Medical care

I'm not sure if this is in the right place but can anyone shed any light on the health care system in australia, Ive been told my my agent that becuase im british i will qualify for the Aussie version of the NHS but what does this cover

Any input welcome

Rik

Hi Nik

Well exciting times the Government Health Minister has just approved an increase in April so they recon singles will have an extra $100 a year to pay and couples $200. Up till 2014 we had it bust when hubby passed I cancelled and now I just have extras late 60s glasses, dentist just had a crown $1700 I paid just a bit over $700 so even with medical insurance it isn't cost free and to try to explain how it all works is a minefield to even the Aussies. Medicare I don't really think is NHS equivalent you still have to pay to see the Doctor but I can pay for a short consultation would be around $60 I would get $30 back or thereabouts. Up till last year I was also having to pay full price for the Flue Jab I am 68 so now I get that free. Our two yearly mammograms now free other female stuff you pay. Ambulance cover some Insurers it is in your plan but I pay $40 year better than over $5000 if you have to call them. In the UK we took an lot for granted I seem to remember. Then you have the Vet bills my little one is just getting over the gastro and I have paid over $200 so far she had a lump removed last year $1700 in some cases there treatment is dearer than ours for the same conditions. Pet insurance is the way to go but I adopted an older dog in 2015 so she can only get accident which is neither here nor there. Nothing is for FREE these day's and how true that is everything has a price even your health. I am surre you will get a lot of replies on this subject and everybody has a different story.

The increases mentioned above apply to the cost of private health cover, which is optional. Medicare and the public system is different. Some services will have a fee and some will be completely covered by Medicare. If you don't have private health cover but need hospital care you can use the public system which is much like the NHS, and like the NHS there will probably be a waiting list for any none urgent procedures and, like the NHS, this can vary dramatically depending on where you are.

Hello Nik

Yes I understand that but Medicare is not free you still have to pay but you get most of it back under Medicare. But when you go to the Doctor in UK you don't pay anything at least you didn't has that changed now.

Hope this helps

Medicare 2017 costs at a glance | Medicare.gov

I'm not sure if this is in the right place but can anyone shed any light on the health care system in australia, Ive been told my my agent that becuase im british i will qualify for the Aussie version of the NHS but what does this cover

/QUOTE]

 

Basically it covers free treatment in public hospitals, subsidised or free treatment by a GP or medical specialists, prescription medicines at a subsidised rate under the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme).

 

When you visit a GP or specialist you will receive a refund from Medicare for a part or all of the cost. The latter where you are fully refunded are known as "bulk billing" doctors but are becoming less frequent. Some use bulk billing only for those with low income concession cards and/or children.

 

Medicare generally doesn't cover other services such as dentists, optometrists.

 

Optional private insurance in addition to Medicare is another complex area. In most states it is adviseable to take out private insurance to cover ambulance fees..but, as you are coming to Tasmania, that won't be required - ambulances are free in Tasmania.

 

The Medicare levy is included as part of your tax payments...no special payments have to be made. If you earn more than 90K as a single or 180K as a family, you will be taxed an extra Medicare Levy Surcharge if you don't have private hospital cover.

 

You don't have to register for a GP in Oz - you can visit any you fancy.

 

There is a Health subforum on PIO which has many threads which may help...or may confuse. :laugh:

Hello Nik

Yes I understand that but Medicare is not free you still have to pay but you get most of it back under Medicare. But when you go to the Doctor in UK you don't pay anything at least you didn't has that changed now.

No you don't. There are a number of bulk billing services where there is no fee to pay. My GP bulk bills for children so we don't have to pay for them. Others will bulk bill for all patients. There is an X-ray place near our dentists that bulk bills so we don't pay when we go there for an X-ray but I have had to pay towards scans at a different place. The difference from the UK is that here it is up to the provider what they charge and some will charge more than Medicare pay for a service and in those cases you have to pay and get some back from Medicare. However other providers only charge the amount Medicare pays for the service and in those cases you don't pay anything. This is referred to as bulk billing and the availability of bulk billing services will vary depending on where you live.

It depends on your visa. If you have permanent residency you get full access to medicare if not you are covered for "medically necessary treatment". This is pre determined by the MBS (medical benefits Scheme) not the doctor, every single procedure has an item code which determines how much the doctor gets paid and who is eligible. You will get a Medicare card which will determine what you can access.

For a young couple/family that will cover most things you are likely to need. It won't cover dentists, opticians, routine screening, some physiotherapy services. For prescriptions you will pay $38.80 for each item including medicines for children. Unless the medicine plus the dispensing fee is less than that which most aren't. However unless you have a chronic health condition it's not likely to be an issue and I suspect if you did you wouldn't have got the visa.

Private health insurance is hugely expensive if you are not a permanent resident and in my opinion now worth it.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/reciprocal-health-care-agreements

Hello Nik

Yes I understand that but Medicare is not free you still have to pay but you get most of it back under Medicare. But when you go to the Doctor in UK you don't pay anything at least you didn't has that changed now.

Nothing is free you still pay for the NHS just in a different way. I can never understand why people think its free.

I like the health system here in Aus as we have choice, if I do not like my doctor I can just nip down the road and get another one. If I get referred to a specialist I can change him/her if I feel I need to. I can choose to have health insurance and and I can choose not to and use the public system. Like all public systems its under strain and if you use it to see specialists etc then you have to wait for an appointment and this can take a while depending on the specialty. Also you can have all medical on the system and operations but there are wait lists. The wait lists are on who a who needs care first basis so if its an elective and you are not going to die from it you can have quite a wait for treatment. We are not limited on what drugs and procedures we can have its all the same for everyone, no trusts sorting us out. I have full private insurance but that is because I am old and now I need it. I do not see any need for a young healthy person to spend the money on health insurance. Workers compensation covers people at work, our motor registration covers us if we are in an accident so that just leaves the lap of the gods for the rest and depending how old one is how much its needed.

