Health & Family Thinking of dropping Health Insurance

I believe you are using services of highly paid helath professionals (based on your previous post) mag be worth while keeping private insurance.

 

If you are getting the values of the "extras" then it can be worthwhile.

In my experience I have never got the value of extras so have just kept the hospital cover and saves lots of $'s and still get the tax benefits.

In the event of any major operations, the Public hospitals are fine in Sydney.... I have not had to consider some of the other pester issues such as knee replacements etc so maybe different then... (I have had football injury - knee reconstruction and had it at RPA no problems, cancellation and was in within a week but appreciate sometimes these things can take a while and some people like piece of mind - in my mind though I think it is too expensive!).

 

In my view, if you are really really sick the public system seems to work fine. However, if you need elective surgery, the public system sucks as you can be on a 1-2 year waiting list and in a lot of pain & discomfort the whole time. This is why I have private cover.

No-one takes out a life insurance policy hoping to die. No-one buys house insurance hoping for a fire. Likewise no-one buys health insurance hoping to get sick.

 

Shop around, I've done that many times with dental procedures and you'd be surprised how much prices vary between different professionals.

 

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you have 'peace of mind' and that you will be seen always be seen immediately - it just doesn't work that way. They might decide that they won't cover you for that particular health ailment and refer you to the public waiting list anyway. In the case of my friend with a chronic health condition (diabetes related) they simply refused to continue accepting claims for it and referred him to the public system.

Another friend of mine had private cover for three or four years when he developed a prostate problem that needed corrective surgery. His insurance company ruminated about it for a few weeks before finally deciding that his prostate was a 'pre-existing condition' not covered by his insurance; it ended up costing him big $$$ because he had already started treatment when they rejected his claim.

They're insurance companies - not benevolent societies. They make their money from refusing treatment and denying individual claims, not from handing over tens of thousands with a smile.

 

Always read your fine print and be ready for a fight if they say 'no'.

I went through the public system earlier this year with a health emergency and it was fantastic, couldn't fault anything. However it was the Alfred Hospital - just down the road from me - and as my GP later said to me it's easily the best public hospital in Victoria.

 

I found NIB is the cheapest. I never bother with the extras, especially all that alternative medicine they try to include.

 

If you're employed by big business they generally have corporate rates, for me BUPA. For a little cheaper, we upgraded from basic hospital to top hospital. With the savings had, we decided to add top extras for a reasonable price.

 

In my view it's the most important type of insurance. Like me, you may hardly ever use it. Some years I use nothing - lucky me.
However, it's at the end of life that it comes in handy. Amazing how much morphine etc. costs plus a private room for use as long as you need it. I hope you never have to use all that stuff.
My mum never used her health cover until the end and then it covered her expenses when no amount of savings would have done that for her. It was a good lesson for me.
It's also one of the expenses that 'the rich' don't think twice about, apparently.

 

I have had an ongoing health issue since Feb, now resolved. I saw a dentist, an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, a radiologist and five different doctors. They were a mix of bulk billed and medicare subsidised. I found the quality of service and medical advice was inversely proportional to my out of pocket expense. What I mean by that is the more I paid out of my own pocket, the worse the service was. The whole thing including an x-ray, CT scan, medications and numerous consultations was surprisingly cheap. In fact, it cost less than health insurance for a year. I don't have private health insurance. And not planning to get it after my experience with not having it.

It's a personal choice though and I can understand why other people may choose to have it.

 

PU

I do not have private cover, public all the way, never had any issues.

Went to my local GP today in fact as I need to have a procedure, my GP advised that with public system could take 12 months, that's a mugs game. There are ways via the back door, and the smart GPs know this and have their contacts. Consultants who have rooms at public hospitals and will take a certain number of public patients, no need to wait. Certainly from my experience, never waited.

We live in Australia not USA. Mum had a heart attack last year, she was not slumming it in a corridor, private room the best specialist, all this and a public patient. Father, same serious illness, public patient.

My daughter needed an operation prepared to go private and I made an appointment with specialist and prepared to pay his fees for private room etc. Guess what, he has consultant rooms in a public hospital, my daughter ended up going public, he is one of the top in his game. Private room, not on a waiting list. In fact he mentioned that his private patients are on a waiting list?? are you kidding me, and they pay extra... oh my Buddha

Dental work, have spent $4000 on daughter 1, $7000 on daughter 2, check out the perfect smile above photo and around $4500 on my teeth. Accountant said I can claim anything over $2000? nice.

I will just stick to public system for me, its working fine, if it aint broken don't fix it.

MTR

 

Wouldn't be without private health - even tho we rarely use it.

A few years back hubby had a dodgy bowel cancer test - our GP didn't realised we were on private and referred us to a public specialist ... after 4 weeks we received a letter advising the specialist will contact us in around 12 months to arrange an appointment! WTF! Immediately went back to the GP and asked for a private referral - got an appointment within 3 weeks.

Now - if there was some odd cancers going on, especially with the bowel, one could be dead before they got an appointment via public.

