What is the