Newbie Health Insurance - Help finding a fund

Jebediah_Kerman on 18/02/2015 - 23:42

Hey,

I've seen a couple health insurance threads, but none that apply exactly to me.

I just got my first full time job, I haven't had health insurance before so I'm not sure how it all works.

I have friends with health insurance, who still need to seek out bulk billing doctors because they'd have to pay otherwise, which makes me question what the point is?

I'd like a fund that covers dental and optometrists, because I'd like to keep these visits up.

I'd also prefer no waiting periods; it doesn't make sense to me to pay for something for 6 months before you can use it. Perhaps that's what you need to do though..

If I can't meet these requirements, perhaps health insurance isn't right for me just yet. But I'd appreciate some help from more experienced members in figuring this out.

Thank you for your help.

Btw; dingle dude, mid twenties.

BTW; single dude, mid twenties.

Health & Beauty

Comments

  • what on 19/02/2015 - 00:05
    +1

    You can get hospital cover or extras cover or both. Hospital cover will cover you for your hospital stays and extras cover will cover you for chiro, physio, dental, glasses etc. It is up to you if you choose to take both out with the same insurance company or not. I have my hospital cover with one insurance company and my extras with another. Also, you mentioned that your friends have health insurance but still need to find a bulk billing doctor. Health insurance does not cover doctors appointments. Please shop around to find one that suits you because they can be very different and it all depends on what you are after.

    The following website may be of assistance http://privatehealthinsurance.gov.au/

    PS sometimes funds come out with specials where they waive some of the waiting periods on their extras cover. I am not sure if waiting periods are ever waived on hospital covers though.

    If you are currently covered by any health insurance (ie under your parents cover), and you change from their cover to your new cover, you will have already served your waiting periods.

  • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 00:19

    Thanks for the reply. I am surprised health insurance doesn't cover doctors visits. I also did not consider getting extras cover separately.

    I have had a look, a lot of quotes seem like more that I would expect to spend on health each year, but that included hospital which can be unpredictable.

    Also, a lot of quotes mentioned waiting periods. As I said, this seems silly. Why have insurance for several months without the ability to claim. I get the fact that you could have a costly need before you sign up, but if that's not the case, it seems a bit useless.

    • ozhunter on 19/02/2015 - 06:44

      but if that's not the case, it seems a bit useless.

      Likely could be the case. It would stop people for signing up for a week then claim a few hundred dollars worth of appointments.

  • what on 19/02/2015 - 00:23

    Sorry, I just added more to my message. If you are currently already covered by a health insurance (ie with your parents cover) you should not have to re serve your waiting period when you move on to your new cover.

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 01:00

      Thanks, I am checking out your link. Unfortunately I am not currently covered on my own, or my parents insurance.

  • xyron on 19/02/2015 - 11:29

    check out HIF, that's who I went with when I turned 25 last year and lost coverage on my parents' policy. pretty good price (about $850 per year after discounts) for mid-level extras and hospital, and they give you one or two free dental checkups and cleans per year at a dentist of your choice.

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 21:15

      Thanks. Doesn't sound like a bad deal, I will check them out.

  • ESEMCE on 19/02/2015 - 11:30

    Just get extras..
    You're unlikely to need Hospital cover.

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 21:18

      You might be right here. It might be a better idea to hold out for a while before including hospital cover. The things I was wanting cover for were pretty much covered by extras.

    • djmatt24 on 20/02/2015 - 16:43
      +2

      You're unlikely to need Hospital cover.

      Isn't that the point of insurance, though?

  • nickyd84 on 19/02/2015 - 12:25

    You sound under 31? So there would be no Lifetime Health Cover Loading, are you going to earn over $90,000 per year? If so, get Hospital cover! You will avoid the Medicare Levy Surchage.

    If you earn under $90,000, Health.com.au have a policy called Simple Essentials, it has the basics for hospital and you can claim on extras straight away - no wait (except Major Dental, you won't skip that 1 year wait anywhere!! It's simply too costly). As soon as you become financial (i.e. pay your first month) then you are eligible. I am affiliated with them so if you want a quote message me :)

    Otherwise, happy hunting!

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 21:25

      I think I had in the back of my mind that the surcharge kicked in lower than that. I'm reconsidering if hospital cover is necessary. Thanks for your comment. Health.com.au will definitely be on my list to check out.

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 21:26

      I think I had in the back of my mind that the surcharge kicked in lower than that. I'm reconsidering if hospital cover is necessary. Thanks for your comment. Health.com.au will definitely be on my list to check out.

  • mparf on 19/02/2015 - 13:06

    I'm with Peoplecare and I love it!
    $24 a fortnight!
    Granted, for extras, there's a 12 month waiting period but very worth it.

