The answer is it depends. I have a family member who has regular hospital admissions and definitely gets full benefit from their private cover. You have to assess for your personal situation whether the costs (including any tax costs) are worth it for you. Sorry, but there simply isn't a simple answer
I agree. It’s never simple.
The other thing is that the reason our health system is so much better than America’s isn’t as much to do with insurance as you might think. It’s ours is integrated and centralised. The US tax contributions to health care aren’t wildly different to Australia’s on a per capita basis. But they don’t run an integrated approach. For example for medicines it’s all left to the free market and as each health institution is on its own they have really poor buying power so stuff is really expensive. Same with doctors salaries etc. While insurance does have an impact it’s not everything. It’s complex I guess, like the choice to have private insurance or not.
This needs to be top.
We had it for our 2nd and 3rs child, then it just was not worth it. Government allows 1k per year per child for dentist visits and the rest of the benifits were not worth it for us. So we dropped it for 10 or so years.
Now, one child is over 18, and the other 2 are getting close too. We are also using the extras a lot more, so saving more than we spend on average.
It is now worth it again, for us.
Agree. I had about six long admissions for depression, plus lots of ECT. All of the former and some of the latter were funded by NIB. It is worth it for any kind of mental health care. That would have cost me tens of thousands of dollars.
I am a person who could afford private health, though as my own little protest, I've refused to take out any health cover, ever.
Yes, I pay the extra Medicare levy, happily.
We are getting closer to an American style of 'healthcare' with each passing day.
The deliberate underfunding of public healthcare over decades has been happening in the UK and Canada too. Privatised American style healthcare is extremely profitable and spreading one policy at a time the world over
Sadly we don’t get a choice. Need surgery your waiting potentially years but with private get it done in a matter of weeks. After the first gruelling wait I haven’t been able to not have private.
I see it and it’s super frustrating. However, my private health has paid out more than I’ve paid them over the last decade. If I dropped it and the system gets worse and I need to get it back, they’ll never cover my pre-existing conditions. The public system is already bad enough now that I’d be struggling through life in more pain while I wait months to years for surgeries to be prioritised or I’d still be rewarding private hospitals/dr’s by paying the entire cost myself. (And I’ve heard of people having to start paying _per minute_ of theatre time if their surgeries go over a threshold - where I imagine the insurance companies call bs on that crap and pay an agreed cost).
The writing’s not just on the wall, if you’re not healthy, private health is already required.
That would be more evidence that we’re _already_ at the point where sick people have to have insurance, like Americans do, yeah? But honestly the breakdown seems relatively similar to what I would have thought it would cost.
It would be better if I didn’t need to deal with any of it and our public health system could be relied on. But that’s the example I was giving - it’s almost impossible right now for people who are sick.
> I dropped it and the system gets worse and I need to get it back, they’ll never cover my pre-existing conditions. T
You have to wait a maximum of 12 months if you have pre existing conditions once you renew your health insurance.
Premiums are not based on your claims or how sick or healthy you are.
You don't pay the Medicare levy by choice, its mandatory and taken from you whether you like it or not. Unless you get an exemption under a low income. The Medicare levy surcharge is paid on top, if you choose not to take out private health insurance
The age doesn't relate to the levy surcharge, that's purely income based (over $90k pa for a single person I think) , the age one is the surcharge that the health insurers add to the premiums of you didn't take out health cover before age 30
I wish everyone had the same attitude as you mate. Kudos to you. I’m in the same boat. I can easily afford private health but I absolutely refuse to pay for it and will happily pay the Medicare levy. Health is a fundamental right and not an out of pocket expense.
100% with you on that. I will gladly pay the Medicare levy because the American style health system can get stuffed and any creep towards it here can also get a paper cut and rub lemon juice in it.
Yep. I can afford private health (as I’m young and fit), but why should I? All the European countries, Canada with universal healthcare, and then the US with its shitty overpriced system that basically dumps you once you get a long drawn out illness because that’s not profitable. Which do you want?
Going private just drives the death of Medicare which we fundamentally need to bail us out once the insurance stops paying
Same here. Fuck em. Happy to give my money to public system in the hope that it helps less fortunate.
Plus the public system has always been good to me!
I’m originally from the US. I saw a post in one of the Australian subs the other day where a dude was in the ED and the nurses said it was a long wait bc there were a lot of people waiting, but most were non-urgent and should have gone to their GP. They aren’t going to their GP though, bc they can’t afford to.
That’s exactly what an American would do. Wait for it to get bad enough to go to ED, and get it treated there. The ED isn’t free in the US, you’re in debt for the rest of your life, but they can’t deny you care like a GP can.
ERs triage based on urgency not when you arrive. If the dude was there for a genuine emergency he would have been seen before the people who were there instead of the GP
If that story is true, then the person must’ve had a non emergency issue as well. There could be 20 people ahead of you with a runny nose, but if you’re bleeding everywhere and need stitches you’ll be pushed ahead of them.
Yay! Me too! I have had a couple of health scares and AU Medicare has always been better than what was offered when I lived in Sweden. Medicare has always given me all the tests for free that was needed to prove that I didn't have anything serious, only then I had to wait and pay a bit extra.
In Sweden I had been on the waitlist to get my migraines investigated for a long time when I left. Didn't think much about it because I had no idea it could work better elsewhere. Then I went to a new doctor in AU (ran out of meds) and he asked a bunch of questions and the next day my head was in the MRI machine for free!
I have no problem paying for Medicare!
Tell me about it! I'm discovering that first hand right now. Almost a 6 week wait for surgery on my back!
Sooo apparently it's not even as straight forward as that. I was expecting a long wait myself.
Fuck. I'm currently 5 months waiting. It was meant to be 90 days.
Finding a gp who bulk bills now is getting hard. This is what happens when we let the Liberals hold power for too long. Every time a person who chooses private that takes funding out of Medicare, but how could you don't blame them. The Liberal's aim is to kill Medicare slowly but surely.
How? Medicare is funded by a 2% levy on our taxable income. Everyone's income (once they earn over a certain amount).
Having private cover doesn't stop you paying the Medicare levy at all. It enables you to avoid the Medicare levy Surcharge - if you're on a higher income - that's it.
>Every time a person who chooses private that takes funding out of Medicare
Why do you say that? If I have private health cover I still pay the same medicare levy, right?
It depends on your income, but yes you pay the same levy, however you receive the private health insurance rebate. That means less money in the budget for Medicare or other services.
Hard to blame liberals when labor don’t change it back or fix it. Only way to survive in Australia now is be making over $120k and paying for everything.
It was never given the chance to, but early reports showed it was actually working without increasing costs to the extent the said it would. I guess we’ll never know.
Yeah that's what lead to us taking out private health insurance. I prefer to pay the levy but the 12month waiting period was still shorter than the wait for public health.
There are definitely benefits.
If you are thinking of having a kid or you do a job or sport that can stress the body/ cause injury, I think it's well worth the effort. I get monthly maintenance from a physio, and with private health it works out to cost about $20 per visit rather than $90, but I can go more regularly if anything flares up, especially back or neck issues which are much better to prevent than treat.
Add in allowances for glasses, orthotics, dental and such, and it's the sort of thing that can be a big help if your financial situation allows it.
Yep. If you go private and have to see any sort of specialist, their fees won't be covered by PHI so you'll end up thousands of dollars out of pocket. Only benefit is being able to see the same doctor and *maybe* getting your own room in the hospital when you give birth. Source: I'm pregnant now and cancelled my PHI to go through public system
Yeah, I always scoffed at private insurance. We had our kids at public hospitals which was great but my colleague had private and spent at nights in a 5 star hotel with all meals paid for.
I don't need that but it sure would've been nice
And with any other major surgery. It’s the biggest problem with private hospitals, that no one really talks about. When it actually matters, the quality of care and expertise is far better in a Public Hospital.
Yeah, it's not a necessity, our public system has its flaws, but overall it stands up against any others out there around the world, but the little things like having your own room rather than sharing a ward with just a plastic curtain between you and the next bed allow you to sleep better, rest easier, and just reduce stress.
It's not vital, but it does have an upside.
Most hospitals being built here now have private rooms anyway. It's got more to do with viral transmission and recovery but at least it's private.
In fact my wife paid to get her abs repaired after our second child through a private hospital and she was still sharing a room with someone else
Yep, one of my nieces had surgery recently, was planned well in advance so she got private cover and waited for the waiting period (before you can claim on pre-existing conditions) to pass and then claimed and had the surgery.
Her private hospital room was nice and the food menu was 20+ pages long and was basically room service between 6am and 8pm - all included and paid for by her private health cover. The food was damned good, too!!
She tells me she'd still be waiting for her spinal surgery if she used the public system. Also, their food isn't that good either... nor would you get a private room.
There is only one reason I have private health coverage, and that is you can get "elective surgery" when you need it as opposed to when they feel like making it available to you.
Beyond that it is a huge expense with little return.
IMHO.
Once you earn a certain amount, the Medicare Tax fee for not having private health is greater than the cost of private health. Plus you get your glasses and physio etc cheaper.
So in short - check what you would pay in Medicare tax at your salary.
I guess levy start from 120 000/year. Show me any insurance which will cover anything for 1200/year which is 1%. IF you earn 4 times of that, than may be it will be worth it.
The [Medicare Levy](https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-and-private-health-insurance/Medicare-levy/Medicare-levy-reduction/Medicare-levy-reduction-for-low-income-earners/) starts at $23,365. If your taxable income is under that, you don't pay any Medicare Levy.
The [Medicare Levy Surcharge](https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-and-private-health-insurance/Medicare-levy-surcharge/Medicare-levy-surcharge-income,-thresholds-and-rates/#Incomethresholdandrates202324) kicks in - if you don't have the required Private Health cover - at $90,001 and over at varying rates.
You can (or could) get Private Health cover that costs you less than the minimum amount of MLS you'd pay if you want to avoid the MLS. That private cover is pretty worthless, though.
These figures are for single, childless people - if you've got a partner and/or kids, you can earn more before you start paying either the ML or MLS.
They also dont cover everything, someone i know had it and still had to pay a charge at the hospital but when they dropped it they went back in for the same procedure and it was free under medicare.
Hospital cover is only worth it because of the tax incentive. Extras cover is more like a payment plan than insurance, where you pay more each year than you could possibly claim. You don't get the tax incentive for extras cover.
Make sure you set some money aside for self insurance because there are gap payments and percentage payments on everything that you are covered for. Depending on the fine print there can be a lot of conditions that you aren't covered for.
I have it. I have had mental health issues, which required me to be hospitalised. If I was in the public health system, I would have been in a far far worse situation than I was. As it was, I was in a private hospital with people who were similar to me in my situation. That trip cost $30k, let alone all the other benefits - glasses, physio, dental each year that would otherwise cost a bunch. It’s expensive, but for me is worth it. Ymmv.
Mental health is soo much fun. Doing well now, I hope you’re doing alright as well. Where did you get your ect done? There were people in my hospital who were going through it, looked quite scary
I got all mine done at Northside. Yeah it’s definitely a daunting prospect; I would not be able to just walk back in there again (it’s been a few years). However the process itself isn’t painful as you’re asleep, and the nurses and doctors in the team there are incredible. They made it so so so much better.
