Private Health Insurance - Is it Worthwhile?

[Smurf1976]

YAnd yet here we are having to pay even more tax just so the government can waste it on school halls, pink bats, carbon sequestation, car industry bailouts etc etc

School halls - blatant propping up of the building industry.

Pink batts and carbon sequestration - an outright fraud along with every other carbon-related use of taxpayer funds. Ignoring the "does CO2 cause climate change" argument, it is a fact that we've spent a fortune of my taxes on the whole CO2 issue and emissions have gone up rather than down. That's clearly a dud.

Car industry bailouts - arguably the only one that is of any real benefit. A lot of other countries prop up their automotive industries in various ways, so it's not unreasonable to expect Australia to do likewise. The only place you'll find a "level playing field" is in an economics textbook - it just doesn't happen in the real world, not even within Australia and certainly not between countries.

As for the health issue, in all seriousness why don't we simply put a tax on unhealthy products and services? Things like junk food are an obvious source of potential revenue. Tax it and put the money straight into hospitals, and by that I mean directly to the hospitals and not to some "health department" bureaucracy, and that ought to fix the problems.

 

[Julia]

Will Abbott ever stop making these stupid and unnecessary pledges?:headshake Pledges that one day he will have to renege on and be on a par with Juliar. He should have waited to see its effects on the health industry.

Agree that he should pull his head in re the unnecessary pledges and instead, as mentioned yesterday, say he can't make a valid response until he sees what he inherits in the books from the Labor government.

In his defence, however, I heard him interviewed by Ray Hadley today when the question was asked "will you reinstate the full rebate if you are elected?"

He umm'd and ah'd for a few sentences and then said that the Coalition would reinstate the full rebate as soon as possible, thus leaving himself an out.

 

[qldfrog]

I will be hit by this new law; I do not ask any subsidy, I just ask freedom of doing what I want; I had full cover gold all extras etc 2 years ago when I nearly lost my hand in a nasty encounter with a circular saw;
My emergency treatment was at the public hospital (Royal Brisbane) and the treatment was the best available around for emergency;
I then went private for microsurgery, graft, 3h long surgery, etc etc; ultimately with my top of the top cover costing a packet (with rebate) I was still out of pocket by around 3k;
I could afford loosing a hand every 2 to 3 years and still be better off financially
Do not lure yourself: private cover will not be what you expect
And if real s##t happens (coronary bypass, complications etc), the public system will be the only one you will afford as you can read in the fine print
My conclusion was that private cover allowed me a nice private room with TV, the rest was a waste.

So now I will try to get the cheapest available cover with make me avoid the penalty:
max excess and as few as possible cover for lower dollar. Any recommendation welcome...
In the meantime, the coming months will see dental work and new pairs of glasses for the whole (small) family!!!!

 

[todster]

I will be hit by this new law; I do not ask any subsidy, I just ask freedom of doing what I want; I had full cover gold all extras etc 2 years ago when I nearly lost my hand in a nasty encounter with a circular saw;
My emergency treatment was at the public hospital (Royal Brisbane) and the treatment was the best available around for emergency;
I then went private for microsurgery, graft, 3h long surgery, etc etc; ultimately with my top of the top cover costing a packet (with rebate) I was still out of pocket by around 3k;
I could afford loosing a hand every 2 to 3 years and still be better off financially
Do not lure yourself: private cover will not be what you expect
And if real s##t happens (coronary bypass, complications etc), the public system will be the only one you will afford as you can read in the fine print
My conclusion was that private cover allowed me a nice private room with TV, the rest was a waste.

So now I will try to get the cheapest available cover with make me avoid the penalty:
max excess and as few as possible cover for lower dollar. Any recommendation welcome...
In the meantime, the coming months will see dental work and new pairs of glasses for the whole (small) family!!!!

I think the with the life threatning stuff your right but try getting a shoulder or knee or back looked at while your not getting payed and watch that burn a hole in your bank account.

 

[qldfrog]

I think the with the life threatning stuff your right but try getting a shoulder or knee or back looked at while your not getting payed and watch that burn a hole in your bank account.

it would be really interesting to have someone giving us some real $figure on that: anyone with a knee reconstruction cost within full private cover?
And someone who went without private cover??
As I said my skin, nerve and vessel graft was just an endless list of above threathold so not covered;
Private insurance will at the most (and within limits) cover the gap between medicare paidback and a grossly undervalued figure supposed to be the "cost" of a procedure; you will soon discover that all decent surgeons, hospitals, etc are way above the medicare figure.
So my resulting analysis that private health cover is worthless except for the feel good feeling;
Would you take a house insurance which would only cover for median house price when you own a castle, and would you believe them if the premium was the same irrespective of the house or unit size/value (in private health, same premium irrespective of the household size or age)
The whole private health insurance is a scam distorted by dogmatic belief, and a carrot and stick approach.
So please can I pay a $1k hospital cover to a Moldovian fund policy with $10k extra and limited /hardly any benefit?
A good business concept here...
Or will the ATO fine me for tax avoidance in the new Australian spirit?
A bit cranky as you can read...

 

[Julia]

Qld frog, hope the hand is going to recover completely.

There will always be situations where using the private system will not be an advantage and will cost the gap payments.

But I've seen so many people suffer in pain for up to ten years before getting orthopaedic procedures. One friend needed a knee replacement. By the time his name came up, 7 years after going on the waiting list, he also needed a hip replacement due to the awkward way he had been walking. Then another 7 or so years waiting for the hip procedure.

 

[alwaysLearning]

I am a doctor and I would not go anywhere without health insurance. I can afford it and therefore think I should pay for it. It is simply not worth the risk (and risk is what insurance is all about) for me not to have it. I have complete faith in the public system to deal with emergency cases soundly but my family's health and well being is the most important thing and will spare no cost.

