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

[Ruby]

My major beef with the private health system is that although you can have the highest family cover paying 4K per year for hospital and extras, you will still be out of pocket in most cases. Just doesn’t seem right……..

I’ve found it a more sensible option for us, to place those premiums in a high interest ING account for medical use only. It doesn’t take long for it to build up into a considerable amount…….plus that money isn’t lost if you aren’t sick and you earn interest on it!!

We have a public system for those serious and emergency scenarios that is more than adequate and for those not so urgent conditions my own medical account is what gives me that peace of mind and SANF.

I’m not anti insurance, we all have trauma insurance……..even my 9 year old is covered under mine, plus income protection etc. I just find that gives us more options, better coverage and we are better off financially. I’m not concerned about paying the extra levy. Some people like to pay $1 to save 50c in tax, some don’t. Some like to pay health insurance so they don’t have to pay the extra levy. That’s just not me!

Then its all about your choices……..no way is going to be ideal for everyone.


Ruby

 

[MarkB]

We self insure (though we are in NZ).

M

 

[bort]

i am shocked by the number of people on the forum who dont have private health insurance!

if you earn over 50k taxable income and are single (as the poll questions) that means you are paying a minimum of $500 in the medicare surcharge (1% of taxable income)

I think my health insurance costs me about $570 per annum ... so that means if my taxable income was 50,001 it would cost me $70 for the year of health insurance.

given my taxable income is over 57000, its actually cheaper me to have insurance than not .... so i would be crazy not to have it ... or just a poor judge of opportunity cost...

 

[Twitch]

It's cheaper for me to have private insurance for the family than not have it. We don't have extras though, complete ripoff IMHO and unnecessary to insure against.

 

[sunshine]

We do have private cover. Hospital ONLY.

Changed to this about 4 years ago started costing under $400 pa. We got the largest excess, about $200 per night maximum 8 nights. This year it had increased to just over $600 pa, but now we live in Qld it has changed to just under $800 pa. Haven't checked out why it is more expensive in Qld yet.

We decided it wasn't worth paying an extra $2k for dental and optical. It still cost us a fortune on top. But the hospital only is just fantastic.

If you are in an accident, there is no excess to pay.

Last year hubby had elective surgery and it cost the health fund $9000 cost us $600 for the 3 night stay.

The year before I had elective surgery, chose to go private in a public hospital (got own room etc etc and own surgeon) cost the health fund $5000 my cost was nil.

All up we are way in front with only a small outlay, and not having to pay any medicare excess etc.

I have a couple of friends who said they also couldn't afford the 2k pa for health insurance, but I told then what we did and they said they didn't know this could be done. Maybe its by not looking hard enough or not asking the right questions. We are with HCF by the way, and now so are they.

Sunshine

 

[Peter 14.7]

I'm in the not having group. I looked at it when it became an option and decided to self insure. Luckily, so far, all I have had is a major cancer scare and that was immediate public hospital and my taxes paid it.

I still wouldn't take out any cover. If it is elective I'll pay, otherwise I'll be in Emergency.

I agree but each year our income is over $100k combined so we paid the bloody surcharge which was almost the same as the cover.

In the end we gave in, which the surcharge is there to do.

If I could show income as under $100k family then I would consider opting out but with a toddler daughter that may change the arguement ( ie.e. teeth, glasses, etc...)

Peter

 

[GreatPig]

We also have private cover because it's cheaper than the MLS. Up until recently, we only ever had the cheapest compliant policy we could find (what I call the tax avoidance policy ). However, my wife kept pushing to get extras cover, since we both have contact lenses & glasses, and so last year we changed.

However, it turned out to be a bit of a scam. Despite the booklet saying you could claim up to $X for this and $Y for that, just about every time she tried to claim something she was told no, that's only if you blah blah blah. This year we've moved to another fund with similar cover and have yet to see how they are for that. So far we've claimed some physio visits without problem, but haven't tried claiming under the extras cover yet. I have some minor surgery coming up soon which will be done in a private hospital, so it will be interesting to see what we can get back. I'm told the surgeon is very good, which means he'll almost certainly charge well above the schedule fee. I'd get it done in a private hospital even if we didn't have private cover though, just because of the delays in the public system and I don't want to wait.

Cheers,
GP

 

[flatout]

We don't have private health insurance. Used to but quite frankly we got sick of paying out for something we rarely used. The real killer for us was when we did use it, we got stuck with the GAP so we still paid out. We made the decision to self insure. Since then we've had two children, one of whom has wracked up 6 operations and is soon to have another. He also had a stint in neo-natal intensive care unit as a newborn. This would have cost us an absolute fortune in GAP had we been privately insured. As a public patient, it cost nothing. A few months later my husband suffered a major back injury which required surgery and lots of pre and post-operative treatment. We self-funded this in private hospital so that he wouldn't have to wait for up to 6 months for the op in the public system (and hence at least 6 months more off work and without income). Even paying out semi-regularly for new glasses, dental and physio we are still in front by self insuring. Of course, we are in the position of being able to fund these things if needed. If we were living week-to-week with little or no savings we'd probably be inclined to try to find the insurance money monthly just for peace of mind.

Flatout

 

[Lucyinthesky]

Hi Flatout,

Interested in how you self-insure? Do you put a certain amount of money aside in a high yielding account? I am tossing up whether to stay in private health fund or save and pay. Every time my partner or I have had to see a specialist, the first question asked when we have made appointments is are we in private health. Do they take preference to privately insured patients? Just wondering how it all works really.

Lucy

 

[Rebecca V1.0]

I'm a 25 year old DINK in good health so wouldn't waste my money on top notch cover.
When a payrise tipped my income over the $50k mark I looked into this just as the OP is. I decided to take the NIB basic saver.
I know that I'll get nothing out of it in terms of hospital cover because I'd be better off staying public and avoiding those gap charges but the real reason that made me pay up was the dental.
Previously I'd avoided checkups for several years saying "I haven't got the cash this week...etc" and other excuses. Now I get a 6 monthly check up for free so I don't have an excuse. In fact I want to get my moneys worth so I book straight in when the reminder comes
Hopefully I'll still have some teeth left when I'm 62 now!

 

[yo yo ma]

Can anyone tell me what the government intends to charge you if you don't have private health insurance? I've been out of the country for several years and have no idea what this is about, any info would be great.
I've been living in the States for 2 years and all I can say is their health care system is a joke. We really don't want ours going down the way of privatization believe me! The insurance companies run the country here and keep its citizens broke and a slave to their premiums.

There is an additional 1% charge on top of the standard 1.5% medicare levy for singles earning over $50K or couples/ families earning over $100K. There is $1,500 per child added (after the first), so a family with 3 children will need to earn over $103K before paying the surcharge. You can read more about it here
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/w...nt/health-privatehealth-consumers-medlevy.htm
Steve

 

[Peter Parker]

I'm a 25 year old DINK in good health so wouldn't waste my money on top notch cover.
When a payrise tipped my income over the $50k mark I looked into this just as the OP is. I decided to take the NIB basic saver.

I looked into this and NIB appeared to offer best value (premium just over $500, so even with a $51k annual income you'd be ahead).

However there may be issues if you do this just before the end of the financial year (accountants here may wish to confirm).

My worry is that if you do it before the end of June, you might still have to wait well over a year for the 30% rebate and/or being able to avoid the 1% surcharge.

This is because even though you provide your credit card number at the time you sign up online the amount is not debited from your card until the following month (mid-July). This puts the payment into the next financial year (2007-8 instead of 2006-7).

I could not find an option of 'pay immediately' to beat the June 30 deadline and get the benefit for this financial year.

So if you're doing it purely for tax reasons, it might be better to invest the $500 elsewhere and pay cover in 11 months time so you can still claim it in the 2007-8 financial year.

Fortunately they offer a 30 day cooling off period, so that if people sign up in late June on the understanding that they will receive a tax benefit this financial year but this turns out not to be the case, they can change their mind.

Peter

 

[BoatBoy]

I had an oportunity recently to check out the public health system.

Saw my doc and needed an op [2 actualy] and a few week's later went and saw the surgeon in PA hospital saying they'd see me in a few month's.

On the way home I had a call saying to come in the next day.

Looked after me well, even had a private room for a few day's with city view's, closest thing to a holiday i've had in year's.

When I recovered from that one a few week's later, they got me back in again for a consult, and again that arvo got the call to come in the next day for a repeat of the above service.

In Comparison, My mother work's for MBF and has for 20 year's and has very expensive cover.

She had to go in for an op at a similar time in private hospital and was treated very shabily indeed and was less than impressed with the lack of service and care from the staff.

All I had to complain about, and I was annoyed at the time, was getting green jelly instead of red jelly.

I like red jelly, I think. I have'nt had it since I was a kid.

Bloss does'nt do jelly.

So no, no private here for Bloss or myself.

BB

 

[bort]

My worry is that if you do it before the end of June, you might still have to wait well over a year for the 30% rebate and/or being able to avoid the 1% surcharge.


So if you're doing it purely for tax reasons, it might be better to invest the $500 elsewhere and pay cover in 11 months time so you can still claim it in the 2007-8 financial year.


Peter

erm, i'm pretty sure it goes by days covered for the surcharge .. so if you became a fund member by paying on 30 June, you would still pay the surcharge for 364 days out of 365.

most health funds take the 30% rebate straight off the top of the premium, so there is no waiting for a deduction there at all.

 

[Tizzy]

Have had the whole family insured on highest tables available for 23 years.

Medibank has done well out of us over the years but no way I'd risk not having the insurance.

 

[Mike F]

erm, i'm pretty sure it goes by days covered for the surcharge .. so if you became a fund member by paying on 30 June, you would still pay the surcharge for 364 days out of 365.

most health funds take the 30% rebate straight off the top of the premium, so there is no waiting for a deduction there at all.

yep, thats the case. I know as one year I changed cover and as the new cover started a few days after the old one finished, I had to pay the levy surcharge for 4 days or something (was only a couple of dollars i think)

 

[yo yo ma]

Looked after me well, even had a private room for a few day's with city view's, closest thing to a holiday i've had in year's.

When I recovered from that one a few week's later, they got me back in again for a consult, and again that arvo got the call to come in the next day for a repeat of the above service.

In Comparison, My mother work's for MBF and has for 20 year's and has very expensive cover.

She had to go in for an op at a similar time in private hospital and was treated very shabily indeed and was less than impressed with the lack of service and care from the staff.

I think this is like everything in life, you are going to have a variety of experiences. I work in both public & private hospitals (as an RN) so you may get me looking after you whereever you are. I have looked after patients in Emergency one day & on the ward at a private hospital the next. I am sure I wasn't looking after your wife's mum though BB!

It depends on what your injury/ condition is & the level of private cover you have. It also depends on which doctor is treating you & what the hospitals are like in your area.

For example, if you are having a heart attack, you are best going to a major public metropolitan hospital & it is best during business hours! It is then that the hospital is fully staffed & people don't need to be called in. The best treatment is to get to the catheter lab ASAP to have an angiogram +/- angioplasty & stent. There are other treatments available but this is the "gold standard".

I will give you an example of when it is good to have private cover. A man falls over (tripping on the hose) as he is washing his car at 9am. He shatters his kneecap into pieces. He does not have private cover. After being stabilised in emergency, he is transferred to the ward at 2pm to await surgery to wire the knee. He has to rest in bed & is nil by mouth (NBM). The orthopaedic team are very busy with multiple other emergencies & the operation is postponed at 8pm. He is NBM from midnight for surgery the next day. This continues on & four days later he is operated on. The knee gets infected & months later I see him coming to hospital again, still on crutches for more surgery... If he had private cover, he probably would have got treatment the day it happened.

Is public or private better? There are numerous examples where it may be better for public or private but each depend on the circumstances of the individual or & the hospitals. It depends on what you can afford & what feels right for your SANF.

Personally I am with private because I do not want to share a room with up to 6 others
Steve

 

[yo yo ma]

yep, thats the case. I know as one year I changed cover and as the new cover started a few days after the old one finished, I had to pay the levy surcharge for 4 days or something (was only a couple of dollars i think)

This is correct
http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/34462.htm&page=2&H2
Steve

 

[fisherman]

Our family is in good health (touch wood) but we have had private health insurance with top extras for years. I do not expect to make a profit from health insurance nor go anywhere near breaking even. We have the insurance to avoid waiting periods and to make a choice of specialist if needed.

The public hospital system is under a lot of pressure and politicians and bureaucrats are slow to improve things. One has to wonder too when the lack of health spending in the public health system and increased revenue collection are used as evidence of growing 'efficiency'. There is also the doctor shortage and there will always be cutting of corners to make do with what is available or can be procured cheaply.

I am not criticising the thousands of dedicated professionals and others working in the public health system and I must say there are entrepreneurs in the private system whose management might not withstand close scrutiny.

But who knows? In recent years an otherwise healthy parent with loads of private cover had a bowel re-section done by a world class surgeon and team, but died from complications within 24 hours of discharge. Problem found by autopsy (perfromed in a public hospital) was he had a simple fold in the bowel and the lack of bowel movements had not been picked up prior to discharge. Hence the heart attack from lack of salts in his bloodstream. The original 'oversight' resulting in eventual death occurred in a modern metropolitan private hospital, and the management of nursing staff was a contributor: casual, shifted often, overworked, too many admin functions.

So in hindsight $$$ spent on private everything cannot always be relied upon to produce a healthy outcome.

 

[Watermelon Man]

Our family is in good health (touch wood) but we have had private health insurance with top extras for years. I do not expect to make a profit from health insurance nor go anywhere near breaking even. We have the insurance to avoid waiting periods and to make a choice of specialist if needed.

Thanks everyone for sharing. I ended up settling for NIB - $800p.a. premium with extras. Even got a bonus $100 voucher as well. Good value compared to a lot of others.