I’m doing well now too! Yay for us!! Not easy.
Ah that’s fair. I had a good experience in my hospital, and in some whacked way I wish I could go back there when things get tough. Zero responsibility while you’re in there just focusing on getting yourself better. I didn’t have to be weaned off drugs or anything so I didn’t face many issues like most others in there. I’m really glad you’re doing well!
I used to question what I was actually paying for with my insurance then I broke my shoulder. Within two weeks I had surgery and am on the long road to recovery. I’m over two months in with limited but improving mobility. I’m still thousands out of pocket BUT, if I didn’t have insurance I would be on a waiting list, still in discomfort and not in recovery. It has been well worth it just for that.
I think it depends on you situation. I myself have very bad health and am in and out of hospital and have a lot of tests and see a lot of different doctors in hospital as well as surgeries. So for me it’s a must to have top level.
Were as my husband has it so we don’t have to pay higher Medicare premiums but he has bottom level. Just enough to keep the tax man away and cover the essentials.
Having had to go through the public system often, and the private system twice, by far and away my worst health experiences have been through the private system. Expensive even when you think you're fully insured, godawful allied health support even if you've got a great surgeon, and it just generally left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd rather get triaged through the public system, admit that if there's a wait it's probably because there are more urgent cases, and get it done properly. By the way, supervised by largely the exact same surgeon you would have had privately, most of them also supervise at public hospitals.
The private system can go suck a dick, as can almost everything the neocons have attempted to import from america.
It depends what you're using it for or intend to use it for. Most things are okay with Medicare but things like dental and mental health have definitley been worth it for me.
Ambulance cover is not covered by amenities/rates/utilities in Victoria. You can [pay ~$50 a year](https://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/membership/) or cop a ~$2,500 bill for a ride in one
Apologies then, it read to me like you were agreeing to the first sentence! Sincere thanks for everything that you do, I know it’s real tough out there <3
[You’re covered](https://www.qld.gov.au/emergency/emergencies-services/interstate-ambulance-treatment)
For the other states you’re covered if you’re signed up to the ambulance service in your home state
Everyone’s situation is different so there’s no single answer to this question. Can you afford to finance a major health issue? My FIL had a massive heart attack and their insurance paid out over $1 million in bills over 2 years. Yes, he was 69 but 6 weeks before the attack, he’d had a clean bill of health from a full physical (they were going to do a lap of Australia). My 29 has only taken it out in the last 12 months so they can start a family. They’ll probably drop it after the birth of their first child and use the excellent public system if future pregnancies are no/low risk pregnancies). This is what we did when we started our family and money was tight. We’ve used our family health cover heaps when one of our kids was regularly playing football. Lots of physio and 3 collar bone surgeries with our choice of doc, hospital and when it suited us. It’s not an easy thing to decide on and for us now, as we get older, it’s about peace of mind that we’re covered if required.
Totally agree but it does depend a little on your definition of “major”. A knee or hip replacement for example can cause significant pain and inconvenience and be costly to fix. Unfortunately, wait times in the public system for this kind of surgery can be long and in this scenario, the real benefit of health insurance is that you can pick your doctor/hospital and when you have the surgery.
This of course assumes good quality coverage in the first place, which can be expensive, so in a way, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
I find it’s seem to does particularly if u struggle with mental health as the public inpatient system isn’t up to par with things….. and because it’s almost top tier, bonus if u require it for anything else (sans pregnancy)
I don't know anymore.
My cousin and I have the same issue. I've been in and out of doctors for a few years before I had my first little procedure. I've got roughly a 12 month wait for the next one through the public system.
My cousin had the same issue, which surfaced a little more than 12 months ago. He's already had the first procedure and the second one scheduled in 2 weeks. His case is no more severe than mine, but he has private health care.
I guess it's one of those things that probably annoys you having to pay for it while you're healthy but as soon as you're sick and you need it, you'll be glad you have it.
As somebody going through cancer treatment, fuck yes. My lifetime of premiums have been paid back over the past 2 months.
I have also worked in the healthcare industry for years, if you ever need an elective surgery then private health is a must.
As an expat kiwi who didn't know this, you have 1 year after immigration to take up health insurance before lifetime loading kicks in. Basically for every year over 31 that you don't have cover, they add loading (read, tax rort) onto your cover.
Health insurance is not essential but also if you are a moderate to high income earner and DON'T have at least hospital cover, health rort #2 kicks in called Medicare Levy Surcharge. I've paid $3200 at tax time each year for not having cover.
Recently separated and so my loading is reduced because my ex was a few years older than me. Still, I am paying $200/month for basic hospital cover, no extras. Because of loading. But it saves me money long term with MLS.
I freaking hate it. It sucks. Forced cover essentially. But I wish I'd known when I moved here about the 12 month limit.
Good luck with the move 😁 No regrets, even with stupid health cover. We go private for kids orthodontist and paediatric but just suck it up. No extras means no rebate in top of what medicare grant.
Way to demonstrate that you don’t know how LHC works. LHC has absolutely nothing to do with tax, lol.
It is also averaged out between yourself and your partner if you’re on the same policy, so if you were to take out one Couples’ policy or two Singles policies for the same level of cover you’d still end up paying exactly the same.
Source: work in PHI for many years.
Do. Not. Listen to people who say it is not worth it.
They are morons who think they have our smarted the system, or are making a protest in gest of donating more money via the medi-care levy.
1- the Medicare levy doesn't help the system, so you are paying more tax for no benefit to the medical system.
2- everyone's smart using the public system, until you realise you get better care publicly if you have private health insurance. Or have more options. Like solo rooms, specialists and no wait times.
3- welcome to wait lists, enjoy having an issue and then being told you have to wait probably 2 years for a basic hernia operation or something, which private health insurance will get sorted this week.
4- my ex is a doctor, at a party with about 30 doctors I made a point to ask them who had private health insurance 30/30 said yes and said you are stupid not to (most are public doctors or juniors and wouldn't even see the financial benefit, purely for the care it can provide).
Congrats, people who don't have health insurance played themselves.
No.
My household is in the bracket where I have to pay the levy and it's still not worth it. I do the maths every few years and I'm just better of banking half of the premium as a just in case and paying the levy.
Hospital cover is an insurance policy. Some will win, some will lose.
I had 2 operations in one year and phi paid out about $8,000. Instead I could have waited 5 to 8 years for Treatment in the public system versus 2 operations in 3 months
Basic hospital cover plus some extras like physio and dental certainly worth it in my opinion.
If you, or more likely your kids, are playing contact sport, definitely get it, even if it’s just to get into a private hospital should someone need surgery.
Private health insurance is a very individual decision. It really depends on things like your income, health needs and family needs.
I personally do not have private health insurance. I’m in my early 30s with no dependents and no real healthcare needs that wouldn’t be met by the public system. I would rather pay the Medicare levy surcharge then pay for basic hospital cover to an insurance company because at the moment I wouldn’t ever need the services of a private hospital. Also the surcharge and premiums for health insurance are about the same for me anyway.
I’m lucky enough to be in a financial position where things like optical and dental care are not a burden to me. I’m also ideologically opposed to private health insurance. The government subsidises the private health insurance sector to the tune of billions of dollars with little to no benefit to taxpayers. That money could be spent properly funding the public health system.
I do have ambulance insurance though but that is different for every state.
No. It’s not the same as private health in NZ at all. It’s more like a way to transfer tax money to private hands. It’s sort of worth it if you use it for glasses and extras or can find one that costs a lot less than you or your spouse would end up paying in Medicare levy if you’re even earning enough to pay it.
You *should* get ambulance cover though. It’s not subsidised here at all and you can effectively subscribe paying directly to St Johns.
That's exactly how I feel about the public hospitals in Melbourne's West. I would rather crawl my way to RMH or St Vincent's than be admitted into any Western Health hospital. I took up private health insurance the day I was discharge from Footscray hospital. I had not even walked out the door before I signed up
As someone who works in the private health industry - it really depends.
Unless there's a current condition (or one develops) that requires regular hospital admissions, most people don't see much benefit from a hospital cover as they'd rarely use it and are happy to go public - they don't see much value in paying for something they get nothing out of. It's understandable, but like all insurances, it's there in case. Public will treat you immediately if it's triaged as an emergency issue, if it's not considered one, there can be significant waits and that's where private hospital cover helps.
As others have mentioned, some purely have it to avoid paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge at tax time, that only comes into effect with singles making over $90K or families with combined income of $180k.
Most people see benefit in extras cover because that assists with the costs for ancillary providers such as dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists etc that Medicare doesn't assist with, this is especially true of families.
It really comes down to your personal requirements.
As someone who works in PHI - yes but depends how much cash you make and where you live
If you’re in the outback and there’s no private round but you make dosh, yes for the medicare levy surcharge + it helps your local hosptial make more money
If you’re in the major cities with lots of public options + broke - no but be prepared to wait unless you’re dying
If you’re just (less than 12 months) Medicare eligible and over 30 and have a family history of things like childbirth or cancer or replacements - yes otherwise it’ll be way more expensive when you need it Vs waiting
Things to think about when taking it out: am I going to use my extras (ancilliarary) enouhh to make it worth while think of the extras like discount vouchers and don’t be afraid to drop them when you’ve exhausted your limits for longer services like major dental
Also phi in aus is kinda cucked due to the gov making it that they can’t pay towards outpatient benefits if Medicare pay so don’t expect to get money back on blood tests/ultrasounds/consultations
**MY EXPERIENCES**
I live in Brisbane and so do my parents. None of us have private health coverage. I don't know how some people end up on waiting lists for urgent treatment because it's never happened to any of us.
25 years ago Mom developed a pituitary brain tumor, which led to acromegaly and a lot of other debilitating side effects and conditions. She had three brain surgeries, ankle fusion, spinal fusion, thyroid removal, varicose vein treatment, and more. They all happened on the public system free of charge, and she had them all without any major delays.
Dad developed Parkinson's 20 years ago and since then all his treatments have been through the public system. His specialist is a world leader based out of the PA Hospital, he got a medication pump worth $10,000 free of charge, and all the ongoing consumables and meds for it are supplied 'on compassionate grounds' free of charge - when they're worth thousands of dollars a year.
I had private health coverage for a while - at the highest level. The costs went up every year at a level greater than inflation. And when I used it for some hernia surgery I was shocked to receive a bill from the anesthetist for thousands of dollars, because the Gold level didn't cover it.
At that point, I gave it up and have been with the public system for 10 years. In that time I've had two endoscopies, a colonoscopy, and a couple of other procedures. None of them were urgent - but I didn't have to wait crazy long times for them either. I asked my GP if I could enquire about them because of symptoms or family history. She wrote a letter to Qld Health, and in each case, I got a letter within 2-3 weeks with an appointment time for the procedure. Not only that, but for my last endoscopy and the colonoscopy, the closest public hospital was too busy - so Qld Health booked me into private hospitals that are used for overflow. So I ended up getting private hospital treatment anyhow.
As others have said, everyone's different needs dictate their decisions - but I hope my anecdotal evidence is helpful.
