Health & Family Do you have private health insurance?

You still pay it, I believe.

 

When it is major emergency; you don't get much choice....

They have to care for your health, and often times this does not give anyone the luxury of selecting your preferred surgeon/s, your preferred anesthetist, your preferred hospital, etc. But most times your preferred anything might not be available right at that point in time.

After your surgery, if you are still in the Public Hospital in a bed, you may be classed as a private patient then, but it is still in a Public facility.

You can pay for the care via your Private Health fund, but the care will be mostly the same with possibly a few little improvements...maybe a tv over the bed etc. You can then choose your doctor to come see you etc.

I have seen patients in the Frankston ICU get transferred out to Peninsula Private Hospital after their surgery; but only after they were downgraded to ward status. Even HD "High Dependancy" patients still stayed in Frankston from memory....often times a HD patient crashes again and has to be shipped back down to ICU; so; I suppose a HD patient might be allowed to transfer to a Private Hospital, but it would not be advisable.

 

The medicare levy is paid by everyone above a certain threshold (basically any full time worker will hit it to some extent, except for some very specific exemption categories). The medicare levy surcharge is that part that the health insurance companies will basically false advertise on at tax time every year (it still blows my mind that their ads are legal given how intentionally misleading and false their claims are, they're essentially incorrect tax advice at a major level). The MLS kicks in at basically 90k for singles and 180k for couples if you don't have private health.

 

so i presume you don't have private health care.

Not sure what the fuss is abt private and public hospitals - unless you got a mouth full of steel teeth with great gums, you got the dental no gap check ups and procedures which i think more than well covers the yearly fees under private health care. i make sure i get my 2 free cleans every year. MLS basically makes you take private health care anyway.

 

Yep; with Medibank...we have 3 kids, so it's a must. The premium has gone up almost 50% in the last 5 years for the same cover.

I don't know why you are assuming we haven't got it?

Someone made the comment that Public Hospitals are pretty much crap.

So, I have merely been illustrating the various differences to show that they are not that bad..

Generally - and from my experiences (as explained earlier) and my wife's experiences (as a nurse; as explained earlier) - the level of care at each is mostly very good. Obviously; remote and rural facilities will have issues with equipment and personnel levels etc.

However; there is a perception out there that Privates are much better; and this isn't the case.

The other perception is that folks who have Private cover will go to a Private Hospital for a lot of their care. It is - unless the problem is a severe illness or accident which requires a better range of personnel, and equipment, etc.

For example; a lady who has booked in to a Private Hospital to have her baby delivered by Caesar (we have done this 3 times), but during the procedure experiences an unforseen complication which results in massive blood loss, danger to the baby etc...this may require transfer to an ICU at a Public Hospital to handle.

Most times the Public ICU handle these cases extremely well, but this is not the publics' perception - they think the Privates would do it better, but many don't (or can't) even do them.

 

You just got charged twice for the privilege - at least it wasn't your credit card.

 

OK just got the impression that from the post you seem to be putting out there on the cons of private healthcare. Come on bayview - you should just fly to bali or asia for some expensive procedures. I do that for my major dental like crowns etc.

 

I'm not talking about cosmetic stuff.

I'm talking about everyday health issues such as kids' broken arms, old fat bloke Triple AAA's, heart attacks and so on....things which the average person has no hope of "outsourcing" to other Countries, and/or hasn't got the time or money (before they die or become seriously impaired from the injury) to jump on a plane and whizz half way across the globe.

 

I just go to the nearest for emergencies.
i had some major stuff happenned once got taken to the eye and ear hospital was pretty quick. Had to bring a fren to the alfred spilled boiling water on her leg, was pretty quick too. How about frangas hospital?

 

I'm a bit struggling to understand how MLS makes an average household take PHI as I very much doubt that their income is above $180000. Even for singles with $90000 threshold their average incomes are by far below that mark. I suppose it's quite a minority of people who are forced to take it because of MLS.

 

personally i do it for the dental care stuff (2 free cleans, free no gap procedures etc).

 

My premium for a single bloke went from $400 a month (Switzerland, private is compulsory) to $60 a month (Spain), happy about that. The kids costs about 45 euro extra each ($65), bargain for one of the best health system in the world. I only used it once to get a small carcinoma cut out, booked a dermatologist online for the same week, test result in 5 days, surgery a few days after that.

 

You do realise that we are conversing from inside a fishbowl, where everyone is earning $Plenty, and drives around in last years' Mercs from the EFY sales.

 

Private Health is like accumulated sick leave. When I left my Public Service job I had close to 400 sick leave days I had not used. My Boss said...think of it like an Insurance Policy ... its there just in case you need it. I never did and left happy.

 

We have private health insurance for 3 reasons:
- income level
- stop the age penalty (2% from memory for every year we each do not have private health cover)
- not having to wait in the queue for elective surgeries ( kidney stones: went to the specialist and got admitted the next day for the surgery).
Ta
Anne

 

Burns can be/are a serious injury, and often need immediate attention, so would often be rushed up the queue at the Triage in the ER....that is pretty much standard at all hospitals though.

I was in the ER to collect a patient for the ICU one Sun evening, and two parents came into the Triage lounge with a small girl who was screaming; burnt herself in a bath of hot water - she went straight in for immediate attention ahead of about 50 other folks in that lounge.

 

I have platinum extras for myself (and get my moneys worth for the year by march/april) as I am a high user. I don't have extras for the children as they don't have any relevant issues and if one comes up, I will use the saved money to pay for it.

I have top hospital for the family. I am using that as a "just in case" and am out of pocket every year. Mainly, the ability to choose Dr, and to be able to get anything dealt with quickly.

Nb.I chose top because it covers a specific procedure that I desire coverage for if the SHTF. Otherwise I would choose a lower coverage.

Also to add that I am in a lower income bracket, so am not avoiding a surcharge.

 

Public do all the dirty work understaffed, private take the cream and load off the public system, again on minimal staff but because they can so they make the big $bucks!! It's all a numbers game

 

Full cover for me and the family, never getting rid of it. If you are unlucky enough to get a chronic illness, you might even come out ahead on expenses.
Things like non PBS listed medications, supplements etc add up very fast when you are taking them for many years.
And then across the family, you have braces, glasses, sports injuries etc.

Elective procedures are done at your convenience, by whoever you choose. In many cases Drs will do private work with no gap so you are not out of pocket with full cover.
I'm not sure if anyone has witnessed a junior surgeon doing a hip replacement in a public teaching hospital, lets just say everyone makes mistakes while they learn. I will have the consultant chopping me up thank you very much.


I do agree that with emergency cases you should really be going to a good public hospital where the staff, equipment and knowledge are available to keep you alive.
I had a little trip to ED recently, was serious so went public stayed in a 4 person room with the loudest snorer I have ever heard. Asked for private room as a private patient but sorry sir they are all occupied with infectious patients.
Stabilised within about 5 days but needed more care. So I transferred over to a private hospital under the same doctor who visited there. Got a nice single room, flat screen telly, decent food, free wifi and room for the family to visit.

That said while the private hospital was more comfortable, the care was better at the public hospital and I would rather be there when very sick.

 

Aren't you a mechanic running a shop or something ? or some golfer? what are you doing in the ER?