crispysince70 Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Just spent the last hour in Bupa trying to sort out private health cover for mum, who is living here on a bridging visa whilst waiting for her 804 to process. Basically the only cover they provide is the visitor insurance, however, this is only applicable to under 70’s. ( she’s 72 ) Her worry now is, as she hasn’t been back to the Uk in years, and her Medicare card ( yellow ) runs out next year, what happens when the reciprocal cover runs out? Our understanding of the reciprocal cover, is that you need to be residents of the Uk for at least 6 months to qualify for this. So, does this mean that she will have to live back in the UK for 6 months? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 19 minutes ago, crispysince70 said: Just spent the last hour in Bupa trying to sort out private health cover for mum, who is living here on a bridging visa whilst waiting for her 804 to process. Basically the only cover they provide is the visitor insurance, however, this is only applicable to under 70’s. ( she’s 72 ) Her worry now is, as she hasn’t been back to the Uk in years, and her Medicare card ( yellow ) runs out next year, what happens when the reciprocal cover runs out? Our understanding of the reciprocal cover, is that you need to be residents of the Uk for at least 6 months to qualify for this. So, does this mean that she will have to live back in the UK for 6 months? We used Medibank for our visitors cover when we were on the old retirement visa, well into our 70’s, until 3 years ago. give them a try, warn you not cheap though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 50 minutes ago, crispysince70 said: Just spent the last hour in Bupa trying to sort out private health cover for mum, who is living here on a bridging visa whilst waiting for her 804 to process. Basically the only cover they provide is the visitor insurance, however, this is only applicable to under 70’s. ( she’s 72 ) Her worry now is, as she hasn’t been back to the Uk in years, and her Medicare card ( yellow ) runs out next year, what happens when the reciprocal cover runs out? Our understanding of the reciprocal cover, is that you need to be residents of the Uk for at least 6 months to qualify for this. To qualify for reciprocal cover, you must have been legally resident in the UK for at least 6 months before you arrived in Australia. As far as I know, it doesn't run out. BUPA is right, visitor insurance is the only one she can get, because she's not a permanent resident. All you can do is try the others and see if any of them offer cover for over 70s. Ramot has suggested Medibank which is worth trying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Allianz still insure the over 70s - but this is clearly an issue for those who can't access Medicare under a RHCA. If you'd like details of my contact at Allianz please ping an email to me. Best regards. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 She should be able to renew the Medicare card she has, all Medicare cards have to be renewed even full ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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