jonandsarah Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Hi wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. We are here on a 176 PR skilled visa. All set up with medicare do we need private health insurance too. Looking at cover for the 3 of us is min approx. $50 per week do I need this or would we be ok with just ambulance cover as I know that not covered by medicare. I don't want to put wages on here but we are certainly not on mega bucks with just one income but managing until I look for work. The rebate for us would be 30%. We are a family that one visit the doctors a few times a year. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mummytummy Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 you will need your private medical insurance for dental and orthodontic cover, within days of us arriving my son needed a dentist in total it cost us nearly $2000 for his treatment, medicare doesn't cover dental (and our private cover with medibank didn't have dental cover that's now added on!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Family dental cover with HBF for example includes ambulance cover. And remember this type of policy does have waiting times linked to each specific offerring in the plan and so even if you take out a plan you may not be able to use some of the content until a certain time, e.g. 3 months, 6 months and / or 12 months. Worth looking at the small print in any dental cover policy and compare between providers but as mumtumyumtum says defo worth taking out. Family one at HBF for example circa $500 per annum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic964 Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 You don't have to have private health insurance, in fact for the first 11 months we didnt. We've visited the doctors and my wife has had scans, corterzone injections etc, and the service has been first class. Our doctor bulk bills, so we've not paid anything. Yes you run a risk with dental, we had a thorough check up and work before we left and have been good so far. The only reason we've not taken out a low level is because of the age levy. I"m 48, so if I don't take insurance out within 12 months of signing up for medicare,then every year past 31years of age I pay an additional 2%, so my premium would have been 1/3rd higher than it is now. Overall apart from the last reason the I wouldnt have bothered with private insurance, if you were really ill your covered with medicare anyway. it all comes down to priorities, and we didnt see it as high enough to justify the expense. Nick / Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Dental check up's and a scale comes in at $120 per person for a single visit depending on where you go and so if there are three of you then one visit each per year is the same as the cost of a family policy. On the policy you get the first one free and the second you get at least a third back. If you have cover you also have ambulance cover. It is simple maths with that to be honest and we just thought it was a no brainer. $480 out for three then $360 worth of free treatment, a total rebate of $120 for the second visits and then two of us got $60 worth of contact lens, another $120 free. So $480 out and $600 back. As I say no brainer if you want to "service your nashers". Agree wit is all about priorites as Nic says but sometimes doing the maths helps see the good value deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonandsarah Posted August 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Gosh this is all mid boggling if iam honest Ive been onto HBF and for a the family of 3 our daughter is 6 on their essentials saver added optical and major dentist as myself and husband wear glasses the cost was $436 per year does this sound right. Daughters school has school dentist but at least if I add her to this policy I know shes covered for ambulance cover too. So would this policy be ok for us. thanks Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) Gosh this is all mid boggling if iam honest Ive been onto HBF and for a the family of 3 our daughter is 6 on their essentials saver added optical and major dentist as myself and husband wear glasses the cost was $436 per year does this sound right. Daughters school has school dentist but at least if I add her to this policy I know shes covered for ambulance cover too. So would this policy be ok for us. thanks Sarah Not mind boggling just different, sit back, relax deep breathes...... Yes it will be right. We will pay slightly more because we are all older. Honestly we did all the searching, considerations and cost breakdowns and arrived at Medicare only and Dental with extras. $436 for your family with the optical and ambo is good value. Just the two of you go to the dentists twice a year, which is good practice anyway, one or two of you buy a new pair of specs for say $200, (you will get circa $100 back via the policy for each pair) every couple of years, or get contacts and use them as well, and you are well in front. In simple terms you pay out up front $436 and get back way more back than that in services and deductions. Also you will have piece of mind in relation to dental care and at least if there are any problems you will have cover if needed. Edited August 13, 2013 by StraighttothePoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonandsarah Posted August 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 straight to the point thanks for your help really appreciate it iam such a stress head lol. Will get that sorted Cheers Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Slight thread drift I know, but can anyone tell me what the Ambo Cover is called, who I would organise this with and how much it would be for 2 adults per annum (can this be done online from Europe perhaps)? I am keen to get this organised as soon as we have registered with Medicare. Of course, I am hoping that we will not need to use it, but don't want to sit there thinking "I should have done that". TIA Lorraine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Gosh this is all mid boggling if iam honest Ive been onto HBF and for a the family of 3 our daughter is 6 on their essentials saver added optical and major dentist as myself and husband wear glasses the cost was $436 per year does this sound right. Daughters school has school dentist but at least if I add her to this policy I know shes covered for ambulance cover too. So would this policy be ok for us. thanks Sarah kids under 18 are free with HBF, part of parents policy, my son recently turned 18 and as he was an apprentice he had to come off the policy, if he was in Uni he could have stayed on for free. We have the same policy as above but a bit more expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddking2003 Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Slight thread drift I know, but can anyone tell me what the Ambo Cover is called, who I would organise this with and how much it would be for 2 adults per annum (can this be done online from Europe perhaps)? I am keen to get this organised as soon as we have registered with Medicare. Of course, I am hoping that we will not need to use it, but don't want to sit there thinking "I should have done that". TIA Lorraine Ambulance cover is something that may/may not be included with one of the many health insurance schemes on offer over here. As has been mentioned above, its really hard to point you in a certain direction or quote costs as it really depends on what suits you as an individual/family. And also, to a certain degree, how much risk you are willing to foot that noting untoward is going to happen!! For instance, we have just reduced our Bupa cover from the initial $68 per week to $50 per week (we managed to book it all online from the UK), I feel this offers us all the cover and peace of mind should anything happen to any of us without the unnecessary 'extras' that some policies throw in. Such as cover for hip replacements and gastric bands... Not needed just yet but I am working on it... Most of them do offer ambulance cover but I know that some of the cheaper policies don't - read ALL small print and covered items!! Bupa, Medibank and HBF all seem ok.