Private health

[kadina]

Hi guys

 

seeking advice please

 

ive never had private health and never wanted it but now with a family and the worry of huge waits should something happen and major dental costs when my kids need braces etc I'm seriously considering it for our family

 

does anyone have a fund they recommend and is it really worth having it ? Thanks so much in advance ☺️

[Guest Guest14361]

Bupa are very good

[snifter]

I didn't think braces were covered generally anyway. Most people seem to pay for those out of their own pocket.

 

We have private with one of the banks. $100 a month. Thats the silver package. Braces are not covered in it. Tbh we got it as the year was almost up and the loading would have applied to me and it would have cost more after that initial year. When did you register with Medicare (if you are over a certain age then loading may apply if its been over a year and you now take out cover).

 

Honestly, not sure its worth it for us. Not the current level of cover we have. Defo good to have ambulance cover though.

[kadina]

I have ambo always have ☺️ thanks someone to,d me they thought braces were covered with extras on some but they may have been wrong...yes been way over a year ... I know the age could be a factor but we're not that old ha ha....the main thing that makes me want to do it is the wait time if something major happened I've heard some terrible stories from people without it in my job and waiting 3 years for an op 

 

 

 

I didn't think braces were covered generally anyway. Most people seem to pay for those out of their own pocket.

 

We have private with one of the banks. $100 a month. Thats the silver package. Braces are not covered in it. Tbh we got it as the year was almost up and the loading would have applied to me and it would have cost more after that initial year. When did you register with Medicare (if you are over a certain age then loading may apply if its been over a year and you now take out cover).

 

Honestly, not sure its worth it for us. Not the current level of cover we have. Defo good to have ambulance cover though.

Edited September 17, 2015 by snifter
fixed quote

[snifter]

For that sort of thing you could also just put the money you'd pay on insurance into an account and save it. Then if someone needs an op or braces, you'd have funds to pay for it privately. We'Ve had our cover a year and not used it yet. Our GP bulk bills, my podiatrist treatment wasn't covered at all. My recent. X-ray and ultrasound were bulk billed...

 

Honestly, I think the loading may make it expensive for you if your year is up. I'd get some quotes and see what you think. Dental will bump the cost up. Braces are not covered on our policy or any of them iirc.

 

Braces are cosmetic generally and not covered on the NHS in the UK either iirc. So paying here or there if needed, again, you could put some money aside in case it's needed. How old are your kids? There is a thread somewhere in dental and it covers some dental care info for kids and where/how to get the free check ups and some treatment etc (may be means tested or something, I can't remember now).

[kelbert]

We've had extras for a while which covers orthodontics but I've just changed to hospital and extras as we are about to be hit with the lifetime loading once here 12mths. It cost $97 a fortnight including $300 a year limit on orthodontics. To be honest I'm not sure if it will be worth the money but long waiting times are what concerned me. We have no major health issues but I guess you never know what's around the corner! My daughter was referred to the women's and childrens for an eye problem a while ago and still haven't heard back. If I had had private cover from the offset she would have been seen long ago. My policy is with health.com.au

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Before we moved here we had private medical. The best medical cover that money could buy.

We don't have private health now and don't have any plans to.

The last 5 years or so has seen us use the public healthcare service extensively! Two minor ops, dozens of scans, ultrasounds, mri's, bone density you name it. Bloodwork (30 times!) and many hospital visits. It's all been outstanding. There was a few weeks wait before the GP's referral resulted in specialist appointments but for all the other appointments it was almost immediate. Appointments have now been scaled back to every 6 months as there isn't a cure but for emergencies the neurologist will make an exception and you can just turn up.

That's just my experience and it doesn't involve waiting for a major op.

Overall the quality of care in Flinders has been great.

[kadina]

Thanks guys so basically I'm best to save and if needed just go private and pay the costs if really urgent so as not to wait ? We are all good health wise too but my daughter has some ear trouble at present.....I've had people telling me they reckon with the Medicare levy you pay your better off have private health I can't see it myself...I've been here on and off around 12 years and have always used the public health service and been very happy even having my kids here....but a lot has changed over the years.....thanks snifter re the dental benefits scheme yes I know about that but I'm not sure how long it lasts you get two years but I'm not sure if it renews for any more after that ? My dentist was a bit unsure about it too  I've never been to flinders as we used to live in the north east and modbury was our major hospital ☺️

Edited September 17, 2015 by kadina

[snifter]

The kids dental scheme resets every 2 years iirc. I know the place we go to is all up on it and son goes in for a check up. Had X-rays etc and no charges.

