Health Insurance on a 457

[saunders 5]

Hi i`m a nurse employed by QLD Health at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport due to start in November. Part of my conditions are that we have our own health insurance. Can anyone advise me what we need to cover as we may be covered by the UK`s reciprocal agreement with medicare.

Many Thanks, Ali X

[suzy+1]

Hi, my contract had the same written in but in actual fact after clarifying it with them; this was a standard contract meant for people outside UK who do not qualify for emergency and urgent medical treament under the reciprocal agreement-as we do, so a trip to the Dr's is covered under medicare.

Also if you are going on some kind of temp.visa private healthcare is alot more expensive than if you were a permanent resident.

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Saunders 5

 

Please see Page 8 of Booklet 11, which is here:

 

Sponsoring a Temporary Overseas Employee to Australia

 

A description of the terms of the Oz/UK reciprocal health care agreement is here:

 

http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/public/migrants/visitors/index.jsp

 

Suzy is right in saying that a lot of employers in Oz don't understand anything about the RHCA, don't want exposure to risk and so try to lay off the risk back on to the 457 visa holder by insisting that s/he obtains private medical insurance.

 

Many large employers in Oz will have a company policy that will cover the workers for health care costs, will keep paying them if they are off sick etc. They invite the employee to join the corporate insurance scheme, which is often cheaper than buying the insurance yourself.

 

You can get a rough idea of the likely cost of privately purchased policies from this link:

 

PrivateHealth.gov.au

 

Bear in mind that several will not pay any claims during the first year of the policy.

 

Also, ambulances are not free in Australia. A one-way ride to hospital in an emergency can easily cost $500 or more, so it is prudent to have ambulance insurance for the whole family. Often this is included with household contents insurance and suchlike. Alternatively St John Ambulance in each State offer a special, stand-alone policy covering ambulance need only, and the premium per person is minimal. $70 a year or so.

 

Best wishes

 

Gill

[saunders 5]

Many thanks to you both for your replies. I was a little concerned about the cost of this insurance as it seems very expensive if you state you are on a temporary visa. We are a family of 5 going out on a nurses wage initially untill OH can find work so it was beginning to be quite a concern.

Ali X

[calNgary]

Hiya Ali ,on sponsership you will get basic Medicare cover but will have to pay for anything else ,the killer being dental treatment(bloomin expensive). Ambulance cover is included in your electric bill so thats nothing to worry about. Private policys do seem expensive but if you shop around you should be able to find some good deals, hope this helps a bit

Cal x

[Guest JoanneHattersley]

We used HBA and they were excellent