Toots Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: Specsavers is good if you just need basic glasses. Just wait for their special offers and you can get great deals. I got two-for-the-price-of-one reading glasses there last year, and that was fully covered by my health insurance. However if you need something more complicated, the price shoots up. I needed new multifocals and I waited until they had a "multifocals for $199" offer. All seemed well until I sat down with the 'consultant' to complete the order. She told me the special offer lenses were very basic and wouldn't be suitable for me as I'd be annoyed by the blur (???). I would need the next level lenses, plus a few other 'essential' features. She did the sums and hey presto, my $199 glasses were suddenly $850. I walked out. Crikey! Thank goodness my eyesight was very good until a couple of years ago. For the time being, I just use a pair of those specs you can get in the chemist and they are fine for me. They cost $30. I've no doubt I'll need "proper" specs at some time but so far so good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 19 minutes ago, Toots said: For the time being, I just use a pair of those specs you can get in the chemist....I've no doubt I'll need "proper" specs at some time but so far so good. No, you won't ever need 'proper' specs if you only need them for reading and close work. For that, the ones you get at the chemist are absolutely fine, and I've been told that by a Professor of Opthalmology. He said that some opticians will try to tell you the chemist ones will harm your eyes, but they're just trying to sell you expensive specs! The only reason I got reading glasses from Specsavers is that they're a lot sturdier than the chemist ones, and I got the whole cost refunded by my health fund. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 4 hours ago, ramot said: As I really like my frames, I have new lenses put in them, much cheaper I paid just over $600 for multi focal transition lenses, so no need to buy sunglasses as well. This is the 3rd time I’ve used the frames. No point buying new frames every time, but I admit they are good quality frames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 3 hours ago, Marisawright said: No, you won't ever need 'proper' specs if you only need them for reading and close work. For that, the ones you get at the chemist are absolutely fine, and I've been told that by a Professor of Opthalmology. He said that some opticians will try to tell you the chemist ones will harm your eyes, but they're just trying to sell you expensive specs! The only reason I got reading glasses from Specsavers is that they're a lot sturdier than the chemist ones, and I got the whole cost refunded by my health fund. My husband also gets a free pair of reading glasses annually from our optometrist though his health fund. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 14 hours ago, ramot said: I paid just over $600 for multi focal transition lenses, so no need to buy sunglasses as well. This is the 3rd time I’ve used the frames. No point buying new frames every time, but I admit they are good quality frames. Costco will put new lenses in frames too. I got some multi focal, transition lenses put into a pair of rayban sunglasses I had. Was cheaper than spec savers too! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 53 minutes ago, rammygirl said: Costco will put new lenses in frames too. I got some multi focal, transition lenses put into a pair of rayban sunglasses I had. Was cheaper than spec savers too! Husband got his all singing dancing hearing aids from Costco at a fraction of the regular cost. Still has selective hearing though?!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 5 hours ago, ramot said: Husband got his all singing dancing hearing aids from Costco at a fraction of the regular cost. Still has selective hearing though?!! Ha! My mates husband just got hearing aids. He has now told her she speaks too loudly, makes too much noise cooking and her clothes rustle! She said “if you see him walking funny you’ll know where I’ve shoved them” 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simontucks Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 On 27/12/2023 at 17:25, Nemesis said: When you say "Residency visas" do you mean temporary residency or permanent residency? Can make a big difference medically! Sorry for the late reply,haven't been having notifications of replies. Permanent residency 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simontucks Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 On 28/12/2023 at 20:30, Tulip1 said: Why would anyone wait 6 hours for an ambulance when someone could drive them to the hospital just 5 minutes away? With a stroke that could be the difference between life or death or normal life/severely comprised. You say ‘we waited’ so I don’t understand why someone didn’t drive the neighbour/organise a taxi. Welcome to the UK ATM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennyrose Shields Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Medical Insurance is expensive accept it . prices varies on how much you need to be insured . when we can over 3 kids and wary 40s it was $700 a month including a balance . We shopped around and got it to $ 580 then 2 Sons played 4 sports for the state at school . Sports shoes a fortune so kept insurance for ambulance and dental . Today we are in our 60s and same insurance as we don’t need extras . Real insurance we have used for everything . However not all insurance will cover you for certain things . So advice would be take out Bare funeral insurance and state what you want . and spend your retirement money enjoying life . Most operations available on Medicare . Had spinal surgery, TKR and Scheduled for both hips . Just resting after shoulder replacement . yes I had to travel to find a surgeon who would do it under Medicare he’s in Sutherland NSW . Fantastic medical treatment and the staff were amazing . So we wish