[NicF]

We have silver extras cover with Health Partners. After 2 years it pays $1000 towards Orthodontic work, which includes braces, although this is the lifetime cover so you don't get anything else afterwards. You have to pay the other $5000 yourself though. We pay $31 a fortnight for our extras cover and are very happy with it. We do use the Health Partners dentists and opticians but a friend at work has the gold extras cover and uses other places and still thinks it's worth it.

 

We used to have hospital cover but it only covers you if you actually go in to hospital and there is usually a gap to pay between what the surgeons charge and what the health fund will pay out which we weren't sure we would be able to afford. We also don't earn enough to get hit with the additional Medicare levy so it wasn't like we were gaining from it there either so we cancelled it and decided to take our chances. The main benefit of private cover is being able to be seen more quickly and having elective surgery sooner.

Edited September 17, 2015 by NicF

[Ashleigh]

We have Family Essentials with Bupa, $88 a fortnight and covers myself and my husband to be treated by a private doctor in a public hospital and kiddies are covered in private hospital. Covers the usual, General dental (not orthodontics) Chrio, Physio, Pharmacy etc and 2 ambulance call outs per year.

[kadina]

Thanks so much everyone for the comments so far I'm thinking there's not much reason to get health cover from some of the comments it doesn't appear that you get much back when you use it? Keep the comments coming though if you have anything further to add it's certainly made me think more

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Thanks so much everyone for the comments so far I'm thinking there's not much reason to get health cover from some of the comments it doesn't appear that you get much back when you use it? Keep the comments coming though if you have anything further to add it's certainly made me think more

 

I think that the waiting times for operations are much quicker if you have private cover. Some of the prices mentioned above don't seem so expensive.

The minor surgical procedures were performed at Noarlunga and the Repat whereas private cover would have resulted in them being at other medical centres.

I have friends who had their first baby at a private clinic in the north. The second one was at the revamped Flinders hospital and she said that the care was better at Flinders. I have 7 grandchildren all born at Flinders...only 1 issue when my daughter was sent home after her waters had broken...only to be chased back there by her father who told her the baby would be born within a couple of hours....baby was born 2 hours later....don't try to have a baby when their shifts are changing!

[flossybeth]

The church that I go to is mostly made up of over 75 year olds and they still haven't worked out the best kind of cover (although their discussions usually focus on hip replacements and phsyio appointments) and I figure if they don't understand how it works I've got no hope.

 

We have a savings account for medical rather than insurance and so far we haven't needed to pay for anything other than glasses and grown-up dental - in 3 years we've had one broken arm, some kind of knee issues (something to do with too much calcium), elbow x-rays, lots of children's teeth issues (calcium related too - same child), foreign bodies in the bottom of feet, blood tests and 'women's things' and probably more (i'm not that good!) and I can't think of anything we would have received better care or treatment for if we'd paying.

[kadina]

Thanks to everyone that's commented here....I'm the same flossybeth I work with older people and some think it's good ..some don't have it and one of my ladies is just taking it out because of a knee problem and is paying through the roof....I think I'll go with the option of always having some money for emergencies which I do anyway and then paying to go private if it's necessary ☺️ Thanks again everyone as always some very helpful comments from members in here

[John Browning]

For that sort of thing you could also just put the money you'd pay on insurance into an account and save it. Then if someone needs an op or braces, you'd have funds to pay for it privately. We'Ve had our cover a year and not used it yet. Our GP bulk bills, my podiatrist treatment wasn't covered at all. My recent. X-ray and ultrasound were bulk billed...

 

Honestly, I think the loading may make it expensive for you if your year is up. I'd get some quotes and see what you think. Dental will bump the cost up. Braces are not covered on our policy or any of them iirc.

 

Braces are cosmetic generally and not covered on the NHS in the UK either iirc. So paying here or there if needed, again, you could put some money aside in case it's needed. How old are your kids? There is a thread somewhere in dental and it covers some dental care info for kids and where/how to get the free check ups and some treatment etc (may be means tested or something, I can't remember now).

 

 

Got to agree with that, Snifter

 

.....the recent Choice Mag Survey indicated that (-on average), even if if you've got Extras cover, you are only likely to get about 50% of the fee back for these services.

 

And yes..... there are a great many exceptions to what can be claimed on the Extras Tables

 

Much better to put the cash aside.

 

But, whatever you do: Don't forget the Ambulance Cover (-which is a completely separate insurance scheme),

 

It costs relatively little, and really can save you a shirt load of cash,

 

John B

[RachelP]

We have Bupa (Hospital cover only) for the family and I used it for both pregnancies which was great but when my son was admitted to hospital last year we didn't use it as we got a lovely private room through the public health system.

 

We haven't ever had extras and have found the public health service brilliant. Very short waits for most things, I needed an xray a few weeks ago, called in the morning and was in by 3 o clock the same day:wink: