carob Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Hi folks,I'm going completely "off piste" here but does anyone know anything about health care once we arrive in Oz? I do know we could get private medical insurance and that its fairly expensive but what about just the general cost of a visit to a GP or perhaps blood pressure/statin prescription costs? What is Medicare and are we permanent resident visa holders entitled to access this? We are 61 & 58. After long discussions we think its probably time to reduce our house again and try to sell asap so we can be there by our summer. This stuff that we don't fully understand is going to keep me awake if I can't get my head around it. Perhaps someone who has actually made the move and is settled could answer me questions........ Thanking you in advance, Regards, Val hello Vava. We are going out on the 143 visa in three weeks time ie we'll be there on March 12th. As these issues are also to be sorted out by us, as soon as I have got my head round things, I'll try to supply a bit more info on what is what. Providing I can make sense of them of course haha. Sorry your house hasn't sold yet. We were very fortunate in this area, but we are still getting rid of stuff, and packing clothes!! best wishes C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Hi folks,I'm going completely "off piste" here but does anyone know anything about health care once we arrive in Oz? I do know we could get private medical insurance and that its fairly expensive but what about just the general cost of a visit to a GP or perhaps blood pressure/statin prescription costs? What is Medicare and are we permanent resident visa holders entitled to access this? We are 61 & 58. After long discussions we think its probably time to reduce our house again and try to sell asap so we can be there by our summer. This stuff that we don't fully understand is going to keep me awake if I can't get my head around it. Perhaps someone who has actually made the move and is settled could answer me questions........ Thanking you in advance, Regards, Val There are heaps of threads and posts in the Health section of the forum. You'll find your answers in there. As PRs, you are eligible for Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme from the day you arrive. Edited February 19, 2015 by Ozmaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeman Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Hi folks,I'm going completely "off piste" here but does anyone know anything about health care once we arrive in Oz? I do know we could get private medical insurance and that its fairly expensive but what about just the general cost of a visit to a GP or perhaps blood pressure/statin prescription costs? What is Medicare and are we permanent resident visa holders entitled to access this? We are 61 & 58. After long discussions we think its probably time to reduce our house again and try to sell asap so we can be there by our summer. This stuff that we don't fully understand is going to keep me awake if I can't get my head around it. Perhaps someone who has actually made the move and is settled could answer me questions........ Thanking you in advance, Regards, Val You will be entitled to full Medicare rights - which is the public health system - on a permanent visa. However, this is not like the NHS as it doesn't cover everything. A visit to the doctors can cost anything from $55 to $70 plus. Medicare will give you a rebate on this of around $37 (can't remember the exact figure off hand) so you would need to pay the difference. Having said that, you can find doctors who 'bulk bill', ie they only charge the Medicare rebate so you don't pay anything - although there is currently talk of introducing a token $7 per visit. Lots of doctors will bulk bill for Seniors and anyone who has the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (you can get this after 2 years if over 65 but it is means tested). The CSHC also gives access to discounted prescriptions - you will pay around $6 dollars, otherwise you will need to pay for your medication which can be expensive, it is not free for over 60s like the UK. Here's a link to the Medicare site for further info: http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/subjects/medicare-services If you need to be referred for anything, such as a blood test, or X-ray make sure you ask to be sent somewhere they will bulk bill, so you don't end up paying anything. If you are referred to a specialist for example you can ask to go through the public system, but there will usually still be a gap to pay, eg I have to see an eye specialist and the initial consultation is costing around $175 and I will get around half that back from Medicare. So healthcare is a cost to be considered. If you need to go into hospital you can go through the public (Medicare) system and your operation or stay in hospital will not cost anything but there will be a waiting list of course. You can take out private health insurance if you wish to offset some of the costs. We are with HBF and they let you choose which things you might want to be covered for. However, it usually does not cover all the cost and there will still be a gap to pay between what you are charged and what the fund will pay. We do not have private hospital cover as we think the cost is prohibitive. Some people do take this out if they are high earners as you get penalised for tax, but I don't think any of us pensioners need to worry about that! There is also an age loading for private health insurance, ie you get penalised for every year you are over 31 when you take out the insurance, but new migrants get one year to take this out before being penalised. One thing to be aware of is that dentists are not covered by Medicare and all dentist are private over here and can be extremely expensive, so it would be advisable to get any necessary dental work done in the UK before you come over. We have private health cover for dental, but it only covers a fraction of the cost unless you take out a higher level of cover which can be more