Bulk billing & Private Health Insurance

[Guest *KAY TEE*]

Hiya everyone,

 

Just a couple of questions, does anyone know of any bulk billing doctors in or around Berwick. Iv been told that is the best method....Can some clever person on here tell me how bulk bill works..Also how does the private health insurance work.

 

OK bear with me a mo, not sure what Im going on about really but here goes...........Currently we have Gold medicare, courtesy of hubbys work place for a year, the usual cost is about (could be wrong) $350 p/m Do you normally pay monthlys for medicare or just when you need the treatment. Now Iv been looking at private insurance for when this expires and the cost of this is $233 p/m for a family. Would you still be covered by Medicare, or just the PHI. Thanks If that makes sense to anyone, please advise.

 

ps. What does it mean when they say get PHI or expect a tax bill. Does this also apply to visa 457 holders. Very confused, but as hubby says Scooby Doo is less confused than me..lmao Ang xx :emoticon-signxmas: Sorry posted in the wrong place, was busy reading the welcome page.

[Petals]

Bulk billing is when you pay nothing you give the medicare card and they do not charge you. However most doctors only use this method for treating people with a pension card. My doctor does not even bulk bill pensioners they have a reduced fee but they are still out of pocket after the medicare refund.

 

There are bulk billing clinics around however if you want a specific doctor that someone recommends to you, you will probably find that he/she will not bulk bill you. At the present time I pay $55 dollars to see my doctor and we have a pension card but others pay $65.00.

 

Blood tests are bulk billed by my clinic for all patients.

 

Xrays are not bulk billed and there will be a co payment necessary.

 

We do not have health insurance now, gave it away a long time ago, so if we are admitted to a public hospital we do not pay. Scenario like this, my mum had a heart attack at Easter admitted to public hospital, private room, ensuite she did not pay anything. My friends mum heart attack admitted to a private hospital as she has health insurance, she has to pay the gap fees. Both had single rooms but my mum paid nothing.

 

Work it out for your budget.

[Guest *KAY TEE*]

Bulk billing is when you pay nothing you give the medicare card and they do not charge you. However most doctors only use this method for treating people with a pension card. My doctor does not even bulk bill pensioners they have a reduced fee but they are still out of pocket after the medicare refund.

 

There are bulk billing clinics around however if you want a specific doctor that someone recommends to you, you will probably find that he/she will not bulk bill you. At the present time I pay $55 dollars to see my doctor and we have a pension card but others pay $65.00.

 

Blood tests are bulk billed by my clinic for all patients.

 

Xrays are not bulk billed and there will be a co payment necessary.

 

We do not have health insurance now, gave it away a long time ago, so if we are admitted to a public hospital we do not pay. Scenario like this, my mum had a heart attack at Easter admitted to public hospital, private room, ensuite she did not pay anything. My friends mum heart attack admitted to a private hospital as she has health insurance, she has to pay the gap fees. Both had single rooms but my mum paid nothing.

 

Work it out for your budget.

 

Hiya petals,

 

Are you saying you have no insurance at all. Still a bit unsure of how the health care system works. I thought looking at the slip that we got with our medicare card, that you would still have some sort of monthly outgoings to pay for. Is it say you went to the doctors with a sore throat or were diagnosed with somthing horrible you would pay the same costs. Sorry if I go on a bit, just trying to get my head around it all. Where is your doctors is it in Berwick. Thanks Ang xx :cutexmas:

[Rudi]

Not sure what Medicare Gold is?

 

We have a number of doctors around us who bulk bill. We just flash our normal green Medicare card and pay nothing. Around here our Xrays are also bulk billed.

 

We do have private healthcare as well - something to do with paying extra tax if we don't. If we go to hospital we can elect to go private and choose our docs etc or pay nothing and get what we are given. However, private does not mean you get it all paid for. You still end up paying heaps yourself!!

 

Our private cover is great for things like the dentist, physio and massage.

 

My kids have all visited the dentist for various reasons this week.....my health find covered the lot!!!

 

Love

 

Rudi

x

[Guest linsey ramage]

hi folks been living in melbourne for 8 weeks and all this bulk billing confusing me also......took my son to docs did bulk billing no charge....at docs today they also said do bulk billing got charged $55 confused thought bulk billing meant no payment.

i also have to go for blood test at nurse will i be charged for this? i have type 1 diabetes and getting bit scared of all the costs anyone help?

 

 

thanks x

[Guest guest36762]

hi folks been living in melbourne for 8 weeks and all this bulk billing confusing me also......took my son to docs did bulk billing no charge....at docs today they also said do bulk billing got charged $55 confused thought bulk billing meant no payment.

i also have to go for blood test at nurse will i be charged for this? i have type 1 diabetes and getting bit scared of all the costs anyone help?

 

 

thanks x

 

Hi

the blood tests may not be bulk billed, unless the GP indicates it on the form, so ask.

they may only bulk bill under 18s and health care card/pension/concession card holders. Being newly arrived I don't think you're entitled to these cards for 2 years, so again ask the GP (or beg) him/her to bulk bill. There is the medicare 'safety net' :

Medicare Safety Net - Medicare Australia

You'll find scripts to be horrendously expensive as they're usually only for a month at a time, with 5 repeats, so the script lasts 6 months. It's best to shop around for scripts, the Chemist Warehouse being the cheapest in my experience, especially if you buy all you scripts at the same time (ie use up all 5 repeats)

[Guest linsey ramage]

Hi

the blood tests may not be bulk billed, unless the GP indicates it on the form, so ask.

they may only bulk bill under 18s and health care card/pension/concession card holders. Being newly arrived I don't think you're entitled to these cards for 2 years, so again ask the GP (or beg) him/her to bulk bill. There is the medicare 'safety net' :

