Private Health Care Plans

[Guest tpgc03]

HI all,

 

We have just arrived in Adelaide and already joined medicare, we are now currently researching ambulance and private healthcare plans (Medibank). We are a family of four (Me and hubby and two children) and are fit and well, neither me or my husband smoke , we have the occassional social drink and both us have healthy lifestyles. In the UK we had our twice yearly dental check-up, the odd prescription for calpol ,antibiotic etc. Occassionally me and Nick would visit the Chiropracter for back maintanence treatments and that is it really. So, my question is

After reading the medicare literature and then reading the private healthcare literature (Medibank ) we are unclear as to how the services work. We don't want to subscribe to a product that we will not use.

Would you recommend hospital cover for us or would we be better to just get emergency ambulance cover and maybe a package that covers us for dental services?

Any advice, your experience with the public and private services are welcome,

Thanks Ali

[Diane]

While you're looking I would definitely recommend getting some family ambulance cover from the Post Office. Just walk in, fill out the forms, and pay about $100 and you're sorted. Once you get private or extras cover of course, a lot of schemes do include ambulance cover but if you needed an ambulance while you were deciding and didn't have any sort of cover, it would cost you a lot more than $100, so I'd say that is a small price to pay even if it gets superseded by whichever cover you decide to go for afterwards.

 

Here's some more info ($129 for families I just found out):

SA Ambulance Service

 

Diane

[ShaunWilson]

Totally agree. And make sure you get private hospital cove. We delayed, now have it, but i have to wait 9-12 months for a knee reconstruction because of 2 week delay.

[antlet]

Ambulance cover is an absolute must have, but I was told by an employee of Medicare, that unless it's a fancy room and extras you want, then private health is not necessary. It's not pushed as health insurance companies want to make money....I'm not entitled to Medicare so I'm basically screwed as regards that argument but....

 

I'm guessing waiting lists would apply without PH though.

[ozzieclare2be]

depends if you want to wait or not if you need an op, to be honest ive not bothered and being a nurse think the public system is better (worked in a private hospital). Having said that i needed my gallbladder out not long after i got here, they said it was semi urgent and i waited only 6 weeks which isnt bad because they had to wait for the inflammation to go down anyway. So i was really pleased with the public system and the care i recieved. I think extras cover is worth it for dental etc but i dont see the need for private health .

[RockDr]

Personally in australia I would only bother with private health if either:

a) your income is higher than the limit for having to pay the extra medicare surcharge that applies if you don't have private (if it is, then it makes financial sense to get the private cover, since "cost of private" minus "money you get back on extras" works out as about the same or less than paying that extra surcharge)

b) you feel you might want private in years to come, when waiting lists on the public system might have increased, and if you wait to get private, your premiums will be significantly higher.

 

Re: amublanace cover, you need it even if you've got private, since most private schemes will only cover initial emergency trips to the hospital, but not inter-hospital transfers (e.g. you end up in a regional hospital after a crash, but need surgery from a major city hospital with specialised equipment). I seem to remember you can get a top-up cover from the ambo service, that's cheaper than the full cover.