expensive. Also if you call an ambulance you need to pay for this unless you have health cover. It does vary from state to state though. Whether you think private health care is worth it is really a personal decision. However, I have just worked out what we have paid into the fund over the last three years and what we got back and we worked out that we got back about $500 more than we paid in (around $2000 over 3 years for a very basic plan). This was mainly as a result of dental work we had done. However overall we paid a gap/difference of around $1500 in total. This is just for treatment using the private health cover. I haven't yet worked out what the gap has been for Medicare treatment yet. Hope this helps Edited February 19, 2015 by Bridgeman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thank you everyone for your comments on healthcare for 143/173 visa holders. I did do quite a bit of research last night and printed off loads of stuff from various sites. I even now know how much our prescription charges would be and its not scary at all! I spoke to our daughter too and she explained bits of it to me aswell. I'll be stressing about the cost of cars and insurance soon....haha! Oh, and if anyone has any helpful hints and tips on preparation for a rental, that would be great! Thanks again! Val Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueray Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Hi everyone! I arrived in Australia in mid 2014 with subclass 173. I applied for 143 in October. A week later I received acknowledgment letter with AOS and AFP request. I submitted my AOS and AFP documents in beginning Feb 2015. I received an email from DIBP stating they are currently working on July applications. Does that mean it may take another 4-5 months to get 143 finalised? Does 143 from 173 take so much time? Has anyone applied recently or around my time? Any experience of 173 to 143 shared will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueray Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thank you everyone for your comments on healthcare for 143/173 visa holders. I did do quite a bit of research last night and printed off loads of stuff from various sites. I even now know how much our prescription charges would be and its not scary at all!I spoke to our daughter too and she explained bits of it to me aswell. I'll be stressing about the cost of cars and insurance soon....haha! Oh, and if anyone has any helpful hints and tips on preparation for a rental, that would be great! Thanks again! Val Rental properties depend on the state, suburb and the type of property you want to rent. I rented a property after inspecting several houses through realestate.com.au. I selected and applied for 2/3 houses , rented the offer I got first. I am not sure which state you will be living in. I have some fare idea about Victoria. I first did a homework for renting like: my budget, requirement and suburb. Then I looked for that range through realestate.com.au. You can also visit domain.com.au but almost the houses are commmon in both the websites. There are several websites but I found these two more useful. As my budget was not very high, I had to compromise on the suburb and the type of house. I also chose to live near public transport as I do not use my cars for going to the CBD. There is no issue for international people for the rental application being approved. No track is required. You can provide your international documents as well. I have stated the steps I followed. Hope this helps you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thank you everyone for your comments on healthcare for 143/173 visa holders. I did do quite a bit of research last night and printed off loads of stuff from various sites. I even now know how much our prescription charges would be and its not scary at all!I spoke to our daughter too and she explained bits of it to me aswell. I'll be stressing about the cost of cars and insurance soon....haha! Oh, and if anyone has any helpful hints and tips on preparation for a rental, that would be great! Thanks again! Val Hi Val Sorry to see that you are looking to reduce your asking price again but the end result will be well worth it, what's money compared to a happier and healthier lifestyle! I'd be interested to see what websites you used for your medicare etc investigations. All the best and I hope you now sell quickly. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 hello Vava. We are going out on the 143 visa in three weeks time ie we'll be there on March 12th. As these issues are also to be sorted out by us, as soon as I have got my head round things, I'll try to supply a bit more info on what is what. Providing I can make sense of them of course haha.Sorry your house hasn't sold yet. We were very fortunate in this area, but we are still getting rid of stuff, and packing clothes!! best wishes C I'll look forward to reading what you find out. Hope your preparations continue to go well. Good luck Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maisiedaisy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Val - hope reducing the price of your house has the desired results, hopefully interest will start picking up very soon and you'll have an offer, then you can get yourself over there and start having a brilliant time x We've had two viewings in two weeks but no offers duh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geordie joe Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Val - hope reducing the price of your house has the desired results, hopefully interest will start picking up very soon and you'll have an offer, then you can get yourself over there and start having a brilliant time x We've had two viewings in two weeks but no offers duh! hopefully with the majority of the bank's reducing the mortgage rates to all time lows that should stimulate more interest in the housing market. Maisie/Val I'm sure you will find a buyer soon. