Health Insurance

[V8]

Hi everyone

I am looking into getting health insurance mainly so i can be covered for my next pregnancy. Does anyone who have it think that it is of any beneift. I had it before and it was a bit of a waste of money really, but have now got a family to think of so was thinking about getting it again.

Also, if you do have it, who do you think provide good cover at a good rate??

Cheers!

[bigglet]

Re - pregnancy - I think it's good only if you want to be covered as a private patient and prefer a personal OB overlooking your pregnancy.

I think it's also piece of mind having the extra coverage when it comes to kids - ie. dental, optical, etc.
I know I'm going to use these services in the future with my children so I may as well get it anyway.

I think it depends on your personal situation and family lifestyle. If you think you are going to use half the services then it would be good - the public system can be a bit annoying but it's free. But the other services like dental aren't covered under the public system (or if it is the waiting list is LONG) so I rather have the insurance.
Also if my child got sick and needed to go into hospital etc at least I know that I will be covered to a certain extent. (peace of mind).

Since each family has different needs and has different situations it is best to choose the right cover that suits you personally. Go to www.iselect.com.au and they help you find the right one that will be most appropriate to your needs.

[WeloveHarriet]

I think it comes down to whether you want to be covered by an OB / be a private patient or if you are happy to use shared care / midwives. I have an incompetent cervix which means that it is much better for me to go through an OB - I receive much higher standards of care then if I were to go via a midwife (ie I need surgery with every pregnancy before 14wks to have a suture - with public patients they have a wait and see system, if you need the suture they wait to see if you start to dilate. In my eyes this isn't an option as it is too easy to lose a baby). I also love that I get a private room in a private hospital. My sister on the other hand has relatively easy pregnancies and is happy with the public health system. You can shop around for medical coverage using www.iselect.com.au. I personally am with Medibank Private because my employer has a special deal with them.

[Foxy]

I agree with the other comments about a private OB etc.

The other reason I have it is because the public hospital where I live is USELESS, and too busy treating junkies to attend to sick people (Gold Coast hospital). I dread a time if DS needed to go to hospital and had to wait hours and hours for treatment, but with insurance I know I can take him to a couple of excellent private hospitals here and I know he will receive immediate and excellent care. My DH hurt his knee playing sport at night earlier this year, so he could go straight into private hospital, see a Dr straight away, have Xrays straight away etc and not have to wait 6+ hours to be even assessed because it was not an "emergency".

If you have a good public system near you, then I think it comes down to whether you have the spare $, but if like me, your hospital is bad, then I don't think you can afford not to have it.

[Minke]

I like it for piece of mind. (and the private room :laughing: )

For an example two of my friends were diagnosed with abnormal cells on their cervix, (grade 2 cells i think, one was bordering 3). Anyway the one with private went into hospital a week later, the friend in the public system waited 10 months.

There are a lot of stories out there like this, but whether it is worth it? Depends on whether you need it :rolleyes:. Having kids i like knowing that if they needed something done it will happen straight away.

And i need glasses, so every year i get a new pair, and DH and I have spent about $4000 at the dentist in the last 6 years, with about 65 - 70% of that covered, and we have already been told DD will need braces. So yeah, for us it's worth it.

[Lollie86]

I'm with HBA and cannot fault them what so ever (especially having worked at the company for 2 yrs)

Its a good idea if you are wanting to choose your own Ob and if the public hosps around you arent very good. :no:

Just keep in mind that private health insurance wont cover you for out of pocket costs, so anything that isnt done in hosp as a patient.

iselect only has companies that pay them to advertise, so if you are wanting to compare more companies, i would suggest going on google and typing in health insurance....There are over 40 health insurance companies in australia. :confused:

Make sure you have a look at things like restricted services (cataract surgery, hip/knee replacements for eg) and also the excess....

The higher the excess is, the less you will be paying per month! :thumbsup:


Good luck with your search.

[bootiful]

As far as I know private health insurance only gives you choices if they are available.

Eg: Private room - you have to share if their isnt one available, private or not.

It really depends on how much you want to pay, what level of cover you want and what ancillary package you want.

I do have private insurance with orthodontic but I went through my whole pregnancy on Medicare and had no problems, and my daughter was born 31w 5d and spend 1 month in the SCU.

Get some quotes...and sit down and compare them. If usure pick the best one and you usually have a 14-30day cooling off period.

Good Luck !

[V8]

Thanks so much, i think it's a little out of our price range, and even for the peace of mind, we can't afford another $200 a month out of our budget.

Thanks for your help though ladies, i'm sure when we get closer to 30, i'll have another look into it.

Cheers!