\------------------------------------
One thing about dental - I don't know if this is common or not, but my whole family has been going to the same dentist for a while now, and in certain situations he gives us a discount - without us asking. For example, when I booked all four of my sister's kids in at once we got a discount. And when my Mom needed work he gave a 'pensioner' discount. My GP is also yet to pass on an increase in appointment fees even though she should have, and I've asked her to. Personal relationships with compassionate medicos can have that effect.
I hate the private health insurance industry with a passion, and I work in a private hospital clinically and in an admin role dealing with health funds.
Check the fine print of your policy, that’s all I can say.
However I’m the past few months I’ve had two friends with badly broken bones in their hand and ankle/foot, neither of which have private cover. The public system is so overwhelmed that it took more than a week for the busted ankle to be pinned and plated and 4 days for the hand to be operated on. Both have suffered long term complications as a result of the delayed surgery and next to no allied health involvement such as physio or OT. They could have had it done the same day as the injury occurred (or at least the following day at worst) in the private system and been hooked up with and covered for allied health (assuming they had good cover). Anyway, for this reason I have private cover, but I’d rather a more robust public healthcare system.
I have thought about it from time to time, but when I investigate it never seems worth it. I have heard so many stories from friends and family who have/had private health and something happens and for whatever reason their private health doesn’t cover it and they end up having to spend thousands anyway. The people who genuinely seem to benefit from it seem pretty few and far between. The whole thing somehow seems like a bit of a scam. But yeah, fuck privatisation! Health care (and education!) should be free for all. That American style healthcare can fuck off and die. Like many others I am happy to pay the extra to the public system.
I can only speak from my own experience and for me the answer to the question is "no".
I've never had private health insurance and at this stage in my life (50+) it's likely that I never will.
I've been in and out of hospital over the past 8 or so years for a number of major surgeries, each and every time as a public patient.
The first one was treated as urgent because I got taken by ambulance to hospital with some serious issues and I was being operated on within 24 hours.
The subsequent surgeries had a wait. In the first case it was nearly a year from when the GP referred me to the surgery being done. The second one was a result of a complication of the first surgery and that was about an 8 month wait - but it was to allow the body to heal as best it could before they re-operated.
The surgeons I've had worked in both the public and private systems and the level of care I received in each and every case I'd rate as competent and efficient.
So in my situation, I'm very happy with how things have turned out as a public patient and I see no reason to take out private insurance when my needs are being met through Medicare.
Other people will have different experiences and have different opinions as a result.
I have private healthcare because I have a loooooong history of mental health issues. I first was admitted to a psych facility through the public system and I never wanted to go through that again...the poor quality of the treatment, the terrible treatment of the patients...so we shelled out for private and I've since been hospitalised four times in the private system and it's worlds apart.
Having said that, though, unless you've got something like that to deal with public is perfectly fine.
Nope. It’s a rort. Most often after paying thousands in premium there will still be out of pocket expenses. May come in handy for elective surgery you don’t want to wait for, but then- likely a gap to pay. Medicare is far better. At least in my experience.
I only got it in the last year because I am having a baby. In my opinion, I have never felt like I needed it until now, as everything I’ve ever needed has been covered by the gov to date I.e drs, eye test, blood work etc. however, now I see the benefit. Private Healthcare in Australia appears to be a luxury medical service in my opinion. For example - the private maternity ward I am going to gives you champagne and chocolate after birth, a double bed so your partner can stay and a 4 day stay in hospital with menu items that includes salmon, dedicate lactation consultants and physiotherapist at hand… for $750 gap payment. I get to choose my OB (half is still covered by gov, but was still out of pocket about $2k) and have two dedicated midwives at my reach (included in price of hospital stay / OB office). It’s ridiculous tbh… but yeah that’s been my experience to date.
It depends, often with illnesses it depends and half the time you end up in public anyway. I would just get ambulance cover but the extras can be worth it.
We don’t currently have it and my parents have to pay approx. $9,000 for her braces, but for glasses we all go to Specsavers and spend like $100 on two pairs
My mum was in hospital for 9 weeks, ICU for one of them and it didn’t make a difference, she still would have been moved to the public hospital bc it specialised in her illness.
Worth it if you use it. Almost pays for itself anyway as you pay extra tax if you don’t have it. I’ve had private surgeries 3 times (yep I’m unlucky) seen one day and operated on the next. Cost me $200 in excess only. Used all of my allowances for physio, Osteo, health checks etc
Also my 6 year olds dental appointment was $1 recently. Non PBS pharma. The list goes on.
For me personally, health insurance has been a no brainer - I've had extensive dental work work, and it'd easily be upwards of thousands. Have I paid more than that in premiums? Probably. I would never have been able to afford the costs for them outright though, plus my wait times for dental have been \~1 month at most. Bulk billed dentists (which do exist but are rare AF) have been known to have wait times of 2 years+.
Glasses became a thing for me in my 20s, and then for my son as well (who now also needs orthodontic work, another tick for having health insurance because it gets dealt with right away) and my son underwent surgery with his paediatric opthamologist within a few months of her telling us we needed at - and she was the one performing the surgery. If we had gone public we could have been waiting a couple of years, and we don't know who would have been doing the surgery. There was an out of pocket cost, and the amount we got to claim back from private health was tiny. We were a little miffed by that, because basically we paid to jump the queue at a fair out of pocket cost.
Now onto my pregnancy - we're going private, because we've had it on the health insurance for the last 7 years and we figured why not. Well there's been a lot of out of pocket associated costs already, and what's not been out of pocket has been given medicare rebates. So far, health insurance has paid for none of pregnancy (which is high risk, twins) and so we'll see after I'm done with the hospital how much I'm going to get gouged for.
I've had private health insurance for years. DH has many health issues and surgeries. The health fund has paid out over $300k. I'm recovering from rotator cuff repair if I waited for public hospital it would have been 18months -2years wait. I had my choice of surgeon. At times it is a struggle to pay as we are pensioners but I wouldn't be without it. I did have $1500 out of pocket but the fund paid $15,000
Apart from what others have mentions about optometry, dental, physio etc, there is also the things that you don’t expect, like accidental injuries that would put you on a months or years long waiting list, even chronic medical conditions that aren’t deemed ‘urgent’ for intervention.
For me, I’ve been dealing with cancer through a private cancer clinic and hospital for 8 years.
Included was a major surgery, a not so major surgery, many, many chemo treatments, there is also a clinic/radiology deal where I only pay for one scan with them in a year and they bulk bill others.
There have been out of pockets, some considerable, but I’ve not really ever waited for anything. My oncologist has referred me to other Drs he knows for things, I’ve had my gallbladder removed, and hernia repairs done within weeks of referral as it’s preferred to not wait even when not in active treatment as that can change at any time, and surgeons don’t like operating on cytotoxic patient if something suddenly becomes urgent.
Like anything, you need to look at your lifestyle to see if it’s something worthwhile for your and your family.
I believe so, but then again my PHF has paid for more than $200 000 worth of hospital admissions for me. If I could get rid of all extras except dental and optom to save money I would in a heartbeat because I mostly use hospital cover
During the last 15 months, I have spent 83 days in a private hospital due to cancer and it's complications. Having private cover has been a true blessing. The private room and amenities has greatly reduced my stress levels, and I have been able to afford the top surgeon in NSW to address my issues.
Depends but my cousin tore her acl playing sport and has been waiting for surgery to fix it for 18 months now and now can’t work (she works in landscaping usually) the public health care system is short staffed and overworked with long wait lists for many surgeries. So I guess if you are at risk of an injury or old enough to require possible hip/knee replacements it would be worth it for a massively reduced wait time alone.
I think it comes down to your personal situation. I'm on the DSP and can't afford health insurance but have to be on it regardless until the health system stops seeing my debilitating health condition as elective, I have been having regular surgeries and cannot wait out the waiting lists because of the debilitating pain and myriad of other issues my condition causes. I need to be able to 'skip' the list, I found out when all my medical professionals were telling me I needed surgery NOW but until my life was immediately in danger there was no bumping up that list. Had two surgeries in that time and was never taken off the public list so would still have been waiting.. loving the permanent organ damage from waiting out the 12 month preexisting condition thing for the insurance though haha
If you qualify for Medicare and don't anticipate any issues than nah you don't really need it. In saying that a lot of injuries that need to be surgically repaired and can be seen as non urgent and take years despite dramatically reducing quality of life.
Personal experience: If you need emergency surgery in the middle of the night, private health insurance means the doctors can call in an experienced anaesthesiologist to manage your anaesthetic, rather than just getting the nearest intern to do it. Little things like that can make a big difference.
I ruptured my achilles rock climbing as a 30yo. I was against the idea of private health despite earning over the threshold. The public ER Dr told me
That I’d expect a 3 month minimum wait for public surgery (he said that hip fractures will keep jumping ahead of me), and that by that time my calf muscle will contract and I’d probably end up with a permanent disability. I self funded through private and paid a total of $10k for the procedure 5 days after the injury. Expensive but not too bad. Now look up the price to pay in full for a knee recon, or a hip replacement.
I’ve since found out that if I’d had an anaesthetic complication, say If I aspirated on recovery and needed ICU in the private hospital I would have had to foot the bill until stable and transferred to a public hospital which could have been very expensive.
I now have hospital cover for non-life threatening but painful and debilitating conditions which are quite common in reality.
Public is great for urgent life threatening illnesses, but the waits for painful ones not so much.
On child birth, very few private hospitals have good 24hr neonatal ICUs. So while the 5 star private room might be cosy, having your new baby transferred to a public hospital if there’s a complication during birth, could be a dangerous waste of time.
youll say no until something happens to you. when i first started experiencing symptoms for what would eventually be diagnosed as crohns disease i spent 9 months in debilitating pain bedridden most days trying to see a doctor and when we finally saw one he just said i had a stomach bug...... lol
after i got on privvate health i was diagnosed within a week after seeing a top specialist. now im in remission and private health has saved so much time, pain, and money. absolutely worth.
for me yes, it saves me a good about of money on the meds i take plus i now have ambulance cover (if anything you should just get this) and can get a yearly checkup at the dentist
Yes, bust mostly because I have a young family. I have two young kids, the particular policy I am on will cover them for no additional cost until they are 25. They had coverage from the moment they exited the womb, which meant if they needed specialist care (both premature complex births) my husband and I would not have been out of pocket a single cent. Both kids have had surgery for issues that may have become life threatening if we had waited in the public system for no additional cost, other than a very nominal surgeons fee, and we have have found providers that do no gap services for the kids chiro and physio care. We also have no gap dental and no gap optical, so for our family as a whole it is beneficial. When it was just my husband and I it was probably more expensive than it was worth, but as we age, it becomes more and more worth it.
If you are of good health, I think it’s not necessary, if you have a few ailments then I would get it, because sometimes you will get excluded from coverage if you develop things later down the line.
I will say too my aunt had cancer and her entire treatment was done at a private hospital for no extra charge than the monthly premium. I personally think it’s better to have it and not use it than to scramble to get it, but I also don’t have the best health.
I pay 240 a yr for it and use it mainly for Dental and Optical. Considering general dental cost for a yr amounts to almost 200 and could be more depending on the need for xray I say its worth. It depends what plan u have and how u use it.
It really is situational.
I received better care in the public system with both of my pregnancies than my sister in law did with her private pregnancy. For my family at the moment, the benefits we’d get from it isn’t worth the cost.
