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Private Health
Insurance:
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value-for-money in private health insurance? Compare
private health
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Private Health Insurance is
insurance provided under a contract of insurance that was
entered into by a private health insurer (within the meaning
of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 ) in the course of
carrying on health insurance business (within the meaning of
Division 121 of that Act).
Lifetime health cover
In 2000 the Federal Government
introduced lifetime private health cover, which effectively
penalises those who do not take out private health cover
until after the age of 30. For every year you are over 30
(up to the age of 65) when you first take out health cover,
you will be charged a 2 per cent loading on the basic
premium. The loading remains for life. So if you are 40, you
will be charged 20 per cent more each year than a
40-year-old who took out their private health insurance
policy before they turned 30. But this doesn't mean it's
prohibitive to take out private health insurance cover at a
later date. It is possible that what you save in premiums
now may more than compensate for higher premiums later on.
Benefits of private health insurance
Access to a private hospital which might be more
luxurious than a public hospital.
Greater choice of doctor than you would get in the
public system.
Possibly a shorter wait for some forms of elective
(non-urgent) surgery.
Choice of hospital
While in effect this is a choice open to private
health patients, if you are seeing a particular
specialist, your choice of hospital will come down to
where the doctor operates. This however may mean you
have a choice between two or three hospitals.
Choice of doctor
Private health insurance means you have a right to
choose your own doctor. In the case of specialist
procedures, your GP has a range of specialists he or she
can allow you to choose between. If you are admitted to
a hospital for emergency surgery, however, there may be
insufficient time to call the doctor of your choice.
Elective surgery
If you are to undergo elective rather than emergency
surgery and are planning to go through the public
hospital system, you may have to wait months or even
years. Private health insurance generally means you can
have the elective surgery within weeks. And you may be
able to have the surgery at a time and place convenient
to you.
Other non-Medicare benefits
Hospital expenses (theatre fees or accommodation) in
a private hospital.
Some or all of the medical costs Medicare does not
cover (if you have the appropriate ancillary/extras
cover).
Dental treatment.
Ambulance.
Chiropractic treatment.
Home nursing.
Podiatry.
Physiotherapy, occupational, speech and eye therapy.
Glasses and contact lenses.
Prostheses (Medicare covers all surgically implanted
prostheses).
Medical and hospital expenses incurred overseas.
Other ancillary services.
Note that with private ancillary/extras cover, part
of the cost of the above procedures are paid as benefits
and annual limits generally apply.
30 per cent Government
rebate
The Federal Government has
introduced a 30% rebate on private health insurance to help
you and your family meet the cost of private health cover.
The rebate means if you pay a $1000 premium on private
health insurance, you will receive $300 back from the
Federal Government.
There are three ways you
can claim your rebate:
You can register under the
premium reduction scheme for any financial year by applying
to your health fund. Print and complete this registration
form and lodge it with your health fund to receive the
Federal Government's 30% Rebate as a reduced premium.
You can receive the whole
rebate as a one-off annual payment or, if you pay monthly or
fortnightly, you can claim cash or cheque over the counter.
Claim forms are available from Medicare offices.
You can claim the health
insurance rebate at the end of the financial year in your
individual income tax return. The rebate is also available
as a refundable tax offset. This means that you will receive
your full entitlement to the rebate even if you do not have
to pay tax.
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