Any good recoommendation for couple (under 50), we need detal and optical for extra cover and basic hospital needs or only for extra cover.
We never had health insurance before and strat thinking to have it.
Thanks in advanced and greatly appreciated.
Choosing The Right Health Insurance
Ltinkko on 21/02/2022 - 11:55
Comments
I've tried that but not really helping me :-(
Why not? All the information you need is there.
"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink…"
@Drakesy: tbf that website is aids. You put in all your preferences then it just takes a wild guess and makes you decide from one of 20 useless option. Eg for me I put in dental as essential and the cover it selected offered a $350 payment in the event of braces… that'll go a long way.
I'm honestly at the point I might just buy the cheapest possible one and start saving the extra money for when I need it
@900dollaridoos: I think you meant to say the website isn't an aid, which might make sense. If it's the medical condition caused by HIV you were referring to, you might like to consider finding other ways to say something isn't up to your standards… ;)
What makes you think you need it? And by under 50 do you mean 49 or 27?
It should be pretty easy, put in a spreadsheet how much you pay for glasses, dental and anything else in the way of extras. Then look at the price of health insurance. You'll probably find you're better off without it, particularly if you start doing the smart thing and buying glasses online rather than the big glasses chains.
Basic hospital is just there to avoid paying tax/LHC loading, it's not actually very useful. We have medicare in Australia.
Advice I got from the actuaries when I worked at a health insurer was most people are better off just paying out of pocket until they're 55, get some cheap insurance to cover the LHC loading period of 10 years, then load up on the gold plated health insurance later in life. The problem is that's what everyone does, it's why the government keeps dreaming up new ways to try get young people to sign up.
Careful, a lot of people might think you're one of those crazy conspiracy theorists for suggesting the government would ever put financial interest ahead of our wellbeing.
They just really want to help us. That's it.
You had some serious withdrawals from this place, didn’t you?
I am under 30 and doing a heap of research on whether it is actually worth it taking up private health insurance now.
Things that turned me off- A massive list of exclusions and very low limits on extras (about $300 for most insurers) which is combined across dental, physio, optical etc.
I would burn through that very quickly and then have to pay full price for the gap. Kind of ridiculous really. Then my premium goes towards paying for the over 65s 20k surgeries.
Are you likely to need major surgery such as knee/hip replacements, gyno etc? That's what you need to look at and make sure you are covered for it.
We can't really give you a straight answer. If you're over 30, the answer will be different. If you're 49, the answer will vary again. Private health insurance has variables in terms of tax/surcharge.
But, if we ignore all that, you need to think - am I liable to need joint repair/replacements? Do I need gynae and am I likely to need any other specialist services. Only you can answer that. And, before you think 'well, I'm fit and healthy' - joint replacements are rocketing along in under 50s. It's what happens when people do dumb things like play sport, jog and generally be adventurous.
You should prioritize hospital cover over extras - extras are a waste of money. For Gold cover, a couple in NSW under $180k is looking around $350 a month. In other states, it's much cheaper.
It's what happens when people do dumb things like play sport, jog and generally be adventurous
Attitudes like this make it so easy to see why obesity is rampant in Australia.
Putting excess weight on your knees is far more likely to send you for a joint replacement. The amount of fatties I see in the physio ward is astounding.
Do we really need to /sarcasm everything nowadays?
Lighten up…
I do apologise if your remarks were sarcastic, but you must know that joking about obesity is no light matter. It's a debilitating condition that leads to early death and is an untold burden on our healthcare system. Think of our nurses and doctors who have been overworked during the pandemic, then multiply that every year.
I do wish that most people shared your light-hearted sentiment though. Unfortunately, with 67% of Australians being overweight or obese, and Australia being among the only developed nations to top the obesity rankings, it seems too many of us are taking remarks like yours quite seriously.
https://www.privatehealth.gov.au/