Medical insurance for 457 holders
Discussion
So after receiving my increased bills for this year from BUPA, I now pay $216 per month for the top cover and $64 per month so they give me one letter a year saying I have insurance for the ATO.
I'm British so covered by Medicare, and an starting to question what I'm paying all this money for, when an Aussie resident pays a fraction of that.
Any one else found a better solution?
I'm British so covered by Medicare, and an starting to question what I'm paying all this money for, when an Aussie resident pays a fraction of that.
Any one else found a better solution?
I am with medibank- for myself, the wife and our 2 month old daughter we only pay circa $140 for the pentultimate cover - same as top minus hip replacement and dentures. Not old enough for that yet!
We are PR though, just found out this week that as of January 22nd 2014 we are eligible to be citizens!! Funnily enough we land January 22nd from our UK xmas holidays!
anyone interested Singapore air are super cheap at moment for xmas flights!
4k for 2 adults and infant from Darwin to UK, 8k with qantas and approx 6k with BA/ Emirates! (economy of course)
We are PR though, just found out this week that as of January 22nd 2014 we are eligible to be citizens!! Funnily enough we land January 22nd from our UK xmas holidays!
anyone interested Singapore air are super cheap at moment for xmas flights!
4k for 2 adults and infant from Darwin to UK, 8k with qantas and approx 6k with BA/ Emirates! (economy of course)
Edited by james280779 on Thursday 2nd May 02:00
I asked them for a quote for couples cover, they put it through their complicated algorithms and came back with a price of 2x the single price.
seems I can save $100 per month by dropping off the extras cover. This cover seems largely pointless as the only thing I might need is dental and that has a limit of $1200 per year anyway
seems I can save $100 per month by dropping off the extras cover. This cover seems largely pointless as the only thing I might need is dental and that has a limit of $1200 per year anyway
Mattt said:
This cover seems largely pointless as the only thing I might need is dental
I wouldn't bet on that.Cover for 457 visa holders is a lot more expensive than permanent residents obviously.
How old are you? Not sure if this only applies to permanent residents, but you'll pay an extra levy for the rest of you life if you first take out private health care after the age of 31, or as close as if you've recently arrived.
Back in the day, and again I don't know if things have changed, your sponsor was responsible for any medical costs. I brought this to my sponsor's attention and they paid.
Edited by Google [bot] on Thursday 2nd May 05:32
I'm a permanent resident so I am entitled to slightly cheaper medical insurance than a 457 holder. However, we have opted to not have any private cover what so ever and instead I am going to pay the Medicare levy.
The annual cost is probably not too much different but at least I know what it costs per year.
I've read so many stories about those with medical insurance getting massive bills for things to cover "the gap" between what Medicare pays and what the treatment costs. A colleague broke something in his shoulder and thought he'd have an easy ride with Midibank health insurance - At the end of his treatment he was $5k out-of-pocket!
I understand that there are benefits to private care such as individual rooms, elective surgery, choice of surgeon etc. but we never had that in the UK with the NHS so why do we need it now?
The annual cost is probably not too much different but at least I know what it costs per year.
I've read so many stories about those with medical insurance getting massive bills for things to cover "the gap" between what Medicare pays and what the treatment costs. A colleague broke something in his shoulder and thought he'd have an easy ride with Midibank health insurance - At the end of his treatment he was $5k out-of-pocket!
I understand that there are benefits to private care such as individual rooms, elective surgery, choice of surgeon etc. but we never had that in the UK with the NHS so why do we need it now?
WeirdNeville said:
It's not been without it's hiccups. Medicare is a wonderfully convoluted system. We've had to call the debt collectors off over a $90 bill - it was the clinics fee for one of the scans, in a cheque which was posted out to our old address for my wife to pass on to the clinic (WTF?). We didn't get the cheque but informed medicare who said that after 90 days the clinic notifies medicare and they pay direct (So why bother with the cheque in the first place). This didn't happen, and we got a notice for final demand or we'd lose our telly. A quick phone call sorted it out, but it's an absolutely insane way to go about healthcare provision!
Shows you how up to date I am and I have been here nearly 25 years! I received one of those cheques last year and went to the bank to cash it!! Bank told me, "It's not for you, it's for the Doctor!" ....so why not send it to him!
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