Health care queries - full time Mum

[JDJ81]

Good evening to you all (or morning depending on where you might be! )

 

I’ve just registered and I’m a newbie on here as we are doing a bit of research on the possibility of  emigrating to Australia from Scotland and this very useful resource has answered many of our queries already via searching through the historical and backdated posts. (so thank you very much for the assistance so far!)

 

We are a family of four – 2 lovely daughters aged 4 and 6, my wife who is 43 years young and myself, 37 years & on a fairly tough paper round at the moment but hanging on in there in!  I’m a Quantity Surveyor with 16 years’ experience mainly in Civil Engineering and Private House Building. My wife formerly worked in accountancy & finance, the majority of her experience gained working as a Treasurer but for the last 7 years has taken on a much tougher role as full time Mum.

 

It would be our intention to main Status Quo with me in full time employment as a QS, hopefully in Civil Engineering or Private Housing and my wife continuing to raise our daughters on a full time basis with no pressure to return to work until our girls are grown up and she feels that she would like to rather than have to.

 

We are fairly confident that in terms of QS jobs & cost of housing/cost of living we could make this work as long as we’re sensible about houses and cars, our main concern and reason for this post is health care related.

 

My wife has been Type 1 diabetic for 35 years and in more recent years has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. She also has a Vitamin B12 deficiency and receives B12 injections every 8 weeks. Although she requires 2 types of insulin, metformin, levothyroxine &  B12 injections, she is slim & healthy with well controlled diabetes.

 

We’ve read that most from the UK are successful in receiving medicare meaning that medical costs/prescriptions are subsidised but wondered how likely this would be if the intention was for my wife to remain a stay at home Mum? We also wonder if anyone could point us in the direction of where we could find out and health insurance, how much it would cost and whether it would cover the cost of prescriptions and on-going diabetic care? We’re also reading about a healthcare card that some people with chronic conditions are eligible for and wondered if anyone can shed any light on this as we’re reading conflicting views on the cost of healthcare in general and need find out more before we get our hopes built up as we’re cautious about becoming emotionally invested in the Australian Dream until we find out more about the standard of diabetic care on offer and costs involved.

 

Any pointers/advice/guidance/assistance would be greatly appreciated!

 

Many thanks!

 

Jim   

[ali]

She will have to pay for all her prescriptions and things like the testing strips for glucometers.  Insurance may subsidise some cost (don't know if it covers prescriptions - but this would be an additional premium to pay to them) and there may be a waiting period on some things which you would need to check.

There is a diabetes Australia were you can get more information about diabetic care (sure you'd be able to ask more questions there) - there may also be groups particular to the state you're moving to.

Look up the PBS threshold - when you reach a certain amount paying out for prescriptions the cost reduces (but this threshold can change annually).  You can look up the cost of medications on the PBS website.

I don't know if you'd be eligible for the health care card - have you looked at the eligibility criteria on the dept of human services website?

[Marisawright]

Whether she's a stay-at-home Mum or working makes no difference.  Australia is not like the US, where health insurance is tied to your job - it's the same for everyone.  

If you can find a doctor who "bulk bills", then doctor visits are free.   If she needs to see a specialist, most people go private (which means you pay and get some of the fee back from Medicare), but you can tell your GP that you want to be treated in the public system - it may mean a long waiting list depending where you live.

Prescriptions aren't free but they are subsidised. There is a "Safety Net" which might be what you are thinking of:

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/medicare/medicare-safety-net/you-need-know/what-safety-net

 

[Toots]

Info about the health care card: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/health-care-card/who-can-get-card

[xxlornaxx]

I came from Scotland too. I take metformin and b12 shots and also anti convulsant medication for epilepsy. I was used to getting free meds so I’m still shocked that I get asked to pay for them lol I pay about $100 - $140 a month for medication. I go to a bulk billing doctor so don’t pay to see the GP but depending on where you live that’s not always easy. I’ve never needed any other medical services. I have private health insurance only as I earn over a certain amount and don’t want to be charged at tax time but I’ve never used it except for a dental check up which is ridiculously expensive over here for any teeth business! I have spent thousands on my teeth since being here as I needed a couple of things so make sure u look after your teeth! You can get a healthcare card if you get certain benefits, I don’t get any government support so I’m not eligible. https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/health-care-card/who-can-get-card