marie Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Hi, I am trying to budget for Medicare insurance for 2 adults and 1 newborn. Could anyone give me a rough idea to budget for? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalyst2012 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Depends on several factors such as your age, current location, level of cover etc. This one's a pretty useful link and it'll help you evaluate your options: http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/dynamic/compare.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Medicare or private medical? Medicare is 1.5% of your taxable income and will generally be taken out of your pay packet each fortnight. Private health cover - check out iselect comparison website but ball park for good cover around $250pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingbacksoon Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Medicare contributions will be going up to 2% from 1 July 2014. Also, if you earn over $80,000 and don't take out private health insurance you have to pay an extra surcharge - the details are on the ATO website. I pay about $235 a month for a policy that gives me top hospital plus some extras (physio, dental, etc). Even with this a recent filling cost me about $400, and I'm going to see a specialist in August - the initial appointment is $300 and not covered by my private health policy I recently got new prescription glasses and sunglasses and that only cost me $29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wozziegirl Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Depends on several factors such as your age, current location, level of cover etc. This one's a pretty useful link and it'll help you evaluate your options: http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/dynamic/compare.aspx Thanks! That's a really helpful link Catalyst2012. I've just had a quick look to see what sort of money private medical costs these days and EEEEP! Big fat hairy EEP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Medicare contributions will be going up to 2% from 1 July 2014. Also, if you earn over $80,000 and don't take out private health insurance you have to pay an extra surcharge - the details are on the ATO website. I pay about $235 a month for a policy that gives me top hospital plus some extras (physio, dental, etc). Even with this a recent filling cost me about $400, and I'm going to see a specialist in August - the initial appointment is $300 and not covered by my private health policy I recently got new prescription glasses and sunglasses and that only cost me $29 Just to add to this the surcharge is now charged if you earn over $88,000 as an individual or $176,000 if you are in a family. Also, if you get extras try to get one that pays a % rather than set benefits. This will avoid things like goingbacksoon experienced with being $400 out of pocket for a filling. Some policies pay a % (mine for example pays 85% of all dental) while some only pay a set amount. The $300 specialist appointment that goingbacksoon mentioned is with a private specialist. Private insurance only covers hospital stays not out of hospital doctors so as said will not pay towards this. The public medicare system will pay a rebate against the appointment though but still large out of pocket gap. There is a public specialist option as well which, like the NHS, is run through outpatient clinics of public hospitals which is totally free but, like the NHS, waiting times can be acceptable or unacceptable depending on the speciality and location of the hospital. Just ask your GP to refer you to a public specialist when being referred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 It is illegal to vary private insurance premiums depending on your age in Australia. What does vary is the private insurance rebate the govt pays for maintaining private insurance over the age of 30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy1 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Anyone any idea how long to get to see a Neurologist on Medicare as a PR. Living on the Sunshine Coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubic Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Skippy1 I'm working between Brisbane and the Sunshine coast and it's taking about 6-12 months for routine "category 2" referrals to be seen at the moment. Category 1 referrals are urgent and often get seen within a week or 2. I haven't referred anyone who's been categorised as a category 3 so I don't know how long that's taking at the moment. Categorisation is done by the Neurology department when the triage the referral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy1 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Thanks Cubic. when you say working , are you in medical field. If so is there any Neurologist you would recommend over another if you go privately. I presume if you go public you have no choice. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubic Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Hi Skippy. I'm a GP. I've not been here that long so don't have extensive experience of secondary care consultants and who I'd recommend yet. The practice owner/senior GP has a handy list of people in the Caboolture/Redcliffe/Brisbane areas that he recommends which I can look at if you like? If you go through the public system you can often choose your consultant, though some specialities will only accept local referrals due to demand. In that case you'd be restricted to the neurologists within your local hospital (which may be a few, but may be as few as one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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