Financial Information Forum - we want your questions

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Robrox

So last year I took out health insurance again after having it lapse some years back( long story)
my tax agent said I needed it because my income was too high 
but now I will be lucky to earn enough to cover my bills
 I didn’t have the cover long enough to be covered for anything ( not 12 months) and as it is a pre existing condition I won’t be covered anyway 
so my question  is do I cancel the insurance as I don’t think I can really afford it. Can anyone give me a reason that I should keep it. It costs over 160 per month 
thoughts??

Brenda5

All the crap I had to go through to get a little Newstart Centerlink allowance and yet an aged pension doesn't need anything but a birth certificate. Bring the age threshold forward 10 years for breast cancer patients and the superannuation age too! We'd have a much better quality of the little life we have left.

onemargie

Hi there everyone so as you all know I have written to everyone about all of the above and finally got a letter back from the treasury department about my complain I made to the minister for human services. Would love your feedback

Letter will be reposted

iserbrown

@onemargie

No doubt this is not the response you wanted however they have mentioned an Issues Paper.  Bureaucracy is such that they follow process and the process they mentioned was the Issues Paper.  Perhaps consider a submission tied into the Issues Paper.  Link below

https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2017-t246586/

kmakm

Good grief! And the ATO is such a warm and fuzzy place renowned for its compassion...

The issues paper however sounded hopeful, but two months over Christmas and summer is pretty piss poor considering the duress the people this affects are under. Are you going to read it and keep writing @onemargie?

onemargie

I also put in the letter the suggestions made from this forum regarding ridiculous thresholds for access to payments or access to a payment whilst off work due to trestment and your partner still works etc or accessing a DSP for long term post chemo side effects and a heap of other things  but these have not been addressed which I was a bit pissed off about. But I will read the issue paper and see what it says. Margie. X

Giovanna_BCNA

Hi onemargie have sent you a private message

jennyss

Dear @onemargie, Is your letter which you sent to the Minister of Human Services in this discussion or somewhere else on the forum? This reply seems to be just restating the current rules, not replying to issues you may have raised in your letter. I have had a quick look at the Issues Paper (thanks for link @iserbrown ). Seems like there is a concern that too much money is being released from super on medical grounds!!! As if the Australian Govt is going to increase funding to other programs like IPTAAS or PBS or Medicare. As for financial hardship because of loss of income...........!?**. Thank you for advocating and standing up for people dealing with breast cancer and other medical conditions. Best wishes from jennyss

Giovanna_BCNA

Hello I have asked @onemargie to repost letter as the original had her address. I wanted to ensure her privacy in a public forum. Thanks and apologies for the disruption in the thread regards giovanna

sandramj

@onemargie I may have missed your post where you said you had contacted the insurance ombudsman but just in case.  We had a company cut my husbands income protection insurance about ten years ago - I fought and fought and got to two years after I thought we would not win although I KNEW we were right.  So I contacted the Insurance ombudsman and he had them send out a representative to talk to us and them and VOILA their representative said "the insurance company never had a leg to stand on". and we were back paid for the two and a half years since they'd stopped it.  Try EVERYTHING!  Insurance companies are renowned for not paying out but with the RC into banking etc times are changing and they are not getting away with rooting us.  By the sounds of you not being sent the information to any of your addresses you have a very strong case to argue.  Message me if I can be of any help.   Never give up......  

onemargie

Hi there ladies thanks so much for your responses. @jennyss I didn’t post the original letter to the human services minister but basically included all the stuff we all whinged about in this post and others. I have to retake the pic of the letter from the treasury department as I had my address on the top and I didn’t even think about privacy with that so thanks to @Giovanna_BCNA for looking out for me.  And perhaps if the government has more funding for breast recon in qld for example then people wouldn’t have to feel like they had to claim their super to pay for it hey!   Mine will be approved if I want to use it as the wait time I’m qld is around 3 years to see a surgeon and another 2 for the surgery and is not readily available in the public system so If they want To whinge about people claiming for medical costs for recon then put more funding in the system for the bloody surgery in the first place! But like you said as if they are going to do that anytime soon. 

I will repost when I retake it and cover my address. I’ll do it today some time. And @sandramj I haven’t heard back from the superannuation ombudsman yet but they did Say it would take some time to investigate my complaint so as soon as I hear back I’ll let everyone know the outcome. Once I have that hopefully it will be in my favour if not I’ll look at other options.  Margie xx

onemargie

onemargie

Sorry it’s back to front lol