I've moved this thread to Health.

If you view the forum this way and look down the page you'll see we have a wide range of sections for subjects around moving to Australia. CTF is for off topic non migration related things

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/forum.php

"Private health insurance is hugely expensive if you are not a permanent resident and in my opinion now worth it."

Oops I meant NOT worth it.

I disagree about the worth of private medical insurance. I have had private health insurance in Australia the whole 26 years I have lived here, and yes the premiums can be expensive, but I have found it worthwhile to have. Both my children had Orthodontic work and insurance covered 70% of the costs as dental work is not covered by Medicare. Insurance also covers part of many other threatments, from Optical through to Chiropractic, Psychology, remedial massage, Physiotherapy etc. I had a bad health year last year and needed to see an ENT specialist .... Medicare waitlist for the initial visit, let alone anything else, was 5 months. Privately I had an appointment within a week - and medicare paid half the fee - and I was in surgery within another week - and private health insurance and medicare combined paid all bar $210 of the $13,500 fee. Had I not had private health insurance, I would now be pushing up daisies in a graveyard somewhere because of the Medicare waitlist and the tumour growing madly in my sinuses. Having said all that though, if you have an accident and need to go to hospital, the treatment initially will be world class. I certainly cannot fault any of the A & E departments in WA. But the problems then come when they refer you on to a specialist as an out patient and you have to join the never-ending Medicare queue. I am now retired and live on a limited income, but I will never cancel my private health insurance.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

This gives us a better idea of what to expect

On 12/02/2017 at 8:23 AM, Fleetwood Rik and Nik said:

I'm not sure if this is in the right place but can anyone shed any light on the health care system in australia, Ive been told my my agent that becuase im british i will qualify for the Aussie version of the NHS but what does this cover

 

Any input welcome

 

Rik

Where I live there are few medical centres that bulk bill anymore. 

The current Dr I go to not in there long you pay $80 then insert your card back in for a $30 rebate from Medicare 

Hi Nik,

If you are covered by Medicare during your time in Australia, you may be eligible for urgent home care. If you badly need a doctor when regular clinics are closed, then house call doctors can come to you and there’s no fee. I think you can get free of charge visits if you’re a student travelling with certain traveller’s health insurance too. Good luck!

https://housecalldoctor.com.au/

Does reciprocal Medicare with the NHS continue after the bridging visa is replaced with an aged parent 864 visa ?

my mum is in the throes of getting one at the age of 80

Regards

Norts

59 minutes ago, Norts said:

Does reciprocal Medicare with the NHS continue after the bridging visa is replaced with an aged parent 864 visa ?

my mum is in the throes of getting one at the age of 80

Regards

Norts

 

No, when she is a permanent resident she gets full medicare like all Australian citizens/PRs

The visa states that she has to wait 10 years before she can claim Centrelink Services. 

So does the reciprocal Medicare still stand

6 hours ago, Norts said:

The visa states that she has to wait 10 years before she can claim Centrelink Services. 

So does the reciprocal Medicare still stand

Medicare is not a Centrelink benefit.

If you are a permanent resident then you get Medicare cover - nothing to do with the reciprocal arrangement.

if you are not a permanent resident then the reciprocal arrangement comes into play - and that is not full Medicare cover, they expect you to go home for some treatments.

On Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 05:44, M1sery said:

Where I live there are few medical centres that bulk bill anymore. 

The current Dr I go to not in there long you pay $80 then insert your card back in for a $30 rebate from Medicare 

The rebate you get back depends on whether you are a permanent resident and what service you are claiming. If. you are not a permanent resident you will not get a rebate for everything.

If the treatment you are after is not covered you have the option of paying the full amount. 

We are about to embark on a new life in Australian on 457 visa. We have also applied for our 143 parental visa. Due to arrive in Melbourne beginning of September. We are both in our early 50's , any idea how much private medical insurance might cost us and is it on a sliding age scale ,  I have 2 monthly prescriptions for blood pressure and asthma. Thanks for any help.

4 minutes ago, Debstu said:

We are about to embark on a new life in Australian on 457 visa. We have also applied for our 143 parental visa. Due to arrive in Melbourne beginning of September. We are both in our early 50's , any idea how much private medical insurance might cost us and is it on a sliding age scale ,  I have 2 monthly prescriptions for blood pressure and asthma. Thanks for any help.

 

Depends on the visa, not sure about age. Go to bupa.com.au and get an on line quote.  Make sure you have a couple of months supply of your meds when you arrive, sort out your Medicare card and find a local GP in the first month you will then know if your treatment is covered and can decide whether you need private healthcare or not. Blood pressure tablets are off patent and cheap, and I would expect asthma medication to be covered by the reciprocal agreement.

Thanks so much for the info, will check out BUPA. Are they the cheapest or just one of the better ones or  are they about all the same cost wise?

I'm not sure about the ramifications of different visas but, in general, private medical insurance is a minefield in Australia - hundreds of different options offered by multiple companies.   Yes, premiums have an extra loading if you commence with the company at an older age.  Premiums can also differ according to the state in which you live.  So it is impossible to say which are better - it depends so much on individual circumstances.  These are good comparison tools which allow you to input some details relevant to your particular situation:

http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/dynamic/search

https://www.canstar.com.au/health-insurance/

Private health insurance is mainly used for hospital care and ancillary services such as dental, optometrists, physiotherapy etc.  I'm not sure it will be of any use for your medication requirements