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Medicare and private health cover


OubaasDik

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Hi all,

 

Just a heads-up for all of you who think that taking no private health cover or just the absolute minimum will be fine.

 

My neighbour is a tradie (glazier) and messed his back up (actually far upper back).

 

He was in agony with pinched nerves. He has already had a previous fusion and this time he messed up the prior op.

 

Anyway it's all complicated and he isn't exactly sophisticated and I'm not medically literate.

 

So he needed a couple of vertebrae fused and was sent to see a surgeon.

 

His options were 

  1. Public (medicare) - advantages - free     -  disadvantages - 11 month waiting list   and it's a sole owner/worker business
  2. Private  (medibank with the absolute minimum cover)   - immediate, but he has to pay about $15k for the operation and about $10k PER DAY for hospital

 

Anyway, I took him to the hospital and dropped him off yesterday (Thursday) morning, and this morning I drove to Sydney and back - when I pulled in this early arvo he was being delivered back home. They did the op and withing 30 hurs he had been discharged. He looked a little einas, but  that's not the point.

 

By getting out a day early he saved himself $10K and I really suspect he is going to look VERY carefully at adjusting his cover.

 

I suppose what I'm saying is "Be careful, people" - don't just grab any cover because it means the Tax Office doesn't maul you - rather look for something that suits you.

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OubaasDik

 

What are the different covers you get.

 

Regards

 

Danie

 

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  • 5 months later...
On 12/23/2016 at 10:48 AM, OubaasDik said:

Hi all,

 

Just a heads-up for all of you who think that taking no private health cover or just the absolute minimum will be fine.

 

My neighbour is a tradie (glazier) and messed his back up (actually far upper back).

 

He was in agony with pinched nerves. He has already had a previous fusion and this time he messed up the prior op.

 

Anyway it's all complicated and he isn't exactly sophisticated and I'm not medically literate.

 

So he needed a couple of vertebrae fused and was sent to see a surgeon.

 

His options were 

  1. Public (medicare) - advantages - free     -  disadvantages - 11 month waiting list   and it's a sole owner/worker business
  2. Private  (medibank with the absolute minimum cover)   - immediate, but he has to pay about $15k for the operation and about $10k PER DAY for hospital

 

Anyway, I took him to the hospital and dropped him off yesterday (Thursday) morning, and this morning I drove to Sydney and back - when I pulled in this early arvo he was being delivered back home. They did the op and withing 30 hurs he had been discharged. He looked a little einas, but  that's not the point.

 

By getting out a day early he saved himself $10K and I really suspect he is going to look VERY carefully at adjusting his cover.

 

I suppose what I'm saying is "Be careful, people" - don't just grab any cover because it means the Tax Office doesn't maul you - rather look for something that suits you.

Good to know. Thank you.

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