mr luvpants Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I really need to sort some health insurance and wondered if any knows a comparison site in Australia? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest33730 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Have you tried Private Health Insurance - iSelect Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Personally i wouldnt bother unless you will be earning over 100k. The treatment i recieve on the Medicare public system from my GP, Heptology specilaist and the hospital staff when i had minor surgery was second to none and other than my scripts hasnt cost a cent. Not many aussies i know have priivate health cover, the ones who do only have denistry on it. You dont need Ambo cover here either. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shusselmann Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 We used iSelect to compare what you get from different providers and then once we'd decided went to the provider direct. People here tend to tell you that Ambulance Cover is one of the most important things to get... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Hi John, we've only recently taken out insurance after 2 yrs of being here and then only for the dentist, we are with HBF and have the 'extras' cover, its only $30 a month I think for the family and that will pay for itself with clean and polish at the dentist for us both. Id also be happy with the public system for anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Joker Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 As Cal says, you may not need it if you earn less than $100K. That is because over $100K you get taxed for NOT having private medical cover and the tax works out to be the same price as basic hospital cover, so you might as well have it then rather than paying it to the government. There are many doctors who now "bulk bill" which means you don't pay anything. Emergency hospital trips are not covered by healthcover and free under the public health provisions. The "Extras" cover that you take with medical insurance to provide cover for dental, optical and some remedial therapy treatments isn't generally worth it. I say "generally" because some insurance companies seem to pay more towards these things and have fewer exclusions than others. For us, we have basic cover due to earnings being as they are. The insurance market here is so small here that they cannot operate like BUPA. You can often find that putting the equivalent of the monthly premiums into a savings account will give you better returns than the health insurance pays out. Having said that, however, it is "insurance". If you DO have an illness that requires a major operation or stay in hospital then private are generally quicker and better (although there are some cracking good public hospitals - it is a bit of a lottery depending on where you live). Costs for hospital stays can be huge so then insurance will more than pay for itself. Also, as a newly arrived immigrant, insurance companies give you a discount on the premiums as if you had been living here and paying for insurance for years. You only have a couple of years to take up on that discount otherwise the insurance will cost you more and will go up in cost each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KSMi Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I actually have the same question. Would like to know more about insurance stuff. I am currently looking at this Medibank Private - choose medibank private for health cover and travel insurance Wasn't really interested in getting insurance, but a baby's coming along the way. I would think that insurance--whatever I end up choosing--will put my mind at peace. So if you have suggestions, I'd love to know more. Thank you so much in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We used iSelect to compare what you get from different providers and then once we'd decided went to the provider direct. People here tend to tell you that Ambulance Cover is one of the most important things to get... The OP is in Queensland, ambulance cover is part of his electric bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wilkinson496 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 We thought IMAN was cheap but looks like now we are here they may not be. On a visa that needs health insurance so is there any ppl would recommend. Both on Medicare to? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JK2510 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Is ambulance cover needed in WA?? I find all this health insurance business really confusing?!?! My only concern about not having hospital cover especially as I'm a arthritis sufferer so there maybe a time when I would need to visit a rheumatologist. I was thinking of getting just the extras but OH thinks we should get the basic cover on the HIF website. I'm sooo confused about what to do for the best. Can anyone offer some advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jamie Hunter Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 We're applying for 475 visa and told we must have private health insurance. I didnt know there were other options apart from IMAN. What do you guys recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sami Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 In our case (457 visa) it´s compulsory that we get private health ins. Ambulance cover is usually included with private health, if not ask for it because it costs a couple dlrs more, otherwise if you need to call an ambulance in WA it could cost you about 800$. If you go to www. iselect.com.au and put either private or overseas health cover, single, couple or family it gives you the best option. Of course not all insurances are there...otherwise go to their sites and check prices or get quotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarvalentine Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 We're applying for 475 visa and told we must have private health insurance. I didnt know there were other options apart from IMAN.What do you guys recommend? I'm for a 475 too, and I take what Cerberus1 posted a while ago for granted : << Overseas Visitors Health Cover in Australia for people from overseas Visitors Health Cover & Health Insurance for Overseas Visitors - HBA Health Insurance Overseas visitors health insurance options for Australia Health Insurance | Overseas Cover | Comprehensive Overseas Visitors Cover | HBF | HBF Affordable overseas visitors health insurance cover | HIF | Health Insurance Fund of Australia Manchester Unity Health Benefits Fund Medibank Private - choose medibank private for health cover and travel insurance All the above links meet the minimum level of insurance as set out by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). >> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderingaloud Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 On the 457 enrolling with Medicare is sufficient to meet visa condition 8501, because of the reciprocal health care agreement between the uk and oz. :biggrin: Only problem is that you can't enrol with Medicare until you are in the country, and given that it can take 2-4 weeks to get Medicare cards, you need to have private cover for that initial first month or so in oz. :arghh: We have gone with iman for the first month but fully intend to cancel it once we enrol with Medicare. As we are going to Brisbane, ambulance cover is free for all residents (even if you are visiting another state) as you pay a levy out of your electric and I think water bill. If it wasn't I would consider having private health cover for this reason, otherwise I'm not too sure there is much point unless you have some medical conditions requiring regular treatment that weren't covered under Medicare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JK2510 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 They give you paper slips with a Medicare number on that lasts 31 days that covers you whilst your waiting for the cards. Our Medicare cards took almost 4 weeks to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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