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 hopefully with the majority of the bank's reducing the mortgage rates to all time lows that should stimulate more interest in the housing market. Maisie/Val I'm sure you will find a buyer soon. Joe Hope you're right Joe - we're planning to go on the market in the spring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliew1499 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Hi Steve We are also planning to go on the market but waiting until after the general election. Hopefully we'll have a better idea of timescales from IMMI by then and that the country will have settled down from the election and people should feel confident about the future. (Depending on course on who wins!) julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliew1499 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Hi All The TEST email is working again. backlog of 8 months now down to 6 months. currently acknowledging 143’s lodged 19th August 14. Hopefully when the backlog clears we might all hear about medicals etc. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geordie joe Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Hope you're right Joe - we're planning to go on the market in the spring! there has been talk that the new pension rules that come into force in April could also help the housing market. Some people will have access to their entire pension funds in the next tax year and its anticipated that some of this money will be used to purchase buy to let properties to provide an income in retirement. Obviously a lot of the buy to let properties are at the lower end of the market but hopefully it will filter upwards as people make use of the lower mortgage rates and move up the ladder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freesia Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Hi everyone- my 143 was granted 16.2.15 from June 13- waiting time 20 months - hooray ! Edited February 19, 2015 by Freesia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geordie joe Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi everyone- my 143 was granted 16.2.15 from June 13- waiting time 20 months - hooray ! fantastic news, well done it's always great to see someone reaching the end of the queue. I guess it was a very long 20 months, when are you heading out ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freesia Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thank you Joe I'm already here in Sydney- came over after almost a year -spent the last 8 months on a 600 Visitor Visa & just had a lovely break in Fiji for the Grant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi everyone- my 143 was granted 16.2.15 from June 13- waiting time 20 months - hooray ! Great news - congratulations!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi everyone- my 143 was granted 16.2.15 from June 13- waiting time 20 months - hooray ! Congratulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 there has been talk that the new pension rules that come into force in April could also help the housing market. Some people will have access to their entire pension funds in the next tax year and its anticipated that some of this money will be used to purchase buy to let properties to provide an income in retirement. Obviously a lot of the buy to let properties are at the lower end of the market but hopefully it will filter upwards as people make use of the lower mortgage rates and move up the ladder. That all sounds feasible - let's hope the housing market does get a boost and that the interest rate helps as well. Not looking forward to trying to sell the place. All the best Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi AllThe TEST email is working again. backlog of 8 months now down to 6 months. currently acknowledging 143’s lodged 19th August 14. Hopefully when the backlog clears we might all hear about medicals etc. Julie Hi Julie Yes I got that test reply as well - I admire your optimism and hope you're right that immi catch up and get to us sooner rather than later. Regards Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve2 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi Steve We are also planning to go on the market but waiting until after the general election. Hopefully we'll have a better idea of timescales from IMMI by then and that the country will have settled down from the election and people should feel confident about the future. (Depending on course on who wins!) julie We're hoping that as we live by the coast that the spring will bring the buyers here and that people are looking to retire to the coast again - if we can't sell our hopes of going to Australia are over! Take care Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geordie joe Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 That all sounds feasible - let's hope the housing market does get a boost and that the interest rate helps as well.Not looking forward to trying to sell the place. All the best Steve we were the same and put our house on the market as soon as we lodged the visa application in July last year thinking it would take time, horrified but also delighted when it sold in 10 days, right person, right time and an awful lot of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geordie joe Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thank you Joe I'm already here in Sydney- came over after almost a year -spent the last 8 months on a 600 Visitor Visa & just had a lovely break in Fiji for the Grant. hi Freesia, we are looking to do the same and plan flying out in December, can I ask how much notice did your CO give you prior to the grant to allow you to move offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maisiedaisy Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hi everyone- my 143 was granted 16.2.15 from June 13- waiting time 20 months - hooray ! That's good to hear Freesia, even though we're still waiting it gives a boost knowing that things are moving on and another has made it past the goal posts - enjoy a wonderful life in Oz x Best wishes maisie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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