Who Has Private Health Cover For Those Earning Over $50,000 For Singles?

[yadreamin]

I live in WA and a major health insurer here is HBF.
We have health cover with another company and l have just found out that you can not have full ambulance cover here in the west if you do not have HBF health cover. In particular hospital to hospital ambulance cover. HBF appear to own the ambulance service here. I think is very wrong and completley removes freedom of health cover choice in WA.
Check your policy before you get caught out with a very large unclaimable account.
cheers yadreamin

 

[dave99]

For all those that are self-insured - are you paying the 1% surcharge? If so, does the decision still make sense given that you must save the premiums AND pay the surcharge (effectively double paying)?

-dave99

 

[sailor]

I live in WA and a major health insurer here is HBF.
We have health cover with another company and l have just found out that you can not have full ambulance cover here in the west if you do not have HBF health cover. In particular hospital to hospital ambulance cover. HBF appear to own the ambulance service here. I think is very wrong and completley removes freedom of health cover choice in WA.
Check your policy before you get caught out with a very large unclaimable account.
cheers yadreamin

Here in Cairns, they put your compulsory Ambulance cover onto your electricity bill. So that's:
x 2 for the commercial units I own where I run my business and elect a/c is in my Coy's name.
x 1 for my PPOR, elect a/c in personal name.
x 1 for the reno IP (not yet tenanted), elect a/c in trust's name.

Where's the choice in paying 4 lots of compulsory ambo cover for one single person?

 

[BoatBoy]

Here in Cairns, they put your compulsory Ambulance cover onto your electricity bill. So that's:
x 2 for the commercial units I own where I run my business and elect a/c is in my Coy's name.
x 1 for my PPOR, elect a/c in personal name.
x 1 for the reno IP (not yet tenanted), elect a/c in trust's name.

Where's the choice in paying 4 lots of compulsory ambo cover for one single person?

We've got 8 lot's of Ambo cover, but gotta feel sorry for Jan Somer's,.......................well not really.

BB

 

[wylie]

Hi BB.

Do you pay 8 electricity bills? Don't your tenants pay their electricity bill?

Curious....

Wylie

 

[BoatBoy]

Hi BB.

Do you pay 8 electricity bills? Don't your tenants pay their electricity bill?

Curious....

Wylie

Geez mate, I can be a goose at times.

But we did get stung once on building/moving 4ip at once +ppor.

Don't mind me, I'm getting a rum.

BB

 

[pulse]

Interesting thread this..

I've got private cover but only to avoid the surcharge really. The problem with private is that the product is crap. The government and funds tell you how good it is but the reality is that it stinks...

Problems:
1. Private cover is good for elective surgery but bad if you are really ill or in an emergency

reasons: most small private hospitals don't have overnight doctors, they don't have theatres available 24/7 and they really just run 9-5. Orgainising a threatre case to transfer urgently to the private is a real logistical nightmare. Most private also don't have ICUs or emergency departments either.

2. GAPS - gaps come about because of funds underfunding. There is no other explanation.

reasons: The schedule fees for procedures are outdated and increase at below CPI rates. For example a knee arthroscopy (simple <30min low risk procedure) pays more than a collarbone plating (complex, risky, 90min + procedure) This is because arthroscopy was new and difficult when it was started. The funds then introduced no gap insurance. They agreed to pay maybe 150% of the schedule if you charge no gap but charge a $1 gap and they only pay 85%. Therefore if the surgeon charges $1500, you pay nothing but if they need to increase the fee to $1550 to keep pace with inflation then you pay $700 gap. (now only $850 is paid by the fund)
This unethical behaviour is used to punish the patient which puts moral pressure on the surgeon to comply with the fund's suggested fee.

Just a couple of thoughts
Pulse