ssiri

You pay for everything.  Medicare has a schedule listing the approved price for all services (prescriptions, tests, GP and specialist visits etc).   You get that fee as a refund, either by claiming yourself, or by authorising the GP or pathology lab to claim on your behalf.  The only question is how much money you get back from Medicare.
It's confusing because nowadays, more service providers choose to "bulk bill".   So instead of you paying the service provider a high fee, and getting part of it back, the provider charges just the schedule fee, and bills it straight to Medicare.  So it might seem to you as if it's free, but in fact it's just that the price you paid matches your refund.
 

I'm confused now.

Could we establish what exactly you pay for in Australia please?

Not under insurance, and not using some sort of health care card, and even if you get some back on Medicare.

I think it could be of interest to those migrating to know exactly what they are in for, and whether they should go private.

It would also be of interest to those migrating how much extra private people have to pay.

Also, prescriptions.

I'm confused as hell and I've lived there for thirty years.

I’ve been here for a year, in Aus and have had a plethora of tests via Medicare at my GPS request - I haven’t paid for any of them. This is X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, cancer tests, blood tests, eye tests etc. They were prescribed by my GP without hesitation, and I went to a pathologist and got them done, when it suited me. Results were turned around in a day or two and my appointment with my GP to review them was booked in very soon after, each time - around what suited me.

So far, I’ve not had the need to use any Medicare services, where I get some money paid back (for fronting up the initial cost, as other on here have advised as per their personal circumstances).

I’ve paid for medicines - prescription antacids for a bout of gastritis - that’s all.

Insurance - I use the optional extras. Dental, physio therapy etc. I can get physiotherapy via Medicare, too as a care plan, if I wanted, but it’s limited to five sessions, per issue. For my chosen plan 66% of the cost is covered by insurance (the extras).

As I understand it, migrants don’t have to get private insurance I they don’t want to, but the fed Govt encourages it for everyone. If a person is below 33 (I think is the age cap), and haven’t got a health fund/pvt insurance , they then get charged an offset or levy to make up for it. If as a migrant you arrive in Aus, and get private insurance within the first year of arriving, you are exempt from the levy. Otherwise, you are not. I haven’t looked into the levy that much, as I’m not affected (have pvt insurance) but first time migrants should look into it all, against their circumstances - to assess what they need.

Comparison websites or Bupa, would provide information on what is available and at what cost via insurance - it depends on what cover a person/family wants and needs based on their circumstances. I can’t advise on that aspect as it’s personal to individuals. So they need to do their research!

Probably not then.
But why would I need one on a Sunday if it wasn't an emergency?
I thought most people had to pay for X ray outside of hospital?

In the end it all comes down to personal experiences, we have twin boys, one broke their arm at school in Brisbane and the other broke the opposite arm in Hereford. The difference in treatment was night and day. In Brisbane our eldest was left waiting on a trolley for hour after hour literally until we almost had to drag a doctor to see him and she wasn't at all impressed. Bear in mind this was a 6 year old child in a lot of pain. Because it was at school he had to be taken by Ambulance, I asked the Paramedics whether they were going to the local Logan Hospital and he said 'Oh god no, we won't take him there' so I assumed the Brisbane Children's Hospital was the better option. As it turned out it really wasn't. My other son sent into Hereford Hospital and his treatment was bloody brilliant quite frankly. My wife after having the twins was sent home next day after fainting a couple of times and still being clearly unwell. Following an operation on my lower back in Brisbane I was released with the would infected and had to go back in for intravenous antibiotics.

Of course these things can and do happen everywhere but I'm afraid no-one will convince me that the Australian system is better than here. My wife is having a health issue at the moment, at every stage she has been seen promptly and the care has been 2nd to none. Next day to see a specialist, 5 days for a full body scan, no excessive waiting and not a single penny out of pocket etc etc. 

Now I realise there will be those who think I am making this up of course as part of my agenda, afterall I read on here only yesterday that I hate Australia.

Clearly in BOTH countries the treatment you get depends on where you live, that is very obvious. It certainly isn't restricted to just the NHS or indeed to out in the country in Australia as for us it was right in the centre of Brisbane.

Based on our personal experiences if it has to come down to which is better then the choice is very easy indeed, the NHS wins hands down..for us.

It may also be age related/skewed as well - especially in the UK. I find that the GP gatekeepers will prioritise retirees/those who are in their 50s/60s and beyond and the very young over everyone else - where as in Australia - access to tests, referrals and follow on is available. Yes we may have to pay for it via insurance or on Medicare (in part), but the focus is on diagnosis and prevention (so far in my experience here in Aus).

Lots of things that would have gone unnoticed with my health in the UK until the issues manifested late on in the next 5-10 years, have been tested for, rules out or identified over here. I’m now on a prevention/management plan to control my eating, exercise etc.

My eating and expertise etc has always been good, but in the NHS I was assessed on the basics/statistics - eat healthily, exercise a lot, not obese, working age ergo not a risk. Here in Aus, as a new comer, presenting with a family history of this and that (which was also available on my NHS records), meant a plethora of tests to baseline my state of health. It’s now prevention strategies from here on in - no medication (and long may that continue).