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Ambulance cover is something that may/may not be included with one of the many health insurance schemes on offer over here. As has been mentioned above, its really hard to point you in a certain direction or quote costs as it really depends on what suits you as an individual/family. And also, to a certain degree, how much risk you are willing to foot that noting untoward is going to happen!! For instance, we have just reduced our Bupa cover from the initial $68 per week to $50 per week (we managed to book it all online from the UK), I feel this offers us all the cover and peace of mind should anything happen to any of us without the unnecessary 'extras' that some policies throw in. Such as cover for hip replacements and gastric bands... Not needed just yet but I am working on it... Most of them do offer ambulance cover but I know that some of the cheaper policies don't - read ALL small print and covered items!! Bupa, Medibank and HBF all seem ok.. Thanks very much. I have just done a quick online quote with Bupa for just emergency ambulance cover and for both of us it was $63 pa, but it was saying about rebates etc. They might as well have written it in Double Dutch, for what it meant to me. I had to have emergency treatment and stay overnight in Katherine many years ago using the NHS system and found it to be more than adequate, but unfortunately being older and possibly wiser:err:, perhaps we should be looking into the healthcare as a whole and not just ambulance cover etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallywombat Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 You don't have to have private health insurance, in fact for the first 11 months we didnt. We've visited the doctors and my wife has had scans, corterzone injections etc, and the service has been first class. Our doctor bulk bills, so we've not paid anything. Yes you run a risk with dental, we had a thorough check up and work before we left and have been good so far. The only reason we've not taken out a low level is because of the age levy. I"m 48, so if I don't take insurance out within 12 months of signing up for medicare,then every year past 31years of age I pay an additional 2%, so my premium would have been 1/3rd higher than it is now. Overall apart from the last reason the I wouldnt have bothered with private insurance, if you were really ill your covered with medicare anyway. it all comes down to priorities, and we didnt see it as high enough to justify the expense. Nick / Lynn Hi Nick/Lynn, It sounds like my husband and I are in a similar situation to you but I am still undecided whether or not to take the hospital cover to avoid the LHC at a later date. I don't quite understand which premium the 2% for each year is applied to. Is that an increase of 2%(for each year over 30) on the medical levy or the premium if you were ever to sign up for private healthcare in the future? At the moment, we all pay a 1.5% medical levy on our income (unless below threshold) but would it then be 3.5% if one was 31 or 5.5% if 32 years old? Or is it 2% or 4% increase on a private health care premium. We are both 40 and 47 so have to consider this carefully as we are coming up to our 1 year anniversary of emigration, but after being spoiled in Canada with Employer paid extended healthcare, I don't really find great value in benefits when I have to pay the full premium myself. However, that might change if we were to ever start making more money. (at the moment we won't have to pay the medical levy surcharge). I have just spent 2 hours reading up on all of this on the ATO site and then realised the LHC is something different to the medical levy and medical levy surcharge! ahhhh! It'll all be good once we get through this first year. hope you can help! Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Health cover does help with a number of other things - medicare does not always cover things such as physio as an out patient. Ambulances in WA are very expensive if you are ever unfortunate enough to need one - yes you pay for an ambulance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akasully2 Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 This is so confusing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallywombat Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Hi Nick/Lynn,It sounds like my husband and I are in a similar situation to you but I am still undecided whether or not to take the hospital cover to avoid the LHC at a later date. I don't quite understand which premium the 2% for each year is applied to. Is that an increase of 2%(for each year over 30) on the medical levy or the premium if you were ever to sign up for private healthcare in the future? At the moment, we all pay a 1.5% medical levy on our income (unless below threshold) but would it then be 3.5% if one was 31 or 5.5% if 32 years old? Or is it 2% or 4% increase on a private health care premium. We are both 40 and 47 so have to consider this carefully as we are coming up to our 1 year anniversary of emigration, but after being spoiled in Canada with Employer paid extended healthcare, I don't really find great value in benefits when I have to pay the full premium myself. However, that might change if we were to ever start making more money. (at the moment we won't have to pay the medical levy surcharge). I have just spent 2 hours reading up on all of this on the ATO site and then realised the LHC is something different to the medical levy and medical levy surcharge! ahhhh! It'll all be good once we get through this first year. hope you can help! Rosie Ah! Je comprende! Not to worry- with fresh eyes this morning - it's all clear to me now. The 2% applies to the healthcare premium. I guess we just have to work out if it's really worthwhile. If we didn't take something out next month and decided to at a later date , we would pay a 20% loading rate. and if we took the insurance for 10 years, that would be a total of $4800(Premium $200x1.20x10years) extra we would have paid. However, if we took insurance now for basic hospital, ($100/month x 12months x 10years) it would cost us $12,000 over a 10 year period and we might not even use it for the next 10years....... I guess a benefit of taking it is that it spreads the costs out over time- even though the net cost is not necessarily favourable. Sorry for the thinking out loud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scot01 Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Both my sons needed occupational therapy and speech therapy when they were younger. There are long waiting lists through govt services and then you are only offered a six week block and go back to the end of the waiting list again and it may take a year for your turn again. Private health insurance covered OT/ST and was invaluable for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddking2003 Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 As a update to my last post on this, we have decided to leave Bupa and go with HBF - much cheaper and still exactly the same cover as before. Worth looking at... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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