Medicare Safety Net - Medicare Australia

You'll find scripts to be horrendously expensive as they're usually only for a month at a time, with 5 repeats, so the script lasts 6 months. It's best to shop around for scripts, the Chemist Warehouse being the cheapest in my experience, especially if you buy all you scripts at the same time (ie use up all 5 repeats)

thanks for your reply.....its al so confusing:confused:

[Guest guest36762]

thanks for your reply.....its al so confusing:confused:

 

welcome to Australia:wink:

[scousers]

Have been here over 20 years and never had private health insurance, i personally beleive it is one of the biggest cons in OZ. They have differant prices for treatment depending on whether you have insurance or not. I have been in public hospital twice , treated by private doctors twice and paid only once,this was for a actual operation which the treating surgeon, who was a professor quoted me $900.00 for his fee's which actually ended up being $600.00 but i would have been out of pocket about $3000.00 if i had insurance.

We have decided it is better to pay if needed, as all emergency type stuff in dealt with in public hospitals anyway. I know of lots of people who have given away insurance after many years and never using it.

[Quoll]

The expectation is that people who can afford to pay will pay the co-payment. Bulk billing was originally designed to support those who couldnt afford the co-payment which is usually around the $30 mark for an appointment - the doctor may charge you $50 - 70 for a visit then you take your receipt to the Medicare office and they will give you $30+ back (there are ways to just pay the co-payment at the doctors but you have to set that up with medicare). So you may think it better to find a doctor with whom you have continuity of care - they are less likely to bulk bill. Prescriptions are expensive but if they are on the PBS you will only pay a max of around $31 per fill.

 

Private health insurance only covers hospital treatment and ancillary services like physio, glasses, O/T etc so if you know that there is a likelihood down the track for elective surgery then you may want to consider it or set up your own account for self insurance. If you are a high income earner then it may be worth it also as otherwise you have to pay a Medicare surcharge over and above your basic medicare contributions. If you have a life threatening condition then public health will deal with it quite quickly, it's only the elective waitlists in some places which make private health an appealing option.

 

Basically, just expect to pay for everything and then when you find that you dont have to pay something it comes as a nice surprise!

[Petals]

There is a view also that if you hang off while you are well and then go into private health insurance when you are older even though you will pay the 2% penalty for every year over the cut off age you still win, because you have not paid for years and years but still can get insurance late in life for those nasty things like the total knee replacement I need which will cost $25,000.00

[Guest]

Quoll - good explanation!

 

Before I left Australia I worked as a medical secretary for a group of surgeons. While it is correct that for emergency procedures you will likely get the same (or similar) experience in both private or public hospitals the difference is huge when you need elective surgery. For example, somebody with private insurance will have their operation done within 2 weeks of seeing a surgeon. Somebody without insurance who needs a gall bladder removal would be waiting up to 3 months. A hernia op up to six months. Varicose veins or carpal tunnel decompression - indefinitely. If you don't have insurance you can always pay to go privately.

 

Having worked in the medical field I will definately be taking out private insurance when I return to Australia.

 

Now with regard to OP's other question - bulk billing doctors in Berwick. Berwick Medical Centre on Kangan Drive (near McDonalds and Casey Hospital) certainly used to bulk bill - I'm not sure if they still do. They are a big clinic with a pathology group and a pharmacy all under the one roof.

[fish.01]

FYI:

 

Gall Bladder - national average wait = 51 days

Hernia - national average wait = 57 days

 

Source: Learn about your local hospital | MyHospitals

[fish.01]

...but you have to set that up with medicare). ....

 

FYI, with the new way there is no need to setup with medicare...just swipe card through machine and it refunds money onto it at the GP desk without prior arrangement.

[fish.01]

Hiya everyone,

 

Just a couple of questions, does anyone know of any bulk billing doctors in or around Berwick. Iv been told that is the best method....Can some clever person on here tell me how bulk bill works..Also how does the private health insurance work.

 

OK bear with me a mo, not sure what Im going on about really but here goes...........Currently we have Gold medicare, courtesy of hubbys work place for a year, the usual cost is about (could be wrong) $350 p/m Do you normally pay monthlys for medicare or just when you need the treatment. Now Iv been looking at private insurance for when this expires and the cost of this is $233 p/m for a family. Would you still be covered by Medicare, or just the PHI. Thanks If that makes sense to anyone, please advise.

 

ps. What does it mean when they say get PHI or expect a tax bill. Does this also apply to visa 457 holders. Very confused, but as hubby says Scooby Doo is less confused than me..lmao Ang xx :emoticon-signxmas: Sorry posted in the wrong place, was busy reading the welcome page.

 

I think you may be confusing the public system (NHS style) with private healthcare.

 

At a guess the Gold medicare you refer to is private health insurance for temporary residents. Something like this maybe? Overseas visitors health insurance options for Australia

 

As a permanent resident there are two totally different health systems:

 

A) Public

 

Name: Medicare

Hospital Cost: Nothing (Similar to NHS)

GP Cost: 80% free around Australia. When free it is called "bulk billed". When not free you pay GP and then get part of the money back from the public health system (Medicare).

Pathology: Sometimes bulk billed - ask GP to tick bulk bill box on the form when they refer you.

 

B) Private

 

Name: Health insurer name. Some big insurers are Medibank, MBF etc

Hospital Cost: Health Insurance Excess + any doctor gap co-payments. Ask your private doctor whether he can take you on as a No Gap patient.

GP Cost: Private health insurance does not cover GP's...all done through public system. Only exception to this might be the 457 temporary resident private insurance you possibly have? If so, you don't actually have to use this private insurance if you are British. You can usually get a public system medicare card and go free.

 

Does this sound like your situation?