you luck and re assess the medical and car insurances every year so you are always paying the best price as life changes as do your circumstances. Some company’s in Australia offer medical insurance as part of your employment package. wishing you a happy new year 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 On 29/12/2023 at 02:24, Cheery Thistle said: Just recounting my own traumatic experience and explaining why we’ll be taking full cover. My next door neighbour (and friend) also had a stroke (aged 43) 5 years ago and we waited 6 hours on that ambulance. We live a 5 minute drive from a hospital. The one where I had to drive my husband he was actually already at A and E in our local hospital and they said he would have to wait 12 hours for a transfer to Edinburgh RI. After me driving him through they sent him home, only for him to be transferred in 23 minutes the following day and operated on immediately for what they originally missed. How an A and E can have no available wheelchairs in a first world country in 2021 I will never understand. My reference to the ££ for the braces was for Australia (should have been $$ maybe) as it’s looking like she’ll have to wait until we get there for them. She would get them free here. My experience is real and valid. $10-12k for braces these days and very little back on the insurance unfortunately. There's at least a 12 month wait before you can claim on insurance anyway. And there's no point in getting them started in UK because Aus orthodontists won't take responsibility for someone else's practice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 2 hours ago, Quoll said: $10-12k for braces these days and very little back on the insurance unfortunately. There's at least a 12 month wait before you can claim on insurance anyway. And there's no point in getting them started in UK because Aus orthodontists won't take responsibility for someone else's practice. I have enquired with a few people living in Brisbane at the moment and getting conflicting reports. A couple of people have had their kids treatment started in the UK and managed to find Aussie orthodontists to take them on. Not sure it’s really worth the hassle for us. Also, not everyone gets them ‘free’ in the UK. You only get them free if it’s deemed to be a ‘medical’ case. I put ‘free’ in inverted commas, as those of us who work do pay for healthcare in the UK via fairly hefty NI payments. There is an underlying current in some forums that somehow the UK population are freeloaders who expect to get everything for nothing which is just a wee bit irritating. A friend of mine has 2 teen boys and one of them has been waiting over a year to be assessed by an orthodontist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 9 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: those of us who work do pay for healthcare in the UK via fairly hefty NI payments. I don't think anyone here thinks Brits are freeloaders. It would be truer to say that when we get to Australia and realise how much we have to pay for healthcare, we realise that we took the free healthcare in the UK too much for granted. Anyway, you do not pay for healthcare via NI payments. NI payments were originally introduced to cover the cost of healthcare, age pensions and welfare benefits, but I'm not sure whether they ever did. They haven't covered the cost of the NHS for more than 50 years. Here's a chart: Edited January 7 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 11 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: I have enquired with a few people living in Brisbane at the moment and getting conflicting reports. A couple of people have had their kids treatment started in the UK and managed to find Aussie orthodontists to take them on. Not sure it’s really worth the hassle for us. Also, not everyone gets them ‘free’ in the UK. You only get them free if it’s deemed to be a ‘medical’ case. I put ‘free’ in inverted commas, as those of us who work do pay for healthcare in the UK via fairly hefty NI payments. There is an underlying current in some forums that somehow the UK population are freeloaders who expect to get everything for nothing which is just a wee bit irritating. A friend of mine has 2 teen boys and one of them has been waiting over a year to be assessed by an orthodontist. My 14 year old grandson in Bristol is facing an almost year wait to be assessed by an orthodontist, don’t know if it will be free, didn’t ask Edited January 7 by ramot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Marisawright said: I don't think anyone here thinks Brits are freeloaders. It would be truer to say that when we get to Australia and realise how much we have to pay for healthcare, we realise that we took the free healthcare in the UK too much for granted. Anyway, you do not pay for healthcare via NI payments. NI payments were originally introduced to cover the cost of healthcare, age pensions and welfare benefits, but I'm not sure whether they ever did. They haven't covered the cost of the NHS for more than 50 years. Here's a chart: Well we are splitting hairs really. Whichever way you look at it the NHS is paid for via NI contributions and income tax which are both paid by (most of) the working population. it’s not ‘free’ as everyone likes to think or make out. But really, thank you for the chart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Marisawright said: the free healthcare in the UK too much for granted. It’s not free. That’s the whole point. It. Is. Not. Free! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 49 minutes ago, ramot said: My 14 year old grandson in Bristol is facing an almost year wait to be assessed by an orthodontist, don’t know if it will be free, didn’t ask Gah. They probably won’t know if he’s eligible for ‘free’ braces until after his consultation. I suspect my daughter’s would be just because of how severe the angle is on her front teeth but I’m no expert. My aforementioned friend has decided to go private for her son as he is now 14 and they are concerned about the wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said: Well we are splitting hairs really. Whichever way you look at it the NHS is paid for via NI contributions and income tax which are both paid by (most of) the working population. it’s not ‘free’ as everyone likes to think or make out. But really, thank you for the chart. If you'd said "we pay for it through our taxes", I'd have said nothing. I guess I'm sensitised to the "we're entitled because we've paid our NI" idea because I have cousins in the UK, furious that they've got to wait a bit longer to get the age pension, because "I paid my contributions into NI so I'm entitled to get that money back". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BendigoBoy Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 16 minutes ago, Marisawright said: "...I'm entitled to get that money back". It's precisely that philosophy that I so detest. It runs absolutely counter to the principle of being free at the point of need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 5 hours ago, Marisawright said: If you'd said "we pay for it through our taxes", I'd have said nothing. I guess I'm sensitised to the "we're entitled because we've paid our NI" idea because I have cousins in the UK, furious that they've got to wait a bit longer to get the age pension, because "I paid my contributions into NI so I'm entitled to get that money back". And what is it that’s so wrong with that, are we expected to pay the tax and NI and not then have an NHS, pension and/or education system in return? Or is it the fact they are annoyed that the age keeps being moved out? Given that there’s a sizeable chunk of the population that pays no tax at all (as I have quoted in another recent post) yet still get the ‘free’ stuff, I can see why folk who pay in for 50 years get a bit peeved really. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 (edited) 43 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: And what is it that’s so wrong with that It's because it's completely inaccurate, as I'm sure you know. Their age pension won't be paid out of the NI contributions they made. 50 years of contributions isn't nearly enough to pay for 20 years of pension, so their pension is coming out of the previous generations' contributions. Remember that when pensions were first introduced, the vast majority of the population didn't make it to 70. So the whole system was predicated on supporting pensioners for 5 or 10 years max. If they were angry about their income tax being wasted, so there isn't enough to pay for pensions AND nurses' and teachers' salaries AND the NHS and schools and roads and etc etc, that would be fair enough -- but that's not what they're up in arms about. And let's face it, now it's wasted, it's wasted and tough decisions have to be made. With x amount of funds available, what should give -- raise the retirement age because nowadays, most women are well able to work beyond 60? Or cut school funding, or NHS funding? Edited January 8 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 hours ago, Marisawright said: raise the retirement age because nowadays, most women are well able to work beyond 60? What are you talking about now? State retirement age is 66 for men and women, for me (as it stands now) it will be 68. Average life expectancy in the UK is roughly 79. My mum worked full time to 65 and my Dad to 72. People who retire at 60 tend to have private pensions or investments, I know not one person who has retired at 60 on a state pension and is sitting fat and jolly on the profit. I have no idea how a question on Medicare landed here but some of the posts on this forum are just so pedantic and ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simontucks Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: What are you talking about now? State retirement age is 66 for men and women, for me (as it stands now) it will be 68. Average life expectancy in the UK is roughly 79. My mum worked full time to 65 and my Dad to 72. People who retire at 60 tend to have private pensions or investments, I know not one person who has retired at 60 on a state pension and is sitting fat and jolly on the profit. I have no idea how a question on Medicare landed here but some of the posts on this forum are just so pedantic and ridiculous. Have to agree,I don't know anyone even at 65 and can manage on state pension.i resided myself to the fact I'll never be able to retire but,as long as I can set my girls up and give them the best opportunities,which is the main reason coming to Australia I can live with that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Manna Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 16 hours ago, Marisawright said: If you'd said "we pay for it through our taxes", I'd have said nothing. I guess I'm sensitised to the "we're entitled because we've paid our NI" idea because I have cousins in the UK, furious that they've got to wait a bit longer to get the age pension, because "I paid my contributions into NI so I'm entitled to get that money back". It is true though, that if you haven't made enough NI payments then you won't get a full UK pension, regardless of how much you have paid in tax. This can be very relevant for those who spent some time in Australia but have returned to the UK. So while the pension isn't funded by NI alone, NI determines whether you get it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Blue Manna said: It is true though, that if you haven't made enough NI payments then you won't get a full UK pension, regardless of how much you have paid in tax. This can be very relevant for those who spent some time in Australia but have returned to the UK. So while the pension isn't funded by NI alone, NI determines whether you get it. It does indeed. I’m not far away from full contributions….slave labour from age 14 had to have some benefit!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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