Thread: Private Health Insurance.

we have private health insurance,


our first 2 kids were born under the private, it still cost us a few grand after we paid for all the scans, the obstrictian appointments, the hospital booking fees, and a few other things along the way,


then the doctors delivering the babies want everything done there way, which was really uncomfortable for my wife, once the babies were born they made her stay in for a few days each time, she did not want to be there, and was asking to go home as all the checks had been done and were all passed


our 3rd born fella was under the public system, the hospital wasn't as nice a new and fresh looking, im sure it was just as clean, just not as modern, the nurses were more helpful, we even had a student nurse appointed to us who would call to check on my wife and just make sure she was doing well the whole way through delivery. Once the baby was deliverd we went to a small room, where there was a bed for my wife, and a school chair for me to sit in, all the check were done and dusted by 9am, and my wife had the option to go home then, so we went home to get her settled into her routine and back to normal life with 3 kids under 3Yo...


I think if we decide to go again we will go public, and only switch over to private if it looks like there will be complications

when my brother fronted up for treatment for his cancer treatment he put down private and the hospital told him to go public as this would be free he did and got the same treatment as private

Too expensive and they hit you for extra's, guy i worked with had private for first child birth which cost 15k extra because of complications, 2nd child in public system cost him nothing - yeah thats worth it.

We've had PHI since we arrived here a few years ago, and have questioned the wisdom of having it several times. Apart from a few dental visits, we use our allowance for optical every year ($400 for the family of four, which goes nowhere), we'd used our physio allowance for the first time this year ($250, which lasted 3 sessions).

For the hospital part, the only occasion we'd had to use it was when my wife was admitted to hospital after being attacked by a pair of Rottweilers, and because she was admitted over a weekend it wasn't worth going private anyway, as she would get exactly the same level of care (which was exceptionally good anyway) if she went public.

So far, we've spent $20k on premiums, and got $3k back.

Our health insurance has been worth it.
Me: cerebral anurisim , I had the specialist doing the op not the trainee, Gaul bladder removal, ditto. Yes there where extra bills for these but a better level of care. Snip, podiatrist, dental teeth removed.
Wife, 5 children( my fault as well ) 4 oldest private, 2c-section 1vb then another c. Choice of ob, the ob only increased their fees when the baby bonus was introduced so took 1/2. Private room.
Our 5th was prem 26 weeks(876grams, our other kids where 3.8-4.2kg's!) and public c-sect after 6 days in the ward. The staff in the NICU where excellent, the maternity ward not so. We where warned on day 1 not to leave anything out as visitors often went "shopping" in other peoples rooms and would flog whatever was out. Being one of 4 NICU hospitals in the state(3 if you don't count Canberra!) that handle premmies you would think the ward would try and put the premmie mums in the same rooms to reduce the stress but you would have 2 person(a few 4 person) tiny rooms with 1 bub and the premmie mums stressing about getting infected, before the birth, not able to walk without a wheelchair before , to prevent labour, or after the birth for 2 days, as severe pain. After the birth we had a single room for a day as my daughter was at risk, and we found out later this was the room for the mums of the bubs most at risk . In the ward you would have had 2-4 mums(to be) who were going to or just had given birth to bubs in NICU and a little more co- ordination could have placed them together. After our youngest was born she spent 2 months in NICU, public, then another 3 weeks in Wollongong babies ward. 2 years later she is excellent

I've often thought about getting out of my health fund as I dont really claim anything.But last year I had to get my prostrate checked and the bill was around $4 grand all up.My fund paid the lot.
I have to get my right shoulder operated on in the new year so I'll be staying with them for a while longer.

cheers

Originally Posted by jboot51

I have private cover.
Made a claim 2 weeks ago for prescription glasses, entitled to $200 refund per year, which is fairly poor going, considering I could also claim $400 for AROMATHERAPY/year.

You're with the wrong fund.

I had an appointment with the optometrist yesterday and ordered two new pairs of glasses - one for long vision, the other for reading. My private health insurance picked up $350 of the total cost - I'm entitled to this amount yearly.

Originally Posted by richard4u2

when my brother fronted up for treatment for his cancer treatment he put down private and the hospital told him to go public as this would be free he did and got the same treatment as private

Got exactly the same advice at Charlie Gairdner's last year when I had my heart attack. Once I got out of "emergency" they took me up to the "cardio" unit, where all patients receive exactly the same treatment / room configuration etc regardless of whether public or private health insurance. In fact, they told me that if I wanted a private room, I would have to be transferred to another hospital. At the time, a "private room" was the least of my concerns - I stayed put.

A couple of weeks ago though, I was booked in to a private hospital in Perth for some skin cancer removals / skin grafts. Had I not had private insurance for this, would have gone onto a waiting list in a public hospital for who knows how long. As it was - the only "waiting" was for a day when the specialist could fit in an appointment to do the work. Best specialist in his field in Perth they tell me - has a very good reputation, and drives an old Landrover to his favourite fishing spots on the weekend as well.

If the majority of the increase went to better service, I could understand. From this article in the Courier Mail Friday, I'm not sure, Bob
Courier mail, Friday, Dec. 27.


" As families face paying an extra $150 a year for private health insurance after the biggest premium price rise in almost a decade, health fund bosses have enjoyed steady salary increases, some as high as $ 100,000 a year. " NIB managing director Mark Fitzgibbon's pay rose by an average of more than $ 100,000 a year , from $ 952,502 in 2009 to $ 1.3 million in 2013 according to the Company's annual report, the article goes on to say.


" HCF premiums will rise by 6.89 % next year, after rising 5.74% this year. Between 2009 & 2013, its key executives were paid almost $1 million extra in total." it goes on to say, " Medibank private bosses were paid more than $2 million in the same period, the total executive pay budget rose from $5.3 million in 2009 to $ 8.5 million this year. "