Which Health Insurance

[Him again]

Just moved here and trying to sort out health cover, really just after ambulance cover and fairly good dental cover as we've both had a lot of dental work done recently. With medibank noticed that dental cover only covers upto $400 a year which hardly seems worth it looking at how expensive a filling or root canal can be.. Also is kids dental work free?

[NicF]

No, kids dental work isn't free. Or at least I'm pretty sure it's not free unless you are poor and prepared to wait forever for treatment. We did get a teen dental voucher for a check up for my eldest (who turns 12 this year), but not all dentists will take these and some still charge more than the amount of the voucher.

 

We have hospital and extras cover with Health Partners. They have a range of different options that will cover different amounts for the different things it covers. We have silver extras and bronze hospital (ambulance cover is included), although we are seriously considering dropping the hospital cover as it really isn't that helpful. The extras is useful as three out of four of us wear glasses and the kids are bound to need some serious dental work in the future. We're currently paying just over $100 a fortnight for the 4 of us. I'm pretty sure you can get dental cover on it's own, but I have no idea about the cost or how much it covers.

[Adaobijoy]

We are with medibank,seems to meet our requirements so far,we were with BUPA but found them a bit poor in communication and PR,they keep you waiting on phone for ever and from my POV in terms of extras are not good value.Medibank pick up your calls ASAP,and comparatively we find them better value.

No,unfortunately kids are not free on dental work in Australia .Good luck with your search

[Karen_Jon]

I'm finding this health lark all so confusing. We have medicare and ambulance cover but I think it is important to have teeth regularly checked - kids (8 and 3) and mine (hubby not too bothered!!) - do I need to get extras or register with a dentist?

 

Also both myself and my daughter wear glasses. So am I right thinking I can get eye tests through medicare?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated. Karen

[browny]

Children are greatly subsidised with regards to dental if you take them to the school dentist. My sons have been for the last 2 yrs and can't fault them. Google it and there will be a list of the centres near you or ask the school.

 

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[Diane]

The school dentists are okay, but often will only see kids once every two years, which wasn't enough for my liking. Once they hit teenage you get an annual voucher if you are on a particular Family Tax Benefit (A or B not sure which!) .. but I think the best bet is for ambulance cover through the SA Ambulance service (google or ask at one of the larger post offices) which costs about $160 a year for a family, plus perhaps a specific dental plan, such as that offered by Smile (used to be Noble) http://www.smile.com.au/ for about $150 for the whole family for a two year plan - I have a friend locally who has just taken out a plan and so far she is really happy with both the treatment and the cost.

[jo_marnes]

We use the school dentists no problem with the kids. We have taken out extras cover with BUPA, costs about $50 per month for our family of 5. That covers our choice of 4 services and we have optical, dental, major dental and health and wellbeing (because I can claim my gym membership!). We rarely claim but in the 4 years we have been here our 'limit' of cover is quite extensive as it increases every year. Being in the health profession, I am perfectly happy with the public hospital services I have witnessed and received. In some cases, the public waiting lists are shorter than private!

[browny]

Diane, my son is seen every yr for a 'check up' but is seen every 3 months for fluoride paste to be applied and also has just had a plastic coating to his adult molars as well. He has had fillings when we first arrived as his teeth were is bad shape. Considering i had just taken him before we came here and 'everything was fine'!! The tooth decay was horrific and he had many procedures to get him into the great shape he is now. All that for $40 per year is a bargain.

 

However, he does not have some adult teeth and never will as the buds have not developed so we are under an Orthodontist as this is beyond the scope of the school dentist. This was identified by the school dentist after an xray and they have been great working alongside the Orthodontist.

 

We have private medical cover but i choose to use the school dentist rather than taking them to somewhere private.

[NicF]

My brother in law used to be a school dentist so I have to say they are fantastic or he would kill me! However my kids have been in school here since August last year and we have not heard anything about a school dentist at all so far so not sure if the coverage is patchy or if we have missed something.