Private health insurance is NOT good value for money now at all. I paid $7000 up to time of surgery out of pocket after being in top cover with Medibank Private for 52 years. My thoughts are if I need to go down this track again I’m going public (unless it’s urgent surgery) and paying private rates to public hospital. Surely our public system could do with whatever the health insurance pays private hospitals for our fees. The private health system in Australia is simply a money making business. Ahead of the care factor. I had no breast car nurse, was told the radiation through private company who also ran the public radiation company would be $15,000 out of pockets so I said I’d opt for public and they bartered a cost of $150 per week for 7 payments over & above what Medicare paid. $1050 vs $15,000!!! Just because I asked costs.
I now realise every blood test, MRI, ultra sound, biopsy, scan, bone scan etc I had the “bulk bill” box was just not ticked (even though I’m 67 & a senior pensioner) therefore EVERYTHING had big out of pockets.
Hence my thought cancer is great for the private sector of the health system. It’s wrong people who are at their most vulnerable are sent to health practitioners who “charge like wounded bills”. Yet these same people work in the public system also. Why when we have paid $430 a month and have had health insurance for over 50 yrs have to pay exorbitant amounts ON TOP because we’ve already paid over $5000 p a for the so called “C O V E R”.
Time this was changed!!! Because I for one will be reviewing my value for money on health insurance and choosing private or saving the $5000 each year and choosing to use public health.
Not happy Jan.
