I'm seeking to join a health care fund that has great dental coverage for the shortest time possible . Get all my dental care done and cancel .
Please advise if there is any plans out there that suits my style ?
Thanks in advance.
Can I Sign up for a Health Care Fund and Binge Dental and Run for The Hills after ?
Llostgoat on 14/03/2023 - 16:11
Comments
As subsequent replies show, the waiting periods don't matter if the fund is waiving them.
Health funds have waiting periods.
If there was, wouldn't a lot of people do that?
Op: I’m the smartest person alive
S-M-R-T
I knew I'd be out gunned 1 day !
Random info from Medibank
General dental — 2 months waiting period (maybe waived during promotion)
- Includes examinations, preventative treatment, scale and clean, extractions, fillings, x-rays, and surgery to remove wisdom teeth (excludes hospital charges).
- Annual limit: $750-$1000
Major dental — 12 months waiting period (no waiver)
- Includes services such as root canal, periodontics, crowns, dentures, bridges and veneers.
- Annual limit: $400-$800
Orthodontics — 12 months waiting period (no waiver)
- Procedures to help with the correction & alignment of the teeth and jaw. We pay benefits towards braces.
- Annual limit: $100-$200
Bit stingy on the orthodontics
.and you don't get the full cost of treatment back. So it's 12month wait for like $50-$100 back.
As Nugs said, that's a bit stingy.
Mine is unlimited general, $2000 major dental, and $2500 orthodontics.
Depends on what you need done but more often then not if you only care about dental, you may as well pay upfront.
As pointed out above, the limits are very small and the expensive stuff is geneally locked behind 12 month periods.If you plan to do physio and maybe optical..MAYBE it makes sense (but more than likely not).
some health providers actually have lifetime limits for major and ortho
You can do it with all of them, more or less at no penalty other than the waiting period, however you are supposed to declare existing conditions.
If there's even a hint that issues were obvious prior to taking out the insurance then the insurance company can refuse to pay claims, and in some cases you might be investigated for fraud.
You're probably reasonably safe if the dental work doesn't involve something you've already seen a dentist or GP about, and it's not a condition that has obviously been developing over an extended period of time.
You can take out maternity cover and more or less happily claim against that if you get pregnant a couple of weeks later.
Thanks that a good insight into requirements.
If there's even a hint that issues were obvious prior to taking out the insurance then the insurance company can refuse to pay claims, and in some cases you might be investigated for fraud.
This is completely untrue when it comes to health insurance in Australia.
Why?
Because unlike in America, health insurance providers in Australia can't discriminate against you if you have pre-existing conditions.
If, however, you make a hospital claim, you may have to certify that the relevant condition was not pre-existing, but only where you have not served waiting periods for that body system or condition. In this circumstance, the fund may refer the matter to its own doctor for assessment.
There is a good explanation here: https://www.hcf.com.au/health-agenda/health-care/common-cond…
There is nothing to stop you from joining a fund with a pre-existing condition then claiming on Extras like General Dental, subject to Fund Rules.
@YesPleaseThankYou: Hmmm . Good stuff . Looks like I have some research to do staying away from the meercat ones that hides all the juicy offers .
If there's even a hint that issues were obvious prior to taking out the insurance then the insurance company can refuse to pay claims, and in some cases you might be investigated for fraud.
100% incorrect!
Generally speaking, pre-existing conditions are covered after 12 months. The only time you are not covered is if your policy explicitly excludes a condition - e.g. you can get hosital cover that excludes pregnancy, or hip replacements etc.
You're probably reasonably safe if the dental work doesn't involve something you've already seen a dentist or GP about, and it's not a condition that has obviously been developing over an extended period of time.
100% incorrect again!
As explained above, general dental work has a 2mth waiting period and major dental work has a 12mth waiting period.
but what if i join 1 provider, wait for 1 year then claim crown for example.
then i stop or downgrade to the cheapest.
another 3 years, i changed to different provider, get the top cover for another crown. can i just join and next day claim ? (as i have served the waiting period on diff. provider) or i have to wait another 1 year?Yes, the answer to that question will be found in the 'coverage' document for that specific insurer, make sure you read it carefully.
Alternately, don't bother doing that and say "someone on the internet said they all do this so it's fine".
Each individual item/category has its' own waiting periods. If you upgrade, either with the same or a new provider, you have to wait the waiting period to claim benefits that are more than your current cover.
E.g. my old extras plan only had $500 in orthodontic cover which was fully claimed. We switched providers, waited the 12 months then claimed the additional $1500 since the new plan had a $2000 limit.
If you change providers they will request a statement from the old provider with your existing served wait times so you can't game the system.
You could go to Thailand or Hungary or whatever and get your dental done. There is some risk because you'd have to fly back there if an implant fell out, vs just popping into your local dentist.
I know I'd get a boost to my travels with the saving if I go overseas.
But I'd prefer to do it here if I can figure it out .If you do go overseas bear in mind you'll probably be getting a better class of care. A luxury dental hospital in Thailand is still cheaper than your local dentist who renovated a home into a dental clinic somewhere in your city.
I have a dentist in Thailand. The irony is he studied in New Zealand and worked in Australia before returning home. Super good, but treat each case on it's own merits.
Depends on what dental you need done. There is almost always one provider which is waiving 2- and 6-month waiting periods.
Read the relevant fund rules and other documentation - but there is nothing obligating you to continue to be a customer.
Any premium paid in advance must be refunded, though some insurers claim there might be a small administrative fee for providing the refund. I have never seen such a fee charged.
I have a fear of the Dentist and haven't visited one for more than a decade . My estimate would be the cheapest 2-3 K of work required .
Get a quote and submit it to a few health funds to see what they will pay.
Sorry to hear about your phobia. Stay strong and get the work done that you need done.
Most funds have annual and even lifetime dental limits so low such that you won’t get as much back as you would hope. You just need to do the numbers and read the terms very carefully.
Your extras usage are transferred from fund to fund. And the allowance resets yearly (calendar or financial).
Say I use my optical with fund A then transfer to fund B. Your Fund B optical allowance is reduced by what you have already spent while in fund A until the reset with Fund B
Yes but not if you sign up and then cancel. And then say you don't have insurance with another company because technically you don't. The only time they transfer limits is when you provide or need a certificate of coverage.
It still seems like a lot of work TBH. Not sure who has this much time. Private extras is basically a forced savings plan for people.
OP also note that what you are planning to do is one of the reasons health fund premiums go up every year - it's called 'hit-and-run' in the industry.
I did this with Bupa. I went to a dentist for a check-up without insurance. He told me to go and join Bupa as they had a special promo waiving waiting periods, and he was a preferred provider so there would be no gaps. I signed up for their best extras package, went and had all my work completed in a month, and then cancelled without any issues.
that must be just minor dental work ? never heard waiving major dentals..
unless your dentist did major but claiming minor on the machine :)12 month waiting periods are never waived - it's only ever the 2 month and 6 month waiting periods that are waived for promotions.
correct. so Oahu must be just doing simple filling or cleaning or xray or pulling.
not an implant for sure
Yep, minor stuff, cleaning, X-rays, fillings, whitening etc. Paid outright for a root canal a few years back but now mostly do my check ups and any procedures overseas.
you got a bargain!
Not sure of who may do this but most providers (if not all) providers have waiting periods to prevent this from happening