Folks,
I`m planning to buy family Health Insurance and would like to know:
a) Best Health Insurance in the market
b) If its the good time to buy Health Insurance or wait for better deals.
Any information will be deeply appreicated.
Thanks in advance.
It's never a good time - Its always a complete rort!
Why is it a rort?
public hospitals do the same thing
Firstly 'same thing' is probably fairly loosely applied in your response and mine.
Public hospitals are the same thing as public transport. They smell, they are slow, but they generally get you there in one piece. So if health insurance is a rort because public hospitals do the same thing, is car insurance a rort because public transport does the same thing?
@Corners:
car insurance and health insurance is like comparing apples with oranges it's completely different.
car insurance you need a car first, while purchasing said car car insurance should be something you budget for.
health insurance you need to see the value in, how healthy or unhealthy you are, how much you visit the dentist etc etc, you cant own yourself like a car.
ill you my example
i wear glasses and goto the dentist and go for a massage at my fave shopping centre massage place, I used to pay $135 a month for cover from NIB.
for $135 a month, i could have 2 60 min sessions of massage each month
or goto the dentist and just pay for it myself every 12 months
after 3 months i would have enough to pay for glasses from vision direct with a free eye check at opsm thanks to medicare.
given ill probably have one message every 3 months that equals to be $675 (7 months of private health care), however in that year ive paid $1620.
I currently am on a public waiting list for 12 months to have my Adenoids removed, this has only been a recent discovery and via private i would be paying $3500+$500 excess for the private hospital, however as its not affected my life so im happy to wait to save $4000.
TL:DR
i could pay $945 extra over a year with private healthcare or over an extra $4945 in a year if i need a non life threatening surgery which ive lived with already.
public is the way to go, because they will help you instantly in emergency, while a private hospital will ask for money instantly
Actually, I think you've assumed that you only have apples in your example. But you don't - car insurance includes apples, oranges and I am sure a few lemons. Car insurance providers often have different covers - e.g. comprehensive v third party - and extras like roadside assistance etc. Just like health insurance generally comes in different forms - e.g. hospital cover, extras, ambulance only. They aren't all the same, right?
In your example you say you pay $135 a month for cover from nib health funds. Based on their website information I am guessing that is for their standard hospital and extras cover. However you are only focusing on extras, which is kind of like only focusing on road-side assistance when talking about your car insurance. Sure, if you just saved out of pocket you'd be ahead using measures like getting cheap glasses and paying for the glasses out of pocket versus using health insurance. But you've already caught yourself out a little … you said 'or'…. you couldn't get your massage AND your glasses. But that is by the by.
Insurance is never going to be worth it if you comparing it to the cost of the services that might be protected against against the cost of insurance. But that's not the point of insurance is it? Insurances is about paying a little cost now to avoid a large unexpected cost later. In most cases you are paying 10-15% more (about what most insurers keep as a % of total premiums paid) for someone to insure you. You could always self insure or pay your own way, but there are inherent risks.
Extras make things murky because extras isn't really insurance in a traditional sense.
So sure, you can live with your adenoids for 12 months. But imagine you needed a hip replacement where the waiting list is currently about 24 months but with private health insurance can be a matter of weeks. Imagine you cannot work because of that hip? How much is it worth now? (And what on earth is the $3500 for in your example?). As a self-employed tradesman those premiums are very worth it.
None of this makes health insurance a rort. It just makes it an important financial consideration that requires you to consider your current and potential future situation.
Not exactly.
When I busted my knee, my surgeon asked if I wanted to go public or use my private insurance. I thought the same as you so I asked him the difference.
Public I would have had a 2 year waiting period
Private He did the surgery the next week.
That is 2 years where I could barely walk, could not work, but it is not deemed an emergency so on the waiting list I go.
I think private health insurance is a good thing, because it can help take the pressure off the public system, and they can do the stuff that the private system doesnt do.
Paying for a bunch of cr@p you dont need - Getting Extras just because you want something like dental, but then if you want podiatry its in another package where you have to pay more for it - so you're a 30 year old guy with Extras for a 80 year old woman…..Just annoying that its not Hospital + 4 extras of your choice. And then the premiums go up and up and up….not saying I wont be thankful for it if I ever use it….but just think they rip you off
Insurance is about covering risk. Can you afford not to have it?
With most insurance, there is no backup, so insurance is necessary. Without home insurance, your family would be without a roof over their head.
You can't afford to not have at least third party car insurance. If you can't afford to be without a car, you need comprehensive.
But Australia has medicare. You could consider it as a compulsory health insurance paid from taxes.
So the only reason for paying extra for another health insurance is if you reckon you need more than medicare provides.
We made a decision that if we aren't happy with medicare, we'll pay for private treatment. We are well ahead so far.
I hate insurance because you lose unless you claim, but you'd never want to have to claim. Some insurance is unavoidable. Health insurance is not one of them imo.
Well, I need a private insurance but currently no offers on BUPA.
Not sure how Medibank is when it comes to claims processing?
b) If you were to take out health insurance, you should do it by 31st March. This is because the yearly premium increases take effect from 1 April each year.
Wouldn't anything you sign up on just change after March?
Or is it a fixed contract for a period of time?
Yes, you will still have to pay the increased amount the following year.
When you take out health insurance you are given the choice of what instalments to pay. You can lock in the price (before increase) by paying the yearly premium before 1 April.
So "stuffed" if you choose monthly?
Like other forms of insurance, monthly instalments are normally more expensive than a full year. It shouldn't be a consideration for an OzBargainer unless they are experiencing cash flow issues :)
Join Choice and use their fund comparison tool
Only thing I've seen is when they waive waiting periods, offer x months free or some sort of sweetener. Dunno if there is a time of year they all do it… Perhaps a deal search on this site would reveal such a trend?
The only place to compare ALL the health funds is www.privatehealth.gov.au
Any of the other comparision mobs only show some of the funds which pay them commissions.
Absolutely. This is the tool to use.
Although not necessarily that user friendly.
I get it because the surcharge ends up being more than my premiums.
Edit: whoops meant to reply to the thread above
Yep, depending on your taxable income, you may be better off to get private health cover: https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-levy/Medicare-le…
Ok not sure how this works out… have a friend who has just taken out extras so she can have some dental work. There was an offer for no wait period. So she paid $27 for a fortnight and when straight to the dentist.. paid $75 for an xray and got $25 back. Then had a wisdom tooth removed and paid $600 and got $100 back. So to date has got $125 refund and only paid $27 on health insurance… how does that work out? Oh and next week she is getting glasses covered $250 for frames. Still only paid one fortnight ($27)
Yep, in the short term she's up front but in the long term the health fund will recoup it's costs.
And what happens if she cancelled after say 6 mths?
She'll probably stay up front. But the health fund doesn't care as most people stay.
a) it depends on your needs.
b) any time is a good time if you need health insurance. You can always switch to a better deal later if you find something better.