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Medibank Private's New offer

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Take out hospital & extras cover by 31 Mar 2009 and, as well as being able to claim straight away on most extras, youll also get a letter redeemable at participating Australia Post outlets for a choice of a gift voucher from up to 40 retailers* worth:

  • $50 for Singles
  • $100 for Couples and Families

With Medibank Private extras you get cover for services like:

  • Dental: get 2 free check ups a year at a Members Choice dentist worth $240 per member#
  • Optical items
  • Physio

Most other insurers will only waive waiting periods so this is the best deal i can find.

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  • Wow this is insane, I was just looking into these! Thanks man! Though I might have to do more research. Anyone know about these things? I want to get new eyeglasses, and get therapeutic back massages… What should I be looking for, and how much does Medibank private cover instead of the others, hbf, etc? Would reaaaaally love some input, if anyone wants to share.

  • Didn't most/all the private insurers recently get given permission to increase premiums by 6-7%? The $50 seems more like a half chewed and then spat out carrot now.

  • And people wonder why premiums are so high.

  • I believe iSelect.com.au has good moneyback offer. If anyone wants to join Medibank, they can do it through iSelect.

  • iSelect charges health funds to be on their site.. so im pretty sure medibank isnt on it. The australian government actually has a comparison website whiich is much better.
    The reason that premiums are going up is because doctors fees are getting higher and higher. Obesity is a huge factor in the problem as everyone is taking the lazy way out and having surgery to cure their overweight problems. also we have an ageing population in australia which also adds to the problem.
    Also medibank is the largest health insurer and there premiums had the lowest increase on average. The smaller funds wont cope through these economic times.

  • ohh and you can take out extras cover for about $17 per month.

  • -1

    I'm in Medibank Private extras just for the dental coverage since the sodding government hasn't got the guts to put it on Medicare.

    Good luck finding a dentist in your area. For a long time they didn't have one in Launceston, which is the second biggest city in Tasmania. I get the feeling dentists don't like being associated with private insurance. It's only when they need customers they join up with them.

    You only get the free check ups at one of their dentists. Same for the amount of your dental bills - if you go to your own dentist they don't pay that much. Last one of mine they paid about 30%.

    My premiums have gone up 50% in about 3 years.

  • +2

    I gave up on private health insurance when it was costing around a $1000 a year for the two of us. My actual medical/dental/optometry bills come to less than this when averaged over a few years. I wear glasses, visit the dentist every 6 months and I've had a gall bladder operation. I suggest that you find out the actual costs versus what the funds actually give you before donating your money to them.

  • -1

    Exactly. The only reason it might be worth it is just in case you have something very expensive. Even then I reckon they'd find reasons not to cover it. Certainly with basic level coverage they don't cover much. I would've been better of just paying myself for my dental. I only got it because I hadn't been for quite a few years and was worried that I would have big bills.

    I say death to the private health insurance industry! (viva Fidel) :-)

  • +1

    The only reason I'm with Medibank Private is to avoid the extra medicare levy. However, it's very annoying, as yep the premiums keep going up (and are set up go up again)… I have to seriously consider if it's worth it or not. It'll soon be cheaper for me to pay the levy.

    In my case, I made use of the dentist free clean. Had the clean, they asked me to come back in two weeks for another clean/checkup. Medibank seem to cover two a year, but spread over the year - in other words, I had to pay for the second visit.

    Double check all the fine print if you intend on joining…

    As Cattop said, just paying for dental/optical yourself might actually be cheaper than getting private health insurance!

    • Yes. One reason I got onto private medical insurance in the first place was not paying that 1% Medicare Levy surcharge, which can become significant when you are earning towards the top bracket…

      Fortunately now I have work-sponsored private insurance (with Grand United). Not as good as MediBank I found, but it's free :) Went to physio yesterday morning and it was all paid for :)

  • I get 2 free cleans a year and maybe some basic dental stuff.. i never pay any out of pocket.. ever! my dentist is great. People say that if you dont go to one of their dentists you get ripped off.. but people dont realise its their dentist that is the rip off. Some people pay up to $300 dollars for a clean! thats insane. the dentist isnt contracted so they see it as a great time to bump up their prices and then blame it on the insurers.

    Well i have tried talking my aunty into getting insured… she never did and now she is on a 6 month waiting list to go have sugery in a puplic hospital.. shame..
    wouldnt it be nice to go straight in!

    There is no fine print… they put it all in there. people are just stupid and dont read it and then have a whinge later on..

    Just this year alone they have paid for me to get my new ray ban perscription sunnies, $200 worth of medication and a clean worth $200..

  • +1

    why do people insure their cars and not care??? But insuring themselves is such a big drama?

    • probably because when you insure a car and it is damaged, you pay a known excess charge and you know the outcome (it will get fixed). Therefore, you can weigh up the costs of the premiums, versus the benefits, and make a good determination of the value of the car insurance.

      But with health insurance, you have several other complicating factors (a) no certainty over what is or isn't covered (b) no certainty over excess charges (c) the public healthcare alternative (d) uncertainty over whether your health issue will be rectified (e) medicare levy surcharge.

      The above factors mean it is nigh on impossible to determine whether or not a health fund is good value or not.

  • +1

    All you have to do is ask the doctor what they will be charging… or just ask them if they will go with "gapcover" it means you dont pay the normal gap fee.. these things are all available.
    doctors have to tell you what you will be up for before you have the surgery

    • -1

      I think you are missing the point. Of course you will be told what you are going to be charged by the doctor. But by that time, you have already purchased the health insurance.

      Think about it this way. Originally you said that you couldn't understand why people don't hesitate to insure their cars, but they do when it comes to their own health. But I'll bet you wouldn't be interested if your car insurance company suddenly changed their terms as follows:

      a) you will be charged an excess - the amount will vary and will be notified to you prior to repair work if you ask, or if you don't bother asking, afterwards.
      b) there is no guarantee that your car will be properly fixed regardless.
      c) remember, you have the option of getting the repair work done free of charge if you go "public" but there could be a long wait.
      d) Depending on the nature of the repair work required, you may or may not be covered.

      I could go on….

  • The *** CHEAPEST *** Medibank cover you can get for this $40 Offer is:

    "SMARTPLUS" cover
    $97.25 per month

    You MUST pay at least 1 month in advance by Direct Debit in order to get this offer.

  • actually the cheapest is "my options" at $57.65 per month. They r also waiving the 2 and 6 months on extras only cover which starts from around $18 per month

  • -1

    Should have mentioned my gall bladder operation cost nothing, my wife's breast cancer and treatment (a few years ago) cost nothing under the public health system (in NSW not sure about elsewhere). However once you are covered by private insurance you have to pay the gap. With private you may get a doctor of choice but:
    1) If it is an emergency you have no choice
    2) In regional areas there may be no choice
    3) How often do you know who to choose?

    When I was in hospital for the gall bladder op I shared a ward with 2 blokes covered by private health insurance - they got to pay the gap but still had no choice of surgeon or hospital! They did get free newspapers and free tv, bloody expensive free tv and newspapers IMHO.

    As someone else said: "read the fine print" but you also need to check out what happens in your local area and consider how likely you are to need the services covered by the insurance.

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