I'm glad to hear what an actual doctor is doing. I'm going to try and hold on to private health insurance also.

 

[todster]

it would be really interesting to have someone giving us some real $figure on that: anyone with a knee reconstruction cost within full private cover?
And someone who went without private cover??
As I said my skin, nerve and vessel graft was just an endless list of above threathold so not covered;
Private insurance will at the most (and within limits) cover the gap between medicare paidback and a grossly undervalued figure supposed to be the "cost" of a procedure; you will soon discover that all decent surgeons, hospitals, etc are way above the medicare figure.
So my resulting analysis that private health cover is worthless except for the feel good feeling;
Would you take a house insurance which would only cover for median house price when you own a castle, and would you believe them if the premium was the same irrespective of the house or unit size/value (in private health, same premium irrespective of the household size or age)
The whole private health insurance is a scam distorted by dogmatic belief, and a carrot and stick approach.
So please can I pay a $1k hospital cover to a Moldovian fund policy with $10k extra and limited /hardly any benefit?
A good business concept here...
Or will the ATO fine me for tax avoidance in the new Australian spirit?
A bit cranky as you can read...

you dont seem to get my drift
unless you cant walk with a dodgy knee they aint gonna even look at ya.
its not the level of care its getting the care

 

[Logique]

you dont seem to get my drift
unless you cant walk with a dodgy knee they aint gonna even look at ya.
its not the level of care its getting the care

Agree, with the public system it's more about access and the waiting lists.

 

[prawn_86]

Work is now encouraging us to pre-pay our private health for the 12/13 FY as that way we will not be slugged with the removal of the private health rebate, until June 2013.

Will cost me $2k to pay upfront and save about $400, so not a bad return, and anything to stop the gov getting more money off me is also worth it

 

[drsmith]

Work is now encouraging us to pre-pay our private health for the 12/13 FY as that way we will not be slugged with the removal of the private health rebate, until June 2013.

Sounds too good to be true.

I'd be checking the fine print with the ATO, for example, does any prepayment count for next year anyway, and if not, are you then liable for the surcharge ?

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Work is now encouraging us to pre-pay our private health for the 12/13 FY as that way we will not be slugged with the removal of the private health rebate, until June 2013.

Will cost me $2k to pay upfront and save about $400, so not a bad return, and anything to stop the gov getting more money off me is also worth it

Sounds too good to be true.

I'd be checking the fine print with the ATO, for example, does any prepayment count for next year anyway, and if not, are you then liable for the surcharge ?

Worthwhile getting this clarified.

gg

 

[drsmith]

Worthwhile getting this clarified.

gg

I can see retrospective legislation if the government have botched it.

 

[prawn_86]

Got this from work and then spoke to both my accountant and NIB (my health fund) and they confirmed if you prepay before the end of this FY it means that you will be paying at the current rate, as opposed to the increased rate for next FY.

View attachment Fact Sheet - Health Care Rebate.pdf

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Got this from work and then spoke to both my accountant and NIB (my health fund) and they confirmed if you prepay before the end of this FY it means that you will be paying at the current rate, as opposed to the increased rate for next FY.

View attachment 47354

Thanks prawn,

I shall contact my fund.

gg

 

[drsmith]

Got this from work and then spoke to both my accountant and NIB (my health fund) and they confirmed if you prepay before the end of this FY it means that you will be paying at the current rate, as opposed to the increased rate for next FY.

View attachment 47354

Choice are also saying the same thing.

At the same time, the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) will be increased for higher income earners who don’t have hospital insurance – an additional tax of up to 1.5% of your income will apply.

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-an.../personal/health-insurance-means-testing.aspx

I'll have to look into this further.

 

[prawn_86]

Many funds need to have the payment in by 25th in order for it to clear in time. I made my payment this week so have the next year paid off.

Members need to act today if they wish to save some tax (and it is applicable to them)

 

[drsmith]

Medibank Private are accepting advance payments up to 18 months in advance and such payments qualify for the private health insurance rebate in this financial year (no means test) if made by June 30.

I've paid 18-months in advance over the phone this morning in order to qualify for the rebate without means test for as long as I can. Advance payment can be made through their webside, but for me, the process failed and it was not clear what the maximum amount was that I could pay. Stick to calling them, but bear in mind that they are getting swamped with calls. Wait time for me was approximately 40 minutes for me (thank goodness for loudspeaker, I tried the online process while waiting).

2, 4,6, 8, take advantage of another government stuffup, don't wait.

 

[drsmith]

2, 4,6, 8, take advantage of another government stuffup, don't wait.

On second thought, the might be being very tricky.

The rebate for the advance payments would come off the 2011/12 FY budget, not 2012/13 and member dropoffs from losing the rebate would be postponed until after the next election.

 

[drsmith]

From the horses mouth,

Does the income testing of the rebate apply to premiums paid in the 2011-12 income year?

No. The legislation to income test the private health insurance rebate starts from 1 July 2012 and will apply to premiums paid on or after that date. We will determine your private health insurance rebate entitlement for the 2012-13 income year (Tax Time 2013) and later years.

Can you make a claim for a private health insurance tax offset in your 2011-12 tax return for premiums that provide insurance cover for a future income year?

Yes, providing:

the premiums are paid in the 2011-12 income year
you do not claim a tax offset for a premium payment where the private health insurance rebate has been claimed as a premium reduction, or a claim from Medicare.
Premium payments you make in 2011-12 may be for a policy that provides insurance cover for a period that includes a future income year.

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?menuid=0&doc=/content/00233246.htm&page=3&H3