rustypie

Not in a public hospital, it takes weeks just to book it and if I have to go private I may just as well do it in Australia. My flight is the day after tomorrow and I am expected to commence work on the following Monday. The GP only told me about this test two days ago, all other tests came up negative but he has no idea what the cause of my symptoms is, therefore he recommended the test. In theory, the worst case scenario could be a life threatening condition so I would say it is not elective treatment.... After all, I am not particularly interested in having that test done but rather finding out what the cause of my symptoms is so I can take actions to cure it. If an Australian doctor finds out what it is without doing that specific test I am happy!

I have a copy of my medical records with a note from my GP recommending the test. I think that not many doctors would refuse to prescribe the test thinking at the risk of being sued for malpractice should the test results be positive........

Thank you all for the advice, I was a bit agitated by this last minute recommendation from my GP, but I am much less anxious about it now!

Cheers, that it how I would interpret it. Unless there are exclusion for specific procedures or tests which are not stated in that page it would be covered. I wonder what is the purpose of the Medicare definition of pre-existing condition in Ken's post. It defines in details the procedure for determining if the conditions is pre-existing but does not speak about the purpose of this determination?

Excellent, this is exactly what I wanted to know. If I understand correctly, this means that if I register as soon as I arrive, go and see a GP straight away and he prescribes to me the investigation I need to have, this will be covered by medicare even if the symptoms were pre-existing; is this right?

Sorry, I am getting a bit confused. Ignoring the other considerations about the kind of symptoms/conditions, my questions about this situation from a generic point of view are: 1) The symptoms existed before my arrival in Australia so the private OVHC insurance will not cover the treatment of the condition; is this true? 2) Can I have this done under medicare cover? 3) If yes, do I have to register with medicare prior to having the test done or is the UK/Italian passport sufficient for the reciprocal agreement cover? 4) I was not aware of any pre-existing condition clause for the medicare cover, does this mean that in general pre-existing conditions (irrespective from my condition being preexisting or not) are not covered from medicare? 5) If I do need to register with medicare, how do I do that?

Pom Queen, I've sent you a PM

This is an extract from my OVHC terms and conditions. It clearly refers to symptoms existing prior to joining the policy, not to conditions diagnosed before joining the policy: What is a pre-existing condition? A pre-existing condition is an illness or condition for which, in the opinion of a medical practitionerappointed by Westfund, signs or symptoms existed during the 6 months before the date you joinedWestfund or upgraded to a higher level of cover. A 12 month waiting period applies to all new Members forhospital costs relating to the treatment of pre-existing conditions.

Hi All, I would like some advice about the Australian Heath Service. I will relocate from the UK to Brisbane this coming Tuesday (15th) on a 457 visa. I have Italian and British dual citizenship. A few weeks ago I have been to see my GP to investigate the reasons for some symptoms I have been experiencing in the past few months, and he prescribed some tests which I have done and all came up with negative results, so he still has no idea what could be the cause. The symptoms are persisting so he has recommended further tests which I will have to do in Australia. The GP told me that one of the possible causes, even though unlikely, is very serious so he recommended to have the test done at the earliest opportunity. I believe that my OVHC policy would not cover the costs of these investigation because of the preexisting conditions clause; what is the best way of having the test booked as soon as possible? Do I have to register with medicare first, or can I visit a GP straight away just with my Italian and UK passports on the basis of the reciprocal agreements? I do not mind spending some money for a private consultation, but the test I have to undergo costs thousands of dollars so I would only do it privately if I have no other options. Thanks in anticipation for the advice.

Hi all I have requested a few quotes from shipping companies for a 20 ft container from UK to Brisbane and they all came in the same range. All our stuff is currently stored in a 20 ft, but not packed for an international move, so they all said that they will unpack and repack everything in their own boxes. The question is: some companies want to do that at the storage facility, which is pretty much a large car park with containers all around it, so if the weather is bad stuff could get damp even wet during the process, others want to take everything to their warehouse and repack everything there but would not allow us to be present. A single company would let us be there but it is the most expensive of the lot......... what would you do on the basis of your previous experience? Risk to get stuff damaged by the rain, or have everything packed away from your eyes? Or pay for the premium of watching them packing? Also, we had a much cheaper quote from a company for a shared 40 ft container instead based on 600 cubic foot, but we have a lot of stuff which we would not want to be stacked up on top with other heavy items and that cannot be put on top of other boxes either (surfboards, leather sofas, etc.) will they be able to safely pack floor to ceiling 600 cubic feet of goods into 600 cubic feet of space if they cannot go on top of each other ? Cheers