Also had an aunt that needed both a hip and knee replacement - was told she could only have one or the other, and then had to go back to the end of the waiting list. Waited 2 years for the knee ... she then died before she got back to the top of the list for the second op.

 

I had a minor procedure done last year at my local bulk billing clinic (I did pick my doctor though). He booked me in, I turned up, he did the procedure and I went home. I would rate the care as excellent and there was no waiting. All of that was bulk billed. Awesome!

My flatmate had a heart attack a few years ago. Admitted through Royal Perth and operated on by the head of cardiology within minutes. Excellent care. No out of pocket expenses (no private health cover).

 

Lizzie
I have heard similar stories with some friends who have private cover. End of the day nothing is bullet proof, just cos you pay money each month for private cover. Private patients are also placed on waiting list dependent on procedure, this is fact.

What I know is systems are run by people and people are not perfect.

MTR

 

This is the way to do it, IF you don't have private. Pay the initial consult fee to a private surgeon with a public appointment, and get put on the public waiting list. The hardest part is getting into the outpatient clinics.

But doing should NEVER trump the public patients also waiting. There is no distinction on surgical lists between someone who saw Dr X privately vs publicly. And to my knowledge, it doesn't make a difference.

Most reputable surgeons won't do an operation in private if you don't have private cover. One major complication and you're screwed. You know how much ICU costs for a week? That straight forward knee replacement? DVT --> embolism to the lungs --> treatments + intensive care. Bye bye nest egg.

PS. Remember most public hospitals are teaching institutions, where trainees do the bulk of the work, under direct or indirect supervision of the consultant. This is ok, but in private it's the consultant. Your choice...

 

If you need to go ICU you are not screwed cos you are still in the public system?

 

If you pay for your private operation, and you are in the private hospital when the complication occurs, the priority is saving your life, not arranging transfer to the centre cheapest for the patient.

Have I perhaps missed your point, or you mine?

Public ICU costs nothing (for the patient).

 

Look the only thing is Cancer.AND Chemotheraphy
My Dear Mum had Cancer she went on a waiting list for the Outpatients Dept, Gosford hospital, the DR couldnt see her for another 3 weeks, she was dying and in pain.
She was very fit before , but started to get pains in her stomach so i took her to hospital and found she had advanced cancer, she hadnt had any symptoms?

She wanted to die at home.
I offered to pay him, they seen us the next day ,i asked for an hour of his time.
I got one hour and a very big bill but it was worth it.
It set her mind at ease more , he tried to sell me Chemotheraphy, he said that it could prolong her life not cure her but give her a few months even though she would be sick.
He said to her $15,000 , he said its not covered by Medicare (dont ask me why he did tell me but I forget, i think it was some " trial " or something)but i think the Public system let her down because she was 82yo.
But many doctors told her she had advanced Cancer and they cant do anything for her.

I then said to him I wish My Mum had private health cover , he then looked at me and said most private health cover doesnt cover Palliative Chemotheraphy , i was shocked at this .he said sorry i cant guarantee any prolong of life so then most insurance companies refuse my treatment .
He said if we / I pay the 15k there was a 50% success rate she would live another 3 months.
I checked with my insurance Company about Palliative Chemo and the Doctor was right , if they judge there will be no success then they can refuse.
Even if my Mum had insurance I still think they would if refused to cover it.
She didnt have the chemo because she wanted quality of life , it was no use going through all that Chemo .
But let me say my months of visiting Cancer wards i would never wish that disease on my worst enemy, i can assure you if they said i had terminal cancer then im going to go before I get into pain.
They tell you anyway, they say whilst your ok now get everything sorted because in a few months your going to get sick and die and we cant do anything.
No matter how much money you got the Oncologist cant cure you once you get the advanced Cancer.
Every bed was filled with a Cancer patient, young people old people all sick with cancer.
I remember being visting my Mum in the mixed ward only to recognise my old boss in the bed opposite.
Laying their like a Belsen prisoner of war like skin and bones.
I could see his gaunt skeleton face and i remembered the man he used to be a strong man who owned businesses in the Gosford Area never drank nor smoke and he was lying in the bed opposite head back mouth open in pain thin as a rake with sunken eyes screaming in pain like a dog dying with spit dribbling down.
The wAy he looked at me like begging me to end his life.
A rich guy who use to drive a Mercedas.

Many a nights i slept over in the ward in the chair and all night you hear people screaming in pain until they morphine them out , usually they call the family first.

You even hear some of them begging the nurses to die.
I guarantee you if they told me i had terminal cancer im taking my life before i end up like those poor people i saw.

They Asked me if its ok to morphine my mum out so i said yes .
They took me aside in another room and asked me if it was really ok as she was in pain and the cancer had spread to her throat and mouth , and i said yes.
The hardest choice to make in life.

 

Perhaps getting confused I am referring to public hospital, my daughter had the best specialist, he had rooms in public hosp daughter was public patient, however had own room etc

I can only state from my experience I don't see the point of paying for private when you can achieve same results with public system.
Today I got a referral to a specialist who will see xx patients in public hospital same wait time as private patients

Mtr