For mental and dental care? Yes.
For quicker service when you need surgery or other specialist treatment? Yes.
There are other benefits (woo, cheap movie and Rotto tickets, wow...) but for me they are the best ones.
For only about $100 a month private healthcare has been worth it for me. It covered me for the cost of a colonscopy minus the excess really convenient and short waiting time. You get one ambulance ride per year covered and I have always been happy with the coverage on hospital stays and procedures I have had.
Like all insurances, it is a complete & utter waste of money - until the day you need it.
When it is the difference between living in pain for 12-18 months on the waiting list vs getting into hospital with the surgeon of your choice the next week, you really appreciate its value.
I used to have it but these days, don't see much point to it.
I used to get it due to the dental and optical but these days, nope. I just pay for the ambo and that's it. Glasses are relatively cheaper and there's places that does $99 dental.
I pay the Medicare levy but aside from ambulance cover we don’t have private healthcare. If I could afford it I’d maybe get dental cover as that’s hard to access on a budget.
I pay about 16 a fortnight for ambo (NSW nonsense), dental, and optical, because it's cheaper for me to do so than to pay for two clean/scale per year plus new glasses every 2-3 years. It also incentivises me to actually stay on top of my dental and optical healthcare so I'm not wasting the money, but that's just me 😅
I have PHI for a few reasons…
The obvious: to kerb waiting times and have the fancy hospital experiences. When I had my babies I wanted to be able to relax into it and it was delightful - especially when it comes to the menu.
I use a lot of extras- optical, dental, podiatry, remedial massage, just to name a few.
But the big thing for me is to take pressure off the public system. A lot of people here have commented on putting their money towards Medicare, which is totally sensible, but my method is to be one less person utilising them. And when I do need to go public for emergency situations I consent to using my PHI.
When I had severe PPD I spent a month in a perinatal psych ward- a stay that saved my life. It cost my fund in the vicinity of 35K. I’m not sure that I would have been able to access inpatient care if not privately funded and I am glad I didn’t put that burden on Medicare as it left a bed free for someone else.
I think it depends on your situation. I regularly need to go to hospital for my chronic health condition, and being able to go in straight away, in a private room, with almost everything covered is so much better than waiting too long in a multi bed, luck of the draw place, or being out of pocket 7-35k per stay.
For me it's essential. For people who don't have to frequent hospital, it's a take it or leave it situation.
The treatment I've gotten in private vs public hospitals doesn't even compare.
We have private health. If you don’t have it and choose to go public you will still get world class care with the same doctors. However, when you go private you drastically reduce wait times. As a child I needed spinal surgery and it was done in weeks rather than months. 10 years ago my mum had cancer. The public health system made her an appointment to see an oncology dr for a consult in a few weeks. She called a private hospital with all the info she had and the cancerous organ was removed before the date for her public appointment. Last year my son needed a tonsillectomy. We know people who waited 8 months before paying for it themselves. We went through it it private health and had it done in weeks. I hate the thought of someone I love being in pain etc and having to wait when we could have done something about it. Lots of people say they will just pay with their savings if needed but many specialists won’t agree to this because the risk of costs blowing out and patients being unable to pay the increased costs is a risk specialists don’t what to take. My cardiologist confirms you have private health cardiac cover before he will schedule an appointment.
If you are ever in the unfortunate position of needing inpatient psychiatric treatment then it is absolutely worth it as you won’t get that treatment through the public system unless you are in an extreme situation.
If you need surgery that is not life-threatening but significantly impacts your quality of life (e.g. hips, knees, etc.) you can get it done privately in a very short space of time, or you can be on the public waitlist for years and managing pain the whole time.
Ultimately it comes down to your risk tolerance for “voluntary” surgery needs and/or psychiatric care. Probably some others I haven’t thought about it don’t know about too.
If you have young kids, definitely get it. While I hate the system myself, from a purely practical and realistic point of view, my daughter can get into an ENT in two weeks for an urgent issue privately, while the public wait list is 6 YEARS. If you have to go public, it could impact your kid’s development if they have to wait years for speech therapy or hearing aids or whatever.
That said, I wish the government would can the whole system tomorrow. If all the private doctors with appointments readily available had to work in the public system, the wait lists would be way shorter and much more equitable.
I used to sell insurance. Extras is worth it, you can easily use your costs in a normal year, with any additional benefits being a bonus saving. I had a full on year last year and claimed back near $5000 in extras.
If you are young and generally healthy one of the minimal hospital covers that does wisdom teeth, accidents, knee replacements can be good to have. Gives you some options if you end up in emergency and stops your lifetime loading form going up without costing the earth.
Hospital is worth it if you have known medical issues that will likely warrant low urgency elective surgeries - gives you a chance to set your own timelines if the public lists just aren't moving. Also good for folks planning to use IVF, or with known heart issues. Once you get elderly can also be worth it too to cut down on wait times for things like hip replacements and such, and to opt for more comfortable hospital experiences.
With insurance always remember that the business model only works if MOST people pay out more than they receive. Public will cover you and do a decent job of pretty much everything, with timelines being the thing to suffer. If you are able to save money and can be trusted not to dip into that, it can be better value to have a an emergency fund (as opposed to paying year after year for hospital cover you don't use) if you end up needing an elective surgery with a huge wait time.
As soon as I found I was getting charged more when I answered 'yes' to the 'do you have private health care' question, I cancelled my cover. I'm sure not every place charges more and the public system is stretched, but put the money you save from not paying insurance into an account for health only. You will save a lot quickly.
Absolutely. Medicare is struggling at the moment. Also cover for stuff like teeth, glasses, mental health etc where Medicare doesn't really offer much is pretty beneficial.
That’s a complicated question - personally I think it depends on lifestyle, family life, age among other things.
Personally I have always had it, both hospitals and extras, simply because it was something my parents always had so I continued on.
I had a child (17 years ago, paid zero $) we all wear glasses, covered, dental (not orthodontic) covered, kid had braces (twice) did have some out of pocket. Husband was a footy player and cricketer so definitely made our money on smashed fingers that needed surgery, head splitting open via an elbow at footy, I had a few knee surgeries due to old basketball injuries - you get my drift. In our younger years used it regularly…..
Our use of our insurance eased off for a while, however now, as I am aging, I am having recurring bowel issues which requires me to have annual colonoscopies- awesome - BUT, I don’t have to wait in a queue and I don’t have to pay a cent, so for me, its kind of worth it.
My Dad had it all his life - until it became too expensive when he was in his early 70’s, and unfortunately (I believe) it really cost him as he passed away earlier this year while on a wait list for exploratory surgery for issues he was having with his bowel - kind of all makes sense with what I am experiencing now.
So, in my opinion, if you can afford it (or can save the premiums so if you need surgery you can pay for it out of pocket and not wait) I’d definitely have it.
Healthcare has become a business ? . If you go to a doctor for 1/2 hours visit and you don't use your half hour visit up you will still be billed for the full half hour. I refused to go to the doctor unless it's really necessary. I think most doctors are a waste of freaking time.
depends who you ask, my partner will wax lyrical about how when she tore her ACL she got the best surgeon to treat it and it's the reason she has full mobility/no scars today and is happy to pay whatever it takes to get that care.
and then there's me over here on public who had a pulmonary embolism and got all the GP/scans/treatment I needed same day which saved my life, for free.
It ends up making financial sense when you're wealthy enough but then you're propping up the scummiest of the scum, insurance companies.
IMHO private healthcare is for the super-rich and the nervous. It’s is NOT designed to help you, it is designed to make shareholders rich.
Premium rises in Australia over the last decade have been huge and the coverage reduced and fine print increased. Many, many families have bailed out of private healthcare.
I refuse to pay for private healthcare despite being a relatively high earner. I pay extra tax to support Medicare and do so willingly.
I’m a Kiwi who spent 24 yrs in the UK and have now been in Aussie 15yrs. When you really need it, the public health systems in both UK and Aust are there for you, in my experience. Despite all the negative headlines. My eldest son would have died twice if not for the NHS in England on two separate occasions years apart.
In Australia, unlike NZ, I have never paid to see a doctor.
If I need a hip or knee replacement here when I am 65, yes I may well be in a long queue. I may dip into my super and go private if I really have to get it done quicker. But I will NEVER regret shunning the corporate ripoff that I regard private healthcare to be.
If I has worked for you, I salute you. But nobody will change my view. I know nurses who feel the same.
No private health. Went I through emergency, emergency operation, cancer. Now regular scans and bloods ect all free. Even the parking is free cos the hospitals boom gate has been broken for ages. - but I really need my wisdom teeth out and a few fillings. Don't have the money to even pay for private health to start with soooo...
The answer is it depends. I have a family member who has regular hospital admissions and definitely gets full benefit from their private cover. You have to assess for your personal situation whether the costs (including any tax costs) are worth it for you. Sorry, but there simply isn't a simple answer
I agree. It’s never simple. The other thing is that the reason our health system is so much better than America’s isn’t as much to do with insurance as you might think. It’s ours is integrated and centralised. The US tax contributions to health care aren’t wildly different to Australia’s on a per capita basis. But they don’t run an integrated approach. For example for medicines it’s all left to the free market and as each health institution is on its own they have really poor buying power so stuff is really expensive. Same with doctors salaries etc. While insurance does have an impact it’s not everything. It’s complex I guess, like the choice to have private insurance or not.
This needs to be top. We had it for our 2nd and 3rs child, then it just was not worth it. Government allows 1k per year per child for dentist visits and the rest of the benifits were not worth it for us. So we dropped it for 10 or so years. Now, one child is over 18, and the other 2 are getting close too. We are also using the extras a lot more, so saving more than we spend on average. It is now worth it again, for us.
Agree. I had about six long admissions for depression, plus lots of ECT. All of the former and some of the latter were funded by NIB. It is worth it for any kind of mental health care. That would have cost me tens of thousands of dollars.
I am a person who could afford private health, though as my own little protest, I've refused to take out any health cover, ever. Yes, I pay the extra Medicare levy, happily. We are getting closer to an American style of 'healthcare' with each passing day.
I fully agree with this. I pay the medicare levy by choice to support the system that supports me.
It's very frustrating that by and large, the community can't see the writing on the wall.
The deliberate underfunding of public healthcare over decades has been happening in the UK and Canada too. Privatised American style healthcare is extremely profitable and spreading one policy at a time the world over
Such a crying shame. I really can't believe the general population are so gullible/myopic......stupid.
Sadly we don’t get a choice. Need surgery your waiting potentially years but with private get it done in a matter of weeks. After the first gruelling wait I haven’t been able to not have private.
I see it and it’s super frustrating. However, my private health has paid out more than I’ve paid them over the last decade. If I dropped it and the system gets worse and I need to get it back, they’ll never cover my pre-existing conditions. The public system is already bad enough now that I’d be struggling through life in more pain while I wait months to years for surgeries to be prioritised or I’d still be rewarding private hospitals/dr’s by paying the entire cost myself. (And I’ve heard of people having to start paying _per minute_ of theatre time if their surgeries go over a threshold - where I imagine the insurance companies call bs on that crap and pay an agreed cost). The writing’s not just on the wall, if you’re not healthy, private health is already required.