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 21:22

      That's pretty cheap compared to what I've seen. Thanks! I'll check it out.

      • mparf on 21/02/2015 - 00:10

        Cons: not 24 hours via phone only 9-5
        ……… that's really it?

        Every time I've had to call them, it's a person who answers straight away, they've been wonderfully helpful over the phone, and they have a handy mobile app for claims as well. I also think they're very generous with limits.
        (My mistake, I pay $26 a fortnight!)
        I am currently doing my ortho treatment for them, and I get back 80% of my $375 monthly repayment until i hit my $2000 cap.
        I pay approximately $620 a year, but even with the 2 year waiting limit for my ortho, hence paying $1240, I'm still coming out $800 on top, and that's not including the new glasses I just picked up for $300 which was covered by them. :)

  • iampoor on 19/02/2015 - 13:09
    +1

    Also note that hospital cover is mainly utilised for non-emergency surgery. If you cross the road and get hit by a car, the ambulance will bring you to a public hospital as that is where the emergency departments are located.

    It would seem that extras cover would be enough for you, and maybe an additional ambulance cover if the extras cover doesn't include ambulance or you feel that the ambulance cover provided by the extras is insufficient.

    • Jebediah_Kerman on 19/02/2015 - 21:28

      Thanks for your comment. I'm starting to realise that hospital cover might not be too necessary for me right now.

      • iampoor on 20/02/2015 - 09:14

        No problem, at your age it is mainly a peace of mind thing if you require elective surgery as the public wait list can be extremely long.

        Just remember that you should get ambulance cover either through extras or from your local ambulance service as there are lots of horror stories about huge bills if you don't have cover.

      • Stingo on 26/02/2015 - 08:26

        Actually, its extras that is the unnecessary one unless you know you will be getting back at least the same as you'll put in. The limits and rebates % on extras insurance make it pretty poor value at mitigating financial risk. I say self insure for your extras until you're pretty sure you'll be getting near full value from it. Note that what the government regards as elective surgery things you regard as essential, plus you get a choice of doctor with private insurance. If you want to save, get a policy with as large an excess that meets the levy requirements and you feel comfortable with. Note that it can sometimes be cheaper to be treated as public patient than a private one so even with private health insurance you shouldn't always elect to be treated as a private. It's probably never needed in emergency and you should only use it when its allows for you to be treated faster or by a doctor of your choice, in a private hospital or in better accomodation.

        Coverage of emergency ambulance varies by state. You can get ambulance only coverage if you travel to states which don't have a reciprocal agreement with your state. NSW Hospital policies include a levy for NSW ambulance but policy holders may not be covered in Qld or SA,

  • what on 20/02/2015 - 11:20

    I have been looking to change my health cover and came across Mildura District Health Fund. They seem to be very resonably priced.

    http://www.mdhf.com.au/

    • Stingo on 26/02/2015 - 10:03

      One hesitation with Mildura is that they have fewer agreement hospitals than many others. Heath funds refund a higher proportion of charges fron agreement hospitals:

      To compare CUA Health or any other member of AHSA with Mildura for example:

      Coverage ACT NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT
      Mildura Private Hospital Agreements 4 74 72 42 21 17 5 1
      CUA Private Hospital Agreements 4 86 75 49 30 17 5 1
      Industry Maximum 5 90 76 54 30 21 6 1
      Mildura Day Hospital Agreements 7 51 63 29 13 12 4 1
      CUA Day Hospital Agreements 10 85 69 42 23 21 3 1
      Industry Maximum 10 85 72 49 25 21 4 1

      Even if you find policies that are identical different funds will often have different payouts which is why
      it may be useful to look at the PHIAC performance stats of different funds which is probably the best you can do short of running specific scenarios/item nos past them. If you do need treatment it probably would be worth comparing that payouts of different funds beforehand with information from your doctors staff who'll probably also know the best of the bigger.funds for the services they bill.

      Unfortunately, though the stats are aggregated over all policies.

      Not all the stats go against Mildura here. They pay out a higher proportion of contributions as benefits probably because of lower management expenses and have higher member retentinn. Mildura is also a not-for-profit, while CUA Health has become (oddly) a for-profit held by a non-profit entity

      • what on 26/02/2015 - 14:10

        Thank you for providing this information.

        • Stingo on 27/02/2015 - 23:58

          You're welcome. You can see the agreement hospitals for each fund if you want to see what you're missing out on.

          I wish the policies were better standardised, despite all the information provided by the PHIO there's still not enough information to properly compare policies. It's pretty poor that the health funds can offer an insurance product without a complete detailed list of all the benefits. Of course, even if they did, it would be an impossible task to weight the benefits with appropriate probabilities to determine which one would be better for you without perfect knowledge of your future course of health.

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