LHC for new PR grant

[Petkula73]

Hi

 

Can anyone advise please?

 

We've been granted PR this week after being on a 457 since August 2011.

 

I'm British and my wife is Finnish so we qualified for the Reciprocal Medicare card.

 

However, we now want to get a private healthcare policy in place to avoid paying LHC. However, I'm not sure if we will have an issue here...

 

On the ATO website it says that LHC is required from once you enrol with Medicare, then it's 2% for every year over 31. We are both 40, so theoretically this would be 18% each every year.

 

Is this correct? Is Reciprocal Medicare classed as the same thing as Medicare or is the requirement from the date we register for a normal Medicare card?

 

Seems pretty harsh if it's the first option. Especially given that for all but the last 2 and a bit years we'd never set foot in Australia.

 

Has anyone else transferred from a 457 to PR and avoided LHC?

[Rupert]

Mmmm good question, I don't know the answer. Certainly I know we had to register for medicare within the first year to avoid the age loading which would have been about what you say as we also were about 40. But we came as PR so we always knew it and did it straight away. I am not sure if you get an exemption because you were on 457. Anyway, here is a little bump and hope you get answers soon.

[felton4]

Hi

 

We got our PR this August having been on a 457. I went into a Medicare office and asked for a lifetime healthcare letter - this gives us a year from when we submitted our PR application to organise private healthcare without the 2% loading (we are in our forties). The letter lists every member in the family. We've not organised any private health care yet so we have still to use the letter, but assume that it would be accepted by the health care companies.

 

Hope this helps.

[Petkula73]

Hi

 

We got our PR this August having been on a 457. I went into a Medicare office and asked for a lifetime healthcare letter - this gives us a year from when we submitted our PR application to organise private healthcare without the 2% loading (we are in our forties). The letter lists every member in the family. We've not organised any private health care yet so we have still to use the letter, but assume that it would be accepted by the health care companies.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Thanks, that's great feedback.