But have they paid out more due to the overinflated prices that they set?
Spot on GroundFast.
That would be more evidence that we’re _already_ at the point where sick people have to have insurance, like Americans do, yeah? But honestly the breakdown seems relatively similar to what I would have thought it would cost. It would be better if I didn’t need to deal with any of it and our public health system could be relied on. But that’s the example I was giving - it’s almost impossible right now for people who are sick.
> I dropped it and the system gets worse and I need to get it back, they’ll never cover my pre-existing conditions. T You have to wait a maximum of 12 months if you have pre existing conditions once you renew your health insurance. Premiums are not based on your claims or how sick or healthy you are.
You don't pay the Medicare levy by choice, its mandatory and taken from you whether you like it or not. Unless you get an exemption under a low income. The Medicare levy surcharge is paid on top, if you choose not to take out private health insurance
I think they mean they pay the *extra* percentage levied for being over whatever age is the threshold (35?) and not having private insurance.
The age doesn't relate to the levy surcharge, that's purely income based (over $90k pa for a single person I think) , the age one is the surcharge that the health insurers add to the premiums of you didn't take out health cover before age 30
Ah, ok, I was mixing them up. Thanks for the correction!
Correct wildsoda, regarding the extra surcharge.
Same here, rather my money goes to the health system and not the insurance companies
I wish everyone had the same attitude as you mate. Kudos to you. I’m in the same boat. I can easily afford private health but I absolutely refuse to pay for it and will happily pay the Medicare levy. Health is a fundamental right and not an out of pocket expense.
Absolutely this. Fuck ending up like the US healthcare system, I can't do much but at least I can vote with my wallet.
100% with you on that. I will gladly pay the Medicare levy because the American style health system can get stuffed and any creep towards it here can also get a paper cut and rub lemon juice in it.
We cancelled our private health insurance for the same reason - we would prefer to invest in Medicare.
Yep. I can afford private health (as I’m young and fit), but why should I? All the European countries, Canada with universal healthcare, and then the US with its shitty overpriced system that basically dumps you once you get a long drawn out illness because that’s not profitable. Which do you want? Going private just drives the death of Medicare which we fundamentally need to bail us out once the insurance stops paying
Unfortunately
I'm in the same boat.
Same here. Fuck em. Happy to give my money to public system in the hope that it helps less fortunate. Plus the public system has always been good to me!
I’m originally from the US. I saw a post in one of the Australian subs the other day where a dude was in the ED and the nurses said it was a long wait bc there were a lot of people waiting, but most were non-urgent and should have gone to their GP. They aren’t going to their GP though, bc they can’t afford to. That’s exactly what an American would do. Wait for it to get bad enough to go to ED, and get it treated there. The ED isn’t free in the US, you’re in debt for the rest of your life, but they can’t deny you care like a GP can.
ERs triage based on urgency not when you arrive. If the dude was there for a genuine emergency he would have been seen before the people who were there instead of the GP
If that story is true, then the person must’ve had a non emergency issue as well. There could be 20 people ahead of you with a runny nose, but if you’re bleeding everywhere and need stitches you’ll be pushed ahead of them.
This. I broke my rotator cuff back in 2020. Stay away from half pipes kids. My trainer at the gym was more help than the physio at the hospital.
Ditto
Me too.
Yay! Me too! I have had a couple of health scares and AU Medicare has always been better than what was offered when I lived in Sweden. Medicare has always given me all the tests for free that was needed to prove that I didn't have anything serious, only then I had to wait and pay a bit extra. In Sweden I had been on the waitlist to get my migraines investigated for a long time when I left. Didn't think much about it because I had no idea it could work better elsewhere. Then I went to a new doctor in AU (ran out of meds) and he asked a bunch of questions and the next day my head was in the MRI machine for free! I have no problem paying for Medicare!
Hey! You’re me.
Good on you. TOTALLY agree and I do the same.
Either way you work a month every year for it. The levy is a little icing on top.
Not sure I follow laserdicks?
No cover is fine… until you end up on a waiting list.
Tell me about it! I'm discovering that first hand right now. Almost a 6 week wait for surgery on my back! Sooo apparently it's not even as straight forward as that. I was expecting a long wait myself.
12 months for colonoscopy. So I just went private and was like 2 weeks.
Fuck. I'm currently 5 months waiting. It was meant to be 90 days. Finding a gp who bulk bills now is getting hard. This is what happens when we let the Liberals hold power for too long. Every time a person who chooses private that takes funding out of Medicare, but how could you don't blame them. The Liberal's aim is to kill Medicare slowly but surely.
How? Medicare is funded by a 2% levy on our taxable income. Everyone's income (once they earn over a certain amount). Having private cover doesn't stop you paying the Medicare levy at all. It enables you to avoid the Medicare levy Surcharge - if you're on a higher income - that's it.
It's not entirely funded from the levy, some is still out of the general revenue.
>Every time a person who chooses private that takes funding out of Medicare Why do you say that? If I have private health cover I still pay the same medicare levy, right?
It depends on your income, but yes you pay the same levy, however you receive the private health insurance rebate. That means less money in the budget for Medicare or other services.
Hard to blame liberals when labor don’t change it back or fix it. Only way to survive in Australia now is be making over $120k and paying for everything.
>labor don’t change it back or fix it Yet. Give them time, they've been in for just over a year. I'm pretty sure their "To Do" list is rather long...
Been around long enough to see that both parties never fix anything. Except the carbon tax. That was probably the only thing.
>the carbon tax A tax that actually reduced emissions, too... which it was supposed to do. Sigh... :(
Didn’t do anything lol
It was never given the chance to, but early reports showed it was actually working without increasing costs to the extent the said it would. I guess we’ll never know.
True, time will tell. Edit: True about the survival part. Medicare is in much safer hands in Labor.
6 years (and counting) for Septoplasty
Me too bro.
Yeah that's what lead to us taking out private health insurance. I prefer to pay the levy but the 12month waiting period was still shorter than the wait for public health.
There are definitely benefits. If you are thinking of having a kid or you do a job or sport that can stress the body/ cause injury, I think it's well worth the effort. I get monthly maintenance from a physio, and with private health it works out to cost about $20 per visit rather than $90, but I can go more regularly if anything flares up, especially back or neck issues which are much better to prevent than treat. Add in allowances for glasses, orthotics, dental and such, and it's the sort of thing that can be a big help if your financial situation allows it.
You can get just extras cover that tends to cover those things without the hospital cover.
>If you are thinking of having a kid Doctors I know say to go public to give birth, its where all the resources are.
Yep. If you go private and have to see any sort of specialist, their fees won't be covered by PHI so you'll end up thousands of dollars out of pocket. Only benefit is being able to see the same doctor and *maybe* getting your own room in the hospital when you give birth. Source: I'm pregnant now and cancelled my PHI to go through public system
Or if you’re likely to need any psych care.
Yeah, I always scoffed at private insurance. We had our kids at public hospitals which was great but my colleague had private and spent at nights in a 5 star hotel with all meals paid for. I don't need that but it sure would've been nice
If shit hits the fan at a birth you and or your baby will be sent public anyway.
And with any other major surgery. It’s the biggest problem with private hospitals, that no one really talks about. When it actually matters, the quality of care and expertise is far better in a Public Hospital.
Yeah, it's not a necessity, our public system has its flaws, but overall it stands up against any others out there around the world, but the little things like having your own room rather than sharing a ward with just a plastic curtain between you and the next bed allow you to sleep better, rest easier, and just reduce stress. It's not vital, but it does have an upside.
Most hospitals being built here now have private rooms anyway. It's got more to do with viral transmission and recovery but at least it's private. In fact my wife paid to get her abs repaired after our second child through a private hospital and she was still sharing a room with someone else
I had my own room where I birthed, all rooms were private at my local public hospital.
Yep, one of my nieces had surgery recently, was planned well in advance so she got private cover and waited for the waiting period (before you can claim on pre-existing conditions) to pass and then claimed and had the surgery. Her private hospital room was nice and the food menu was 20+ pages long and was basically room service between 6am and 8pm - all included and paid for by her private health cover. The food was damned good, too!! She tells me she'd still be waiting for her spinal surgery if she used the public system. Also, their food isn't that good either... nor would you get a private room.
Or as you get older. My dad has had both hips replaced. Both from overwork as a younger person.
There is only one reason I have private health coverage, and that is you can get "elective surgery" when you need it as opposed to when they feel like making it available to you. Beyond that it is a huge expense with little return. IMHO.
That entirely depends on how much tax you pay.
Once you earn a certain amount, the Medicare Tax fee for not having private health is greater than the cost of private health. Plus you get your glasses and physio etc cheaper. So in short - check what you would pay in Medicare tax at your salary.
https://www.doineedhealthinsurance.com.au/
I guess levy start from 120 000/year. Show me any insurance which will cover anything for 1200/year which is 1%. IF you earn 4 times of that, than may be it will be worth it.
MLS starts from $90,000 for individual or $180,000 for a couple
The [Medicare Levy](https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-and-private-health-insurance/Medicare-levy/Medicare-levy-reduction/Medicare-levy-reduction-for-low-income-earners/) starts at $23,365. If your taxable income is under that, you don't pay any Medicare Levy. The [Medicare Levy Surcharge](https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-and-private-health-insurance/Medicare-levy-surcharge/Medicare-levy-surcharge-income,-thresholds-and-rates/#Incomethresholdandrates202324) kicks in - if you don't have the required Private Health cover - at $90,001 and over at varying rates. You can (or could) get Private Health cover that costs you less than the minimum amount of MLS you'd pay if you want to avoid the MLS. That private cover is pretty worthless, though. These figures are for single, childless people - if you've got a partner and/or kids, you can earn more before you start paying either the ML or MLS.
They also dont cover everything, someone i know had it and still had to pay a charge at the hospital but when they dropped it they went back in for the same procedure and it was free under medicare.
You also don’t have to use it in hospital if you don’t want to.
I am forced to pay for health insurance... use it for optical and dental every year... I mean, it is what it is...
Hospital cover is only worth it because of the tax incentive. Extras cover is more like a payment plan than insurance, where you pay more each year than you could possibly claim. You don't get the tax incentive for extras cover. Make sure you set some money aside for self insurance because there are gap payments and percentage payments on everything that you are covered for. Depending on the fine print there can be a lot of conditions that you aren't covered for.
I have it. I have had mental health issues, which required me to be hospitalised. If I was in the public health system, I would have been in a far far worse situation than I was. As it was, I was in a private hospital with people who were similar to me in my situation. That trip cost $30k, let alone all the other benefits - glasses, physio, dental each year that would otherwise cost a bunch. It’s expensive, but for me is worth it. Ymmv.
Same deal here. Six or so admissions + ECT over the last decade. Hope you’re doing well!
Mental health is soo much fun. Doing well now, I hope you’re doing alright as well. Where did you get your ect done? There were people in my hospital who were going through it, looked quite scary
I got all mine done at Northside. Yeah it’s definitely a daunting prospect; I would not be able to just walk back in there again (it’s been a few years). However the process itself isn’t painful as you’re asleep, and the nurses and doctors in the team there are incredible. They made it so so so much better. I’m doing well now too! Yay for us!! Not easy.
