I am on Medibank 70 basic plan and received a flyer that I will now get 100% back on dental check up (excluding x-ray) even if I reach annual limit of $750.
I pay $33.3 per month so I am going to get pretty much whole amount back. Optical yearly benefit of $200 is additional( good for free sunnies). I think it`s very good deal!
Two months waiting period apply if you are new.
We get 100% back on two checkups and cleans per year.
for all your teeth?
Yes, both of them !!!
$33.3 a month…is that even possible?
Only 100% back for one check-up per year with their specified dentists and then 70% back for any subsequent ones as shown in the PDS. (2 month minimum waiting period since cover starts for everything bar Surgery)
I am on the old plan, before it went private, and still get two free dental checkups per year. I was told by my dentist that Medibank no longer offers that plan, now just 1 free yearly dental check.
If you're talking about 100% back on one checkups and clean. There're cheaper option, GMHBA Bronze Extras ~$20/month
Here is the link to the GMHB Bronze Extras factsheet
Clinicians are more likely to provide honest and objective treatment options when they can set their fees based on $:effort/complexity/liability.
When clinician fees are completely dictated by a third party, the treatment option will be narrowed down to what gives the best $:effort/complexity/liability.
Preferred provider fees are strictly dictated by the insurance company.
Food for thought.
Fyi nib also offers similar service. I go get a check and cleanup 3 times a year.
Some dentist want to X-Ray(Medibank NOT cover X-Ray), so I get charged, just for cleaning….WTF????
same deal as "extended warranties" lel
People still looking for discounts in health care will always regret it in future. Shopping for a dentist always ends up with inconsistent treatment and patchy work. Trust me, I'm a dentist :) Stick to your dentist - whoever it is.
Isn't that like saying: You'll regret shopping around for the best deals on phones/cameras/consumer goods because you will get scammed!
Healthcare providers are like mechanics, plumbers etc, if you just stick with the first one you found or your local, its probably not the best one out there, nor the most cost effective.
Buying a consumer product is different to personal health care. If you are unhappy with your dentist then by all means - go for another. Looking for a health practitioner you are comfortable with is very important. There are bad apples everywhere. I just don't think it should ever be dictated solely by price.
If you look for a bargain when looking after your own well-being then you might not always get the best product. Bargain doctors or dentists are not the same as bargain products because not every dentist or doctor is the same, whereas if you're looking at the same product in several places with different prices then it's a no-brainer to go for the cheaper price.
Making a "bargain" choice when it comes to your own body and regretting it later isn't as easy as just dismissing it a bad purchase :)
You would think that medical practitioners, who call themselves doctors, would not act like that.
But they do and worse, I have a dentist in the family, they are absolutely scathing of some dentists.
I would be wary just about sterilization practices.
@SamR:
If a doctor or dentist cost more than another and they are still busy then I can assure you there is a reason why people keep going back to them. You health is your wealth.
HIF has a pretty good extras policy that includes major dental. Their special options policy offers really generous benefits compared to the other major health funds at a monthly cost of $34.55 and they pay the same generous amount regardless of which healthcare provider you choose.
You also get 100% back on dental checkup and clean, plus 100% back on many other services. They're annual limits are also higher for dental than the other major health funds.
Have been happily with HIF for the past 3 years now.
http://www.hif.com.au/health-insurance/extras-cover/dental-b…
Seriously what plan is this $30+/mth? I am paying basic but $40/fortnight!
Going to a private health insurance owned or contracted practice can be fraught with problems. The companies only care about the bottom line, the guy at the top only sees the numbers. I have a friend who works at an HCF clinic who had an ethical conundrum thrusted upon him. The guy at the top who has never seen the patient in question, ordered him to bring the said patient back for a filling. His clinical judgement deemed this as unnecessary treatment but he was forced to at least seem like he was following orders. Having the patient back in the chair, he could not bring himself to drill into a young person's tooth that he did not believe required a filling. Luckily his supervisor agreed. He convinced the patient to not go ahead with it. The pressure is immense, as now it's the supervisor who will have his superiors bear down upon him. You can imagine there are supervisors who would be much weaker and pass the pressure onto the junior dentists. Suffice it to say, someone ehtical like my friend won't be staying with a PHI clinic much longer. A dentist earning a comfortable fee consummate with his skill is under no pressure to push unnecessary treatment.
Searching for identical or functionally identical goods for the cheapest price is great. However, all health practitioners do not provide the same quality of treatment. I believe there must be a balance of quality and cost. Having cheap but poor quality treatment will just be more costly in the long-term. A good quality filling will last a lot longer than a cheaper filling which may need replacing after a couple of years or worse yet cause more costly problems in the future.
Personally, I love bargains and I don't feel right spending money on something like an iPhone but I feel good when paying for my health. I've suffered from eczema and allergies my whole life. My parents always took me to bulk-billing GPs. Long waits, quick visits, and prescriptions were all that I knew. Apparently antibiotics cures everything! I digress, all the GPs just gave me strong steroids (without any warnings of side-effects) and basically said there was nothing we could do. As I uni student, I was frivolous with money and went to a non-bulk billing GP. My eyes were open, this doctor seemed to take interest in my problems and try to find a solution that didn't always involve strong medications. I once went to a bulk-billing GP with itchy dry eyes and was given antibiotic eye drops and my regular GP was taken aback, it was over the top prescribing.Long story short (or long), I finally have my allergies and eczema under control for the first time in my life. Sure these GPs and specialists are out to make good money but then again they are worth it because of their skill.
Dentistry is a high cost business and dentists make good money. The ones who are contracted to PHI have a cap on how much they are allowed to charge. Either they accept a pay cut or they cut corners. Which do you think happens? Likely both!
Basically choosing a health practitioner is not like buying Smoth's chips instead of Smith's chips.
I apologise for the long post.
EDIT: Not saying high price = good treatment either. You can get poor treatment that's expensive but more likely cheap treatment = poor quality.
Isnt it just 100% back on one check up per year?