Travel Insurance v Medi care

[Guest]

Dear All,

I am in a bit of a confused state and need some advise of what to do in following situation :

My Husband, myself and three year old toddler will be going to Australia for 3 months from September 2015. We are Permanent Resident holders. My query arises on whether it will be necessary to take Travel insurance out for the three months as we will be entitled to apply for Medicare the moment we get to Australia. Therefore, will travel insurance be necessary for the full three months?

Would it be best to take travel insurance for first 3 days of our leaving and then last 3 days of being due to return as that will cover baggage's etc. So 6 days as opposed to 3 months?

Also would anyone know whether it is necessary to ensure our medical Aid is paid up for the three months as wouldn't Travel insurance cover any medical issues (presuming that it is necessary to take travel insurance? See my Hubby's company gave him unpaid leave and they will not pay his medical aid for the three months as a result and therefore we have to decide if paying the medical up ourselves will be necessary?

Lastly, can anyone recommend any reliable people to contact at either Cash cows, exchange4free or FX capital and which do you think will be the best company to use to transfer money to oz.

Thank you for all the information in advance guys really appreciate it.

Kind regards

[RedPanda]

Hi emma.yenkanna,

I can just tell you that the Medicare people will only put you on their system if you filled in on the little card on the airplane that you are immigrating. (It goes onto their system when you go through customs/passport control and they capture the data). We tried to register on our activation trip but they very kindly told us that we cannot do that, until we actually immigrate. So we were accidentally there without any kind of medical insurance, not the best thing to find out after you're there already, but nothing much we could do.

If you are going to be there for 3 months but then coming back and only immigrating at a later stage, then you should keep in mind that when it comes to taking things over in a container, they only allow you to do that tax-free for 12 months after your immigration date.

But we also found the Medicare things rather confusing.

[AFreshStart]

Emma.Yenkanna,

What Red Panda said, you aren't immigrants yet. I've been an Australian Citizen Since birth, but lived in South Africa my whole life, even as a Citizen I needed to be present in Australia to register for Medicare. You'll need to take out travel insurance.

Also be aware Medicare doesn't cover everything, many if not most have some form of private cover that runs along side it covering things Medicare won't, or at least to expedite things like dental, optometry and even things like ambulance cover.

Case in point, my brother was stung by a stingray, hospital patched him up, but didn't stop him get an $850 bill for the short ambulance ride to hospital.

Just be aware that Medicare isn't the answer to all your medical woes, though that said it's great, just be aware of where the shortfalls might be.

Cheers

Matt

[Mara]

Let me try and take some confusion out of ambulance service.

Ambulance service: is not a free service, AT ALL in some states! You either have to join the ambulance service and pay an annual fee, or you have to have private medical, and double check that they include ambulance services. Then you also have to check with private medical how many NON URGENT ambulance trips a year they will cover you for. I am with HCF and they only offer 5 trips. An example of non urgent is a transfer from a hospital to rehabilitation, or to another hospital, this was the explanation given to me. $82-50 per annum for a family in Victoria. Hopefully those in other states will say what they pay. I think Queensland is free.

[AFreshStart]

Thanks Mara,

Yes, I was trying to go beyond just the ambulance cover, which is why I mentioned dentistry and optical.

My concern is I think newcomers might think that Medicare is a golden ticket to their medical woes, but Medicare is not a one size fits all and doesn't cover several things including, but not limited to.

private patient hospital costs (for example, theatre fees or accommodation),

medical and hospital costs incurred overseas,

medical and hospital services which are not clinically necessary, or surgery solely for cosmetic reasons,

examinations for life insurance, superannuation or memberships for which someone else is responsible (for example, a compensation insurer, employer or government authority),

ambulance services;

most dental examinations and treatment,

most physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry or psychology services,

acupuncture (unless part of a doctor's consultation),

glasses and contact lenses,

hearing aids and other appliances.

home nursing.

Which is why many people, like you and I, have additional cover through a third party, private medical insurer.

Cheers

Matt

Edited August 17, 2015 by AFreshStart

[Nev]

Yep, also to add, if you have a non life threatening condition, like a stuffed hip from an accident and need a replacement to get you out of a wheelchair, you could be on the waiting list for up to years, if you have private hospital cover that covers that you are sorted and will get it done asap.

I think everyone needs at least a medium hospital plan with no extras, bupa seems to be the best value for money at the moment

[Guest]

Thank you guys for clearing this up for me. Will definitely be taking out Travel Insurance then. Appreciate all the feedback :-)

[SandraDee]

It must be cheaper to continue your medical aid in South Africa and pay it yourself for the three months. Let your medical aid company know you are travelling and they should still cover you while abroad for that period. Added free travel insurance through your credit card company when buying your tickets and you should be more than covered?

[Magenta]

When I first moved to Oz, I didn't realize that Medicare didn't cover everything. Then I thought that private medical aid was similar to SA and covered Dr visits but the private medical only covers what Medicare doesn't .... Depending on the cover you take out with the private medical company. It is quite a different system to SA, so can be confusing at the beginning.

With regards to travel insurance - they will not cover you for a few days at the beginning of a trip and a few days at the end. You have to take out cover for the entire trip. You also need to be in SA when you take out the cover. You cannot arrive in Oz and then decide that you need cover. Travel insurance does not only cover medical stuff, there are other benefits, like say you hurt your back and cannot travel, you get curtailment cover. Also check to see how much your medical aid would cover you for when overseas and then convert it to Ozzie dollars. FNB credit cards give some of the best free travel insurance out there (if paying for all your tickets on credit card).