Yes it is possible to have health insurance privately in the UK, but unless cajoled, pushed or pressured, it seems to be NHS policy to not offer treatments to patients privately, if they aren’t available via the NHS. I love the NHS, the consultants, nurses and surgeons are top notch - I’ve had to use outpatient services for surgeries, many a time. I can’t fault that level of care. Maybe they need to think of offering people options, (even if it costs people) rather than turning them away - which means a fundamental re-think of the free at point of source principle, in some circumstances.

Hence I also think the GP gatekeeper processes seem to be wanting in the NHS, given the current funding model, ageing population and other pressures. Aus has the same problems, although at a diminished rate of growth perhaps, but the options to go private and get access at the first point of contact, aren’t all bad. Something perhaps for the NHS to ponder.

spot on kev ....and it was labour voters " oop norf and the midlands that voted brexit
and the champagne socialists in London still ain't getting the message ,not listening and still looking down their noses

Honestly, when it comes to politics I lump Labour and the Tories together, seems to be a bunch of the same people from Eton, Harrow, Gordonstoun via Oxford/Cambridge in both parties. 

The NHS is in dire need of a restructure and some serious capital investment. Although, it does make you wonder whether the government is perhaps purposely destroying it so that it can be sold off/privatised/changed. 
 I suspect in my lifetime we will see the end of systems like the NHS and Medicare in their present forms as they simple are not financially sustainable. 

I find your comments about the DUP being bigots offensive. The DUP are a pro-British democratic political party who have never had any connection with a terrorist organisation. Neither are they nationalists. Sinn Fein on the other hand are anti-British nationalists and the political wing of the IRA. Enough said!!

I was advised to wait till asked for them. Ive got my PR too. I haven’t in the entire process come across the visa processing being fast tracked because you’ve had a check taken and it is time limited (ie done before they’ve requested it). I have found the opposite though - once completed and submitted (after they’ve requested it), assuming everything else is in order - the approvals came within 1-2 months

As others have said (shared commitments, bills, agreements, contracts, etc) is important but we did go overboard with the Facebook tags in a pdf document , photos and invites etc. It was sent to our visa agent - I don’t know how much of it they used, however. About 5-10 examples (mixed), from each year we’ve been together.

I like the show - don’t get it here, I don’t think.

Sydney’s western suburbs make sense -20-40 minute commuting depending on where. Or look at commuting in from the coast - can be an hour - 2 on the train depending on location. Train strikes are rare (compared to the recent tube strikes and action on some lines such as Chiltern and Southern - 1 every 15/20 years!)

$120k and your partners $80K means you would live comfortably - not extravagantly. Chalk up some experience in the job/role and if Queensland still resonates - consider it further down the track.

Good luck.

Lodged (309)- Sept 2014
Granted - June 2015
Validated - Jan 2016
Next Stage (100)- submitted Sept 2016
Migrated to Oz - Dec 2016
Granted - Dec 2017

Did I hit anyone on the road?
I have major demerit points at the time of double demerit, I have seen many local drivers worse then me.
Anyways Thanks for your input.
I am looking for reasonable input, if anyone experienced same ?

As verystormy suggests. Perhaps also consider using a registered migration agent. If not for the whole visa process (albeit recommended), but for the initial free consult to advise in your circumstances and what’s the best way forward.

Yes it was WA correct.   It was a rather "quiet" sort of place you could say.  But yes I do accept there will be others who love the isolation of Australia and love to live life slowly / quietly. Nothing wrong with that if that is what brings you happiness.  In fact you can live in the surrounding suburbs of Perth city centre and it can be just as quiet as many English villages are. Sadly it was that quietness which drove us out the place.  I suppose on reflection we were probably  looking for it to buzz like the UK  but with better weather, but learned pretty quickly that it was NOTHING like the UK. if you can enjoy the isolation and the slow life, then you will score. Like I always say, it is paradise for small children and retirees.

Also check out your current status and entitlement on VEVO whilst speaking to an agrnt

Yep, he can't get a RRV unless he is a permanent resident. If he only had a 309 thats just provisional.
He can only get a RRV if he was granted the PR, subclass 100. 

Been here since December last year and loving it.

and you lot ...i work for myself ...and that's about 4 hours a day [emoji2]......I have no boss ...so I can jump on when I like .....usually when iam pulled over having a coffee [emoji6].....somewhere in the midlands

[emoji23] You're funny. 

Resturant food in terms of quality, choice, and price is far superior in the UK.  Same in supermarkets.  As for pub grub? apart from the places like the Breakfast Creek Hotel and the like or unless you like everything deep fried, the UK wins hand down and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves.

Are you joking- unless it's Michelin star quality forget it. All we got in the UK was re-heated or packet bought microwaved crap served up by some spoddy teenager or uni student who looked like they would die if they had to be hospitable or crack a smile. This in pubs and in allegedly 'above average' restaurants in the capital and Home Counties. A sloth would have had more enthusiasm.

Can't complain about Aussie restaurants, great food and service and it's round every street corner. The spoddy gormless teenagers confine themselves to maccas here....

I am really more interested in whether it is worth perusing because as we only fly once every two years and are unlikely to add points from other sources. Therefore how many points would we be collecting compared to how many points we would need to save to get an upgrade on a portion of the journey? 

This is from the MIA. Here is the link. 

https://www.mia.org.au/communications/id/2807/

 

Thanks for the information provided, and the source if the information. It is publicly available (having checked on google), so thanks for the honest and valid update .

What is the source of this, and is there a link?