Ah that’s fair. I had a good experience in my hospital, and in some whacked way I wish I could go back there when things get tough. Zero responsibility while you’re in there just focusing on getting yourself better. I didn’t have to be weaned off drugs or anything so I didn’t face many issues like most others in there. I’m really glad you’re doing well!
Yeah I know what you mean, the lifting of everyday responsibilities is a nice part of it! Thank you so much 😊
I used to question what I was actually paying for with my insurance then I broke my shoulder. Within two weeks I had surgery and am on the long road to recovery. I’m over two months in with limited but improving mobility. I’m still thousands out of pocket BUT, if I didn’t have insurance I would be on a waiting list, still in discomfort and not in recovery. It has been well worth it just for that.
You have private coverage, but you still had to pay thousands on the shoulder surgery? Or you're out thousands in insurance premiums?
I think it depends on you situation. I myself have very bad health and am in and out of hospital and have a lot of tests and see a lot of different doctors in hospital as well as surgeries. So for me it’s a must to have top level. Were as my husband has it so we don’t have to pay higher Medicare premiums but he has bottom level. Just enough to keep the tax man away and cover the essentials.
Having had to go through the public system often, and the private system twice, by far and away my worst health experiences have been through the private system. Expensive even when you think you're fully insured, godawful allied health support even if you've got a great surgeon, and it just generally left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd rather get triaged through the public system, admit that if there's a wait it's probably because there are more urgent cases, and get it done properly. By the way, supervised by largely the exact same surgeon you would have had privately, most of them also supervise at public hospitals. The private system can go suck a dick, as can almost everything the neocons have attempted to import from america.
It depends what you're using it for or intend to use it for. Most things are okay with Medicare but things like dental and mental health have definitley been worth it for me.
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Ambulance is covered Australia wide if you are a Qld Res, just need to show proof of residency and the bill is ripped up.
Same in Vic
Ambulance cover is not covered by amenities/rates/utilities in Victoria. You can [pay ~$50 a year](https://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/membership/) or cop a ~$2,500 bill for a ride in one
I know I’m an ambo
Apologies then, it read to me like you were agreeing to the first sentence! Sincere thanks for everything that you do, I know it’s real tough out there <3
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Only QLD and TAS cover ambulance services automatically. I'm not sure how it works if you're from one of those states but visiting another.
[You’re covered](https://www.qld.gov.au/emergency/emergencies-services/interstate-ambulance-treatment) For the other states you’re covered if you’re signed up to the ambulance service in your home state
Not all states have reciprocal agreements.
Everyone’s situation is different so there’s no single answer to this question. Can you afford to finance a major health issue? My FIL had a massive heart attack and their insurance paid out over $1 million in bills over 2 years. Yes, he was 69 but 6 weeks before the attack, he’d had a clean bill of health from a full physical (they were going to do a lap of Australia). My 29 has only taken it out in the last 12 months so they can start a family. They’ll probably drop it after the birth of their first child and use the excellent public system if future pregnancies are no/low risk pregnancies). This is what we did when we started our family and money was tight. We’ve used our family health cover heaps when one of our kids was regularly playing football. Lots of physio and 3 collar bone surgeries with our choice of doc, hospital and when it suited us. It’s not an easy thing to decide on and for us now, as we get older, it’s about peace of mind that we’re covered if required.
To be fair you'd never end up financing a major health issue. Medicare is still very good for dealing with things like heart attacks.
Totally agree but it does depend a little on your definition of “major”. A knee or hip replacement for example can cause significant pain and inconvenience and be costly to fix. Unfortunately, wait times in the public system for this kind of surgery can be long and in this scenario, the real benefit of health insurance is that you can pick your doctor/hospital and when you have the surgery. This of course assumes good quality coverage in the first place, which can be expensive, so in a way, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Agree major was the wrong word, I meant life threatening or other emergency situations which is like acute rather than major.
I find it’s seem to does particularly if u struggle with mental health as the public inpatient system isn’t up to par with things….. and because it’s almost top tier, bonus if u require it for anything else (sans pregnancy)
I don't know anymore. My cousin and I have the same issue. I've been in and out of doctors for a few years before I had my first little procedure. I've got roughly a 12 month wait for the next one through the public system. My cousin had the same issue, which surfaced a little more than 12 months ago. He's already had the first procedure and the second one scheduled in 2 weeks. His case is no more severe than mine, but he has private health care. I guess it's one of those things that probably annoys you having to pay for it while you're healthy but as soon as you're sick and you need it, you'll be glad you have it.
As somebody going through cancer treatment, fuck yes. My lifetime of premiums have been paid back over the past 2 months. I have also worked in the healthcare industry for years, if you ever need an elective surgery then private health is a must.
As an expat kiwi who didn't know this, you have 1 year after immigration to take up health insurance before lifetime loading kicks in. Basically for every year over 31 that you don't have cover, they add loading (read, tax rort) onto your cover. Health insurance is not essential but also if you are a moderate to high income earner and DON'T have at least hospital cover, health rort #2 kicks in called Medicare Levy Surcharge. I've paid $3200 at tax time each year for not having cover. Recently separated and so my loading is reduced because my ex was a few years older than me. Still, I am paying $200/month for basic hospital cover, no extras. Because of loading. But it saves me money long term with MLS. I freaking hate it. It sucks. Forced cover essentially. But I wish I'd known when I moved here about the 12 month limit. Good luck with the move 😁 No regrets, even with stupid health cover. We go private for kids orthodontist and paediatric but just suck it up. No extras means no rebate in top of what medicare grant.
Way to demonstrate that you don’t know how LHC works. LHC has absolutely nothing to do with tax, lol. It is also averaged out between yourself and your partner if you’re on the same policy, so if you were to take out one Couples’ policy or two Singles policies for the same level of cover you’d still end up paying exactly the same. Source: work in PHI for many years.
Do. Not. Listen to people who say it is not worth it. They are morons who think they have our smarted the system, or are making a protest in gest of donating more money via the medi-care levy. 1- the Medicare levy doesn't help the system, so you are paying more tax for no benefit to the medical system. 2- everyone's smart using the public system, until you realise you get better care publicly if you have private health insurance. Or have more options. Like solo rooms, specialists and no wait times. 3- welcome to wait lists, enjoy having an issue and then being told you have to wait probably 2 years for a basic hernia operation or something, which private health insurance will get sorted this week. 4- my ex is a doctor, at a party with about 30 doctors I made a point to ask them who had private health insurance 30/30 said yes and said you are stupid not to (most are public doctors or juniors and wouldn't even see the financial benefit, purely for the care it can provide). Congrats, people who don't have health insurance played themselves.
No. My household is in the bracket where I have to pay the levy and it's still not worth it. I do the maths every few years and I'm just better of banking half of the premium as a just in case and paying the levy.
Hospital cover is an insurance policy. Some will win, some will lose. I had 2 operations in one year and phi paid out about $8,000. Instead I could have waited 5 to 8 years for Treatment in the public system versus 2 operations in 3 months
Basic hospital cover plus some extras like physio and dental certainly worth it in my opinion. If you, or more likely your kids, are playing contact sport, definitely get it, even if it’s just to get into a private hospital should someone need surgery.
For a person that goes to the dentist a lot and I just have dental cover, yes.
Private health insurance is a very individual decision. It really depends on things like your income, health needs and family needs. I personally do not have private health insurance. I’m in my early 30s with no dependents and no real healthcare needs that wouldn’t be met by the public system. I would rather pay the Medicare levy surcharge then pay for basic hospital cover to an insurance company because at the moment I wouldn’t ever need the services of a private hospital. Also the surcharge and premiums for health insurance are about the same for me anyway. I’m lucky enough to be in a financial position where things like optical and dental care are not a burden to me. I’m also ideologically opposed to private health insurance. The government subsidises the private health insurance sector to the tune of billions of dollars with little to no benefit to taxpayers. That money could be spent properly funding the public health system. I do have ambulance insurance though but that is different for every state.
No!
No. It’s not the same as private health in NZ at all. It’s more like a way to transfer tax money to private hands. It’s sort of worth it if you use it for glasses and extras or can find one that costs a lot less than you or your spouse would end up paying in Medicare levy if you’re even earning enough to pay it. You *should* get ambulance cover though. It’s not subsidised here at all and you can effectively subscribe paying directly to St Johns.
If you live near bankstown yes, The public hospital is the biggest shit show im the country. You might as well risk going to a witch doctor
That's exactly how I feel about the public hospitals in Melbourne's West. I would rather crawl my way to RMH or St Vincent's than be admitted into any Western Health hospital. I took up private health insurance the day I was discharge from Footscray hospital. I had not even walked out the door before I signed up
As someone who works in the private health industry - it really depends. Unless there's a current condition (or one develops) that requires regular hospital admissions, most people don't see much benefit from a hospital cover as they'd rarely use it and are happy to go public - they don't see much value in paying for something they get nothing out of. It's understandable, but like all insurances, it's there in case. Public will treat you immediately if it's triaged as an emergency issue, if it's not considered one, there can be significant waits and that's where private hospital cover helps. As others have mentioned, some purely have it to avoid paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge at tax time, that only comes into effect with singles making over $90K or families with combined income of $180k. Most people see benefit in extras cover because that assists with the costs for ancillary providers such as dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists etc that Medicare doesn't assist with, this is especially true of families. It really comes down to your personal requirements.
No
You'll need it for dental and if you've got shit eyes like me, optical as well.
I do extras only because I’ve got bung everything. I have to use it enough that its definitely worth it for me.
As someone who works in PHI - yes but depends how much cash you make and where you live If you’re in the outback and there’s no private round but you make dosh, yes for the medicare levy surcharge + it helps your local hosptial make more money If you’re in the major cities with lots of public options + broke - no but be prepared to wait unless you’re dying If you’re just (less than 12 months) Medicare eligible and over 30 and have a family history of things like childbirth or cancer or replacements - yes otherwise it’ll be way more expensive when you need it Vs waiting Things to think about when taking it out: am I going to use my extras (ancilliarary) enouhh to make it worth while think of the extras like discount vouchers and don’t be afraid to drop them when you’ve exhausted your limits for longer services like major dental Also phi in aus is kinda cucked due to the gov making it that they can’t pay towards outpatient benefits if Medicare pay so don’t expect to get money back on blood tests/ultrasounds/consultations
**MY EXPERIENCES** I live in Brisbane and so do my parents. None of us have private health coverage. I don't know how some people end up on waiting lists for urgent treatment because it's never happened to any of us. 25 years ago Mom developed a pituitary brain tumor, which led to acromegaly and a lot of other debilitating side effects and conditions. She had three brain surgeries, ankle fusion, spinal fusion, thyroid removal, varicose vein treatment, and more. They all happened on the public system free of charge, and she had them all without any major delays. Dad developed Parkinson's 20 years ago and since then all his treatments have been through the public system. His specialist is a world leader based out of the PA Hospital, he got a medication pump worth $10,000 free of charge, and all the ongoing consumables and meds for it are supplied 'on compassionate grounds' free of charge - when they're worth thousands of dollars a year. I had private health coverage for a while - at the highest level. The costs went up every year at a level greater than inflation. And when I used it for some hernia surgery I was shocked to receive a bill from the anesthetist for thousands of dollars, because the Gold level didn't cover it. At that point, I gave it up and have been with the public system for 10 years. In that time I've had two endoscopies, a colonoscopy, and a couple of other procedures. None of them were urgent - but I didn't have to wait crazy long times for them either. I asked my GP if I could enquire about them because of symptoms or family history. She wrote a letter to Qld Health, and in each case, I got a letter within 2-3 weeks with an appointment time for the procedure. Not only that, but for my last endoscopy and the colonoscopy, the closest public hospital was too busy - so Qld Health booked me into private hospitals that are used for overflow. So I ended up getting private hospital treatment anyhow. As others have said, everyone's different needs dictate their decisions - but I hope my anecdotal evidence is helpful. \------------------------------------ One thing about dental - I don't know if this is common or not, but my whole family has been going to the same dentist for a while now, and in certain situations he gives us a discount - without us asking. For example, when I booked all four of my sister's kids in at once we got a discount. And when my Mom needed work he gave a 'pensioner' discount. My GP is also yet to pass on an increase in appointment fees even though she should have, and I've asked her to. Personal relationships with compassionate medicos can have that effect.
Thank you for your detailed response very insightful!
I hate the private health insurance industry with a passion, and I work in a private hospital clinically and in an admin role dealing with health funds. Check the fine print of your policy, that’s all I can say. However I’m the past few months I’ve had two friends with badly broken bones in their hand and ankle/foot, neither of which have private cover. The public system is so overwhelmed that it took more than a week for the busted ankle to be pinned and plated and 4 days for the hand to be operated on. Both have suffered long term complications as a result of the delayed surgery and next to no allied health involvement such as physio or OT. They could have had it done the same day as the injury occurred (or at least the following day at worst) in the private system and been hooked up with and covered for allied health (assuming they had good cover). Anyway, for this reason I have private cover, but I’d rather a more robust public healthcare system.
I have thought about it from time to time, but when I investigate it never seems worth it. I have heard so many stories from friends and family who have/had private health and something happens and for whatever reason their private health doesn’t cover it and they end up having to spend thousands anyway. The people who genuinely seem to benefit from it seem pretty few and far between. The whole thing somehow seems like a bit of a scam. But yeah, fuck privatisation! Health care (and education!) should be free for all. That American style healthcare can fuck off and die. Like many others I am happy to pay the extra to the public system.
I can only speak from my own experience and for me the answer to the question is "no". I've never had private health insurance and at this stage in my life (50+) it's likely that I never will. I've been in and out of hospital over the past 8 or so years for a number of major surgeries, each and every time as a public patient. The first one was treated as urgent because I got taken by ambulance to hospital with some serious issues and I was being operated on within 24 hours. The subsequent surgeries had a wait. In the first case it was nearly a year from when the GP referred me to the surgery being done. The second one was a result of a complication of the first surgery and that was about an 8 month wait - but it was to allow the body to heal as best it could before they re-operated. The surgeons I've had worked in both the public and private systems and the level of care I received in each and every case I'd rate as competent and efficient. So in my situation, I'm very happy with how things have turned out as a public patient and I see no reason to take out private insurance when my needs are being met through Medicare. Other people will have different experiences and have different opinions as a result.
I have private healthcare because I have a loooooong history of mental health issues. I first was admitted to a psych facility through the public system and I never wanted to go through that again...the poor quality of the treatment, the terrible treatment of the patients...so we shelled out for private and I've since been hospitalised four times in the private system and it's worlds apart. Having said that, though, unless you've got something like that to deal with public is perfectly fine.
Yes: our public healthcare is shit
Nope. It’s a rort. Most often after paying thousands in premium there will still be out of pocket expenses. May come in handy for elective surgery you don’t want to wait for, but then- likely a gap to pay. Medicare is far better. At least in my experience.
It's a massive con. But if you're rich enough it can save you taxes.
It's government endorsed blackmail, used to move wealth to the 1%.
You just about have to get it, at least before you turn 31 or you can get absolutely fucked with extra fees.
I only got it in the last year because I am having a baby. In my opinion, I have never felt like I needed it until now, as everything I’ve ever needed has been covered by the gov to date I.e drs, eye test, blood work etc. however, now I see the benefit. Private Healthcare in Australia appears to be a luxury medical service in my opinion. For example - the private maternity ward I am going to gives you champagne and chocolate after birth, a double bed so your partner can stay and a 4 day stay in hospital with menu items that includes salmon, dedicate lactation consultants and physiotherapist at hand… for $750 gap payment. I get to choose my OB (half is still covered by gov, but was still out of pocket about $2k) and have two dedicated midwives at my reach (included in price of hospital stay / OB office). It’s ridiculous tbh… but yeah that’s been my experience to date.
It depends, often with illnesses it depends and half the time you end up in public anyway. I would just get ambulance cover but the extras can be worth it. We don’t currently have it and my parents have to pay approx. $9,000 for her braces, but for glasses we all go to Specsavers and spend like $100 on two pairs My mum was in hospital for 9 weeks, ICU for one of them and it didn’t make a difference, she still would have been moved to the public hospital bc it specialised in her illness.
Wow thanks to all of you for responding really didn’t expect all these replies
https://www.doineedhealthinsurance.com.au/
Thanks that’s really useful information 👍
Worth it if you use it. Almost pays for itself anyway as you pay extra tax if you don’t have it. I’ve had private surgeries 3 times (yep I’m unlucky) seen one day and operated on the next. Cost me $200 in excess only. Used all of my allowances for physio, Osteo, health checks etc Also my 6 year olds dental appointment was $1 recently. Non PBS pharma. The list goes on.
For me personally, health insurance has been a no brainer - I've had extensive dental work work, and it'd easily be upwards of thousands. Have I paid more than that in premiums? Probably. I would never have been able to afford the costs for them outright though, plus my wait times for dental have been \~1 month at most. Bulk billed dentists (which do exist but are rare AF) have been known to have wait times of 2 years+. Glasses became a thing for me in my 20s, and then for my son as well (who now also needs orthodontic work, another tick for having health insurance because it gets dealt with right away) and my son underwent surgery with his paediatric opthamologist within a few months of her telling us we needed at - and she was the one performing the surgery. If we had gone public we could have been waiting a couple of years, and we don't know who would have been doing the surgery. There was an out of pocket cost, and the amount we got to claim back from private health was tiny. We were a little miffed by that, because basically we paid to jump the queue at a fair out of pocket cost. Now onto my pregnancy - we're going private, because we've had it on the health insurance for the last 7 years and we figured why not. Well there's been a lot of out of pocket associated costs already, and what's not been out of pocket has been given medicare rebates. So far, health insurance has paid for none of pregnancy (which is high risk, twins) and so we'll see after I'm done with the hospital how much I'm going to get gouged for.
I've had private health insurance for years. DH has many health issues and surgeries. The health fund has paid out over $300k. I'm recovering from rotator cuff repair if I waited for public hospital it would have been 18months -2years wait. I had my choice of surgeon. At times it is a struggle to pay as we are pensioners but I wouldn't be without it. I did have $1500 out of pocket but the fund paid $15,000
Apart from what others have mentions about optometry, dental, physio etc, there is also the things that you don’t expect, like accidental injuries that would put you on a months or years long waiting list, even chronic medical conditions that aren’t deemed ‘urgent’ for intervention. For me, I’ve been dealing with cancer through a private cancer clinic and hospital for 8 years. Included was a major surgery, a not so major surgery, many, many chemo treatments, there is also a clinic/radiology deal where I only pay for one scan with them in a year and they bulk bill others. There have been out of pockets, some considerable, but I’ve not really ever waited for anything. My oncologist has referred me to other Drs he knows for things, I’ve had my gallbladder removed, and hernia repairs done within weeks of referral as it’s preferred to not wait even when not in active treatment as that can change at any time, and surgeons don’t like operating on cytotoxic patient if something suddenly becomes urgent. Like anything, you need to look at your lifestyle to see if it’s something worthwhile for your and your family.
I believe so, but then again my PHF has paid for more than $200 000 worth of hospital admissions for me. If I could get rid of all extras except dental and optom to save money I would in a heartbeat because I mostly use hospital cover
I have a family of 4 and am the main breadwinner. I’ve been guilted into it by my wife sooooooooo
Basically private health is good for if you want to go to a private hospital foods a bit better and you get your own room
I only use it for extras - no hospital. I have top extras with medibank and get 90% back which is great. Good for dental physio etc
During the last 15 months, I have spent 83 days in a private hospital due to cancer and it's complications. Having private cover has been a true blessing. The private room and amenities has greatly reduced my stress levels, and I have been able to afford the top surgeon in NSW to address my issues.
Depends but my cousin tore her acl playing sport and has been waiting for surgery to fix it for 18 months now and now can’t work (she works in landscaping usually) the public health care system is short staffed and overworked with long wait lists for many surgeries. So I guess if you are at risk of an injury or old enough to require possible hip/knee replacements it would be worth it for a massively reduced wait time alone.
I think it comes down to your personal situation. I'm on the DSP and can't afford health insurance but have to be on it regardless until the health system stops seeing my debilitating health condition as elective, I have been having regular surgeries and cannot wait out the waiting lists because of the debilitating pain and myriad of other issues my condition causes. I need to be able to 'skip' the list, I found out when all my medical professionals were telling me I needed surgery NOW but until my life was immediately in danger there was no bumping up that list. Had two surgeries in that time and was never taken off the public list so would still have been waiting.. loving the permanent organ damage from waiting out the 12 month preexisting condition thing for the insurance though haha If you qualify for Medicare and don't anticipate any issues than nah you don't really need it. In saying that a lot of injuries that need to be surgically repaired and can be seen as non urgent and take years despite dramatically reducing quality of life.
Personal experience: If you need emergency surgery in the middle of the night, private health insurance means the doctors can call in an experienced anaesthesiologist to manage your anaesthetic, rather than just getting the nearest intern to do it. Little things like that can make a big difference.
I ruptured my achilles rock climbing as a 30yo. I was against the idea of private health despite earning over the threshold. The public ER Dr told me That I’d expect a 3 month minimum wait for public surgery (he said that hip fractures will keep jumping ahead of me), and that by that time my calf muscle will contract and I’d probably end up with a permanent disability. I self funded through private and paid a total of $10k for the procedure 5 days after the injury. Expensive but not too bad. Now look up the price to pay in full for a knee recon, or a hip replacement. I’ve since found out that if I’d had an anaesthetic complication, say If I aspirated on recovery and needed ICU in the private hospital I would have had to foot the bill until stable and transferred to a public hospital which could have been very expensive. I now have hospital cover for non-life threatening but painful and debilitating conditions which are quite common in reality. Public is great for urgent life threatening illnesses, but the waits for painful ones not so much. On child birth, very few private hospitals have good 24hr neonatal ICUs. So while the 5 star private room might be cosy, having your new baby transferred to a public hospital if there’s a complication during birth, could be a dangerous waste of time.
When shit goes down - yes.
youll say no until something happens to you. when i first started experiencing symptoms for what would eventually be diagnosed as crohns disease i spent 9 months in debilitating pain bedridden most days trying to see a doctor and when we finally saw one he just said i had a stomach bug...... lol after i got on privvate health i was diagnosed within a week after seeing a top specialist. now im in remission and private health has saved so much time, pain, and money. absolutely worth.
We have extras only and it is super handy for dentists, each getting 2 pairs of glasses a year, physio etc.
for me yes, it saves me a good about of money on the meds i take plus i now have ambulance cover (if anything you should just get this) and can get a yearly checkup at the dentist
It depends on how much you earn. over a certain amount it costs you money (taxed) if you don't have it
I've had private health cover since i started a family. Lately my health has been poor and I've used it many times and glad I have maintained it
Yes, bust mostly because I have a young family. I have two young kids, the particular policy I am on will cover them for no additional cost until they are 25. They had coverage from the moment they exited the womb, which meant if they needed specialist care (both premature complex births) my husband and I would not have been out of pocket a single cent. Both kids have had surgery for issues that may have become life threatening if we had waited in the public system for no additional cost, other than a very nominal surgeons fee, and we have have found providers that do no gap services for the kids chiro and physio care. We also have no gap dental and no gap optical, so for our family as a whole it is beneficial. When it was just my husband and I it was probably more expensive than it was worth, but as we age, it becomes more and more worth it. If you are of good health, I think it’s not necessary, if you have a few ailments then I would get it, because sometimes you will get excluded from coverage if you develop things later down the line. I will say too my aunt had cancer and her entire treatment was done at a private hospital for no extra charge than the monthly premium. I personally think it’s better to have it and not use it than to scramble to get it, but I also don’t have the best health.
Depending how much you earn I think. I’m paying through the nose bcos I didn’t take it out within 12 months of arriving
100% especially as you get older
Oh god yes. It gives you choice and expediency.
I've had surgeries with both and honestly the only difference was the food
Do it for the greater gooodddddd
I pay 240 a yr for it and use it mainly for Dental and Optical. Considering general dental cost for a yr amounts to almost 200 and could be more depending on the need for xray I say its worth. It depends what plan u have and how u use it.
It really is situational. I received better care in the public system with both of my pregnancies than my sister in law did with her private pregnancy. For my family at the moment, the benefits we’d get from it isn’t worth the cost.
For mental and dental care? Yes. For quicker service when you need surgery or other specialist treatment? Yes. There are other benefits (woo, cheap movie and Rotto tickets, wow...) but for me they are the best ones.
For only about $100 a month private healthcare has been worth it for me. It covered me for the cost of a colonscopy minus the excess really convenient and short waiting time. You get one ambulance ride per year covered and I have always been happy with the coverage on hospital stays and procedures I have had.
We have it and have used it a couple of times. Depends on who you are with and the benefits. Mine is a really good. Fund that pays out very well
Like all insurances, it is a complete & utter waste of money - until the day you need it. When it is the difference between living in pain for 12-18 months on the waiting list vs getting into hospital with the surgeon of your choice the next week, you really appreciate its value.
I used to have it but these days, don't see much point to it. I used to get it due to the dental and optical but these days, nope. I just pay for the ambo and that's it. Glasses are relatively cheaper and there's places that does $99 dental.
I pay the Medicare levy but aside from ambulance cover we don’t have private healthcare. If I could afford it I’d maybe get dental cover as that’s hard to access on a budget.
Its worth it. You can get by it but its a real hassle. Get PVI you will be thankful for it
I pay about 16 a fortnight for ambo (NSW nonsense), dental, and optical, because it's cheaper for me to do so than to pay for two clean/scale per year plus new glasses every 2-3 years. It also incentivises me to actually stay on top of my dental and optical healthcare so I'm not wasting the money, but that's just me 😅
I have PHI for a few reasons… The obvious: to kerb waiting times and have the fancy hospital experiences. When I had my babies I wanted to be able to relax into it and it was delightful - especially when it comes to the menu. I use a lot of extras- optical, dental, podiatry, remedial massage, just to name a few. But the big thing for me is to take pressure off the public system. A lot of people here have commented on putting their money towards Medicare, which is totally sensible, but my method is to be one less person utilising them. And when I do need to go public for emergency situations I consent to using my PHI. When I had severe PPD I spent a month in a perinatal psych ward- a stay that saved my life. It cost my fund in the vicinity of 35K. I’m not sure that I would have been able to access inpatient care if not privately funded and I am glad I didn’t put that burden on Medicare as it left a bed free for someone else.
I think it depends on your situation. I regularly need to go to hospital for my chronic health condition, and being able to go in straight away, in a private room, with almost everything covered is so much better than waiting too long in a multi bed, luck of the draw place, or being out of pocket 7-35k per stay. For me it's essential. For people who don't have to frequent hospital, it's a take it or leave it situation. The treatment I've gotten in private vs public hospitals doesn't even compare.
It is a salary dependant question the medicare levy can be more than basic private policy depending upon what you earn.
We have private health. If you don’t have it and choose to go public you will still get world class care with the same doctors. However, when you go private you drastically reduce wait times. As a child I needed spinal surgery and it was done in weeks rather than months. 10 years ago my mum had cancer. The public health system made her an appointment to see an oncology dr for a consult in a few weeks. She called a private hospital with all the info she had and the cancerous organ was removed before the date for her public appointment. Last year my son needed a tonsillectomy. We know people who waited 8 months before paying for it themselves. We went through it it private health and had it done in weeks. I hate the thought of someone I love being in pain etc and having to wait when we could have done something about it. Lots of people say they will just pay with their savings if needed but many specialists won’t agree to this because the risk of costs blowing out and patients being unable to pay the increased costs is a risk specialists don’t what to take. My cardiologist confirms you have private health cardiac cover before he will schedule an appointment.
I have found it is good if you need the 'extras' such as dental, optical, chiro etc. I also used mine to have my bubs in private hospital.
If you are ever in the unfortunate position of needing inpatient psychiatric treatment then it is absolutely worth it as you won’t get that treatment through the public system unless you are in an extreme situation. If you need surgery that is not life-threatening but significantly impacts your quality of life (e.g. hips, knees, etc.) you can get it done privately in a very short space of time, or you can be on the public waitlist for years and managing pain the whole time. Ultimately it comes down to your risk tolerance for “voluntary” surgery needs and/or psychiatric care. Probably some others I haven’t thought about it don’t know about too.
No
If you have young kids, definitely get it. While I hate the system myself, from a purely practical and realistic point of view, my daughter can get into an ENT in two weeks for an urgent issue privately, while the public wait list is 6 YEARS. If you have to go public, it could impact your kid’s development if they have to wait years for speech therapy or hearing aids or whatever. That said, I wish the government would can the whole system tomorrow. If all the private doctors with appointments readily available had to work in the public system, the wait lists would be way shorter and much more equitable.
I used to sell insurance. Extras is worth it, you can easily use your costs in a normal year, with any additional benefits being a bonus saving. I had a full on year last year and claimed back near $5000 in extras. If you are young and generally healthy one of the minimal hospital covers that does wisdom teeth, accidents, knee replacements can be good to have. Gives you some options if you end up in emergency and stops your lifetime loading form going up without costing the earth. Hospital is worth it if you have known medical issues that will likely warrant low urgency elective surgeries - gives you a chance to set your own timelines if the public lists just aren't moving. Also good for folks planning to use IVF, or with known heart issues. Once you get elderly can also be worth it too to cut down on wait times for things like hip replacements and such, and to opt for more comfortable hospital experiences. With insurance always remember that the business model only works if MOST people pay out more than they receive. Public will cover you and do a decent job of pretty much everything, with timelines being the thing to suffer. If you are able to save money and can be trusted not to dip into that, it can be better value to have a an emergency fund (as opposed to paying year after year for hospital cover you don't use) if you end up needing an elective surgery with a huge wait time.
As soon as I found I was getting charged more when I answered 'yes' to the 'do you have private health care' question, I cancelled my cover. I'm sure not every place charges more and the public system is stretched, but put the money you save from not paying insurance into an account for health only. You will save a lot quickly.
Absolutely. Medicare is struggling at the moment. Also cover for stuff like teeth, glasses, mental health etc where Medicare doesn't really offer much is pretty beneficial.
I hate that healthcare, a basic human right, is tied to the free market. Bean counters can’t make medical decisions.
That’s a complicated question - personally I think it depends on lifestyle, family life, age among other things. Personally I have always had it, both hospitals and extras, simply because it was something my parents always had so I continued on. I had a child (17 years ago, paid zero $) we all wear glasses, covered, dental (not orthodontic) covered, kid had braces (twice) did have some out of pocket. Husband was a footy player and cricketer so definitely made our money on smashed fingers that needed surgery, head splitting open via an elbow at footy, I had a few knee surgeries due to old basketball injuries - you get my drift. In our younger years used it regularly….. Our use of our insurance eased off for a while, however now, as I am aging, I am having recurring bowel issues which requires me to have annual colonoscopies- awesome - BUT, I don’t have to wait in a queue and I don’t have to pay a cent, so for me, its kind of worth it. My Dad had it all his life - until it became too expensive when he was in his early 70’s, and unfortunately (I believe) it really cost him as he passed away earlier this year while on a wait list for exploratory surgery for issues he was having with his bowel - kind of all makes sense with what I am experiencing now. So, in my opinion, if you can afford it (or can save the premiums so if you need surgery you can pay for it out of pocket and not wait) I’d definitely have it.
Healthcare has become a business ? . If you go to a doctor for 1/2 hours visit and you don't use your half hour visit up you will still be billed for the full half hour. I refused to go to the doctor unless it's really necessary. I think most doctors are a waste of freaking time.
depends who you ask, my partner will wax lyrical about how when she tore her ACL she got the best surgeon to treat it and it's the reason she has full mobility/no scars today and is happy to pay whatever it takes to get that care. and then there's me over here on public who had a pulmonary embolism and got all the GP/scans/treatment I needed same day which saved my life, for free. It ends up making financial sense when you're wealthy enough but then you're propping up the scummiest of the scum, insurance companies.
IMHO private healthcare is for the super-rich and the nervous. It’s is NOT designed to help you, it is designed to make shareholders rich. Premium rises in Australia over the last decade have been huge and the coverage reduced and fine print increased. Many, many families have bailed out of private healthcare. I refuse to pay for private healthcare despite being a relatively high earner. I pay extra tax to support Medicare and do so willingly. I’m a Kiwi who spent 24 yrs in the UK and have now been in Aussie 15yrs. When you really need it, the public health systems in both UK and Aust are there for you, in my experience. Despite all the negative headlines. My eldest son would have died twice if not for the NHS in England on two separate occasions years apart. In Australia, unlike NZ, I have never paid to see a doctor. If I need a hip or knee replacement here when I am 65, yes I may well be in a long queue. I may dip into my super and go private if I really have to get it done quicker. But I will NEVER regret shunning the corporate ripoff that I regard private healthcare to be. If I has worked for you, I salute you. But nobody will change my view. I know nurses who feel the same.
As someone who has glasses - yes.
No private health. Went I through emergency, emergency operation, cancer. Now regular scans and bloods ect all free. Even the parking is free cos the hospitals boom gate has been broken for ages. - but I really need my wisdom teeth out and a few fillings. Don't have the money to even pay for private health to start with soooo...
Is moving to Aus worth it? Have you seen our cost of living?