicare levy

 

73k for singles, 146k for households with up to one child, increases by about 1.5k per extra child.

 

The surcharge is 1% of your salary on top of the 1.5% that everyone has to pay.

[Guest stevenson]

Private care is increasingly important that when you get older you're more likely to need medical treatment that can wait a long time. I seem to remember knowing that if you leave it until then to get private coverage, your premium will be considerably higher, so it is useful to begin private coverage within the first year to get PR. I could be wrong on this point.

[catherine.c]

My daughter had recurrent tonsilitis for 7 months when we first arrived, needing intramuscular antibiotics and oral. Her GP said she must not stop taking her antibiotics until she had seen an ENT specialist as she was at risk of endocarditis. She was very poorly, studying at Uni, losing weight. Even with a letter asking for priority from her GP she was told that she would not be seen for "maybe 2 years". We decided to pay for a tonsillectomy privately. In fact we have just heard from Flinders medical centre asking if she still wanted the appointment - it was 18 months ago that she was put on the list.

I am a nurse in a private hospital and see how quickly things get done for people. I would not like one of my family to have an angiogram, get told they need intervention and go home to wait for it. This does not happen in the private system - they would get it done straight away.

We are now private and have ambulance cover (approx $120 a year for the whole family with SA ambulance) as our health cover does not fully cover ambulances.

As for the preexisting conditions - it just means you cannot claim on them for a year.

Catherine

[Diane]

... I would not like one of my family to have an angiogram, get told they need intervention and go home to wait for it. This does not happen in the private system - they would get it done straight away.

 

My father in law was visiting recently from the UK, and suffering bad angina, he was taken into hospital, given an angioplasty and had a stent put in, all in the space of one or two days. This was in the public health system and he didn't have to pay a thing. So I think the public system in urgent cases is as good as the private one.

[catherine.c]

Yes Dianne, in emergencies it makes no difference between public and private. My point was meant to convey that if you know you need something then you do not want to go home and worry about it, you just want to get it done and get on with life.

Catherine

[Guest Aussie pat]

I think that private cover is most useful for the chronic, non urgent things that can wear you down over time such as orthopaedic problems, grumbling gallbladders, prostates, gynae and ENT problems. Most won't kill you if you have to wait but you could end up quite depressed and run down with the wait.

 

My mum, who is elderly, has had both private and public admissions in the past 2 years and I would say that she got much nicer accomodation under the private system. She actually signed herself out of Flinders Public Hospital whilst suffering from a gastro bug as she was accomodated in a room with no access to a toilet or hand washing facilities. She had to beg someone to empty the commode and was served meals next to a full commode and staff wondered why she wouldn't eat!. She is a diabetic and was in quite a state when she went home. As a nurse who worked at FMC for many years I was quite shocked. Unfortunately the private system is reluctant to take you if you are classed as infectious.

 

The extras cover is very useful and we use it regularly. I only pay $10 when I see my chiropractor. I was reluctant to see one in the UK as I couldn't justify the cost.

[Guest SA Great]

I talked to a surgeon on this subject a few years ago and he said 95% of people are better off not having private cover and if you need something done urgently then just pay for it. Think how much you will have saved by not having to pay the annual premiums and gap charges etc. On the other hand......you could end up as one of the 5%!!

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[Guest James Craig]

As far as the 457 visa you can't go past IMAN (Austhealth), seeing as they specialise in health insurance for overseas visitors. Alternatively, you could try nib or Medibank, they're both major providers offering health cover plans for temporary residents.

[Guest MADTOM]

We are on a 457. No private Insurance.

The Doctor referred OH for X ray on both feet (medically necessary) I rang them and was told it would be $200 per foot BUT Woodville was bulk billing so would not cost us anything, So I confirmed this and made the appointment.

OH came back saying as we were on 457 visa with Medicare card showing reciprocal health care we would be charged $170 with no refund from Medicare. This seems so wrong to bulk bill some and not others. So beware !

[Guest Nick11]

We are on a 457. No private Insurance.

The Doctor referred OH for X ray on both feet (medically necessary) I rang them and was told it would be $200 per foot BUT Woodville was bulk billing so would not cost us anything, So I confirmed this and made the appointment.

OH came back saying as we were on 457 visa with Medicare card showing reciprocal health care we would be charged $170 with no refund from Medicare. This seems so wrong to bulk bill some and not others. So beware !

 

Reciprocal health care is open to interpretation.

A broken arm, a virus or illness is classed as recipocal...however the x rays on feet would only be reciprocal if they thought they were broken or fractured.

My son had to see a consultant as he had a couple of seizures..we had to pay in full as it was not classed as an emergency. Now if he had a seizure and he was treated in hospital..we wouldn't have had to pay!

[Guest MADTOM]

Reciprocal health care is open to interpretation.

A broken arm, a virus or illness is classed as recipocal...however the x rays on feet would only be reciprocal if they thought they were broken or fractured.

My son had to see a consultant as he had a couple of seizures..we had to pay in full as it was not classed as an emergency. Now if he had a seizure and he was treated in hospital..we wouldn't have had to pay!

 

 

Woodville would have wanted payment in any case. They were not interested in "Why" the X ray was needed, a PR would have been bulk billed it was (according to Medicare) their choice to charge 457 visa holders even though we pay the same Medicare tax as everyone else!

How can we find a list of what is and what is not included?

[Sallyh]

I am confused about the maternity thing because we are with the Womens and Childrens Group practice this time... had my 20 week scan at a private hospital (but it was with Radiology SA because they do the scans at Calvary North Adelaide) and it was completely free...

 

Haven't had to pay anything and don't expect to so am confused...

[Guest Nick11]

Woodville would have wanted payment in any case. They were not interested in "Why" the X ray was needed, a PR would have been bulk billed it was (according to Medicare) their choice to charge 457 visa holders even though we pay the same Medicare tax as everyone else!

How can we find a list of what is and what is not included?

 

 

Have you got a code next to your invoice. I would pop down to centrelink and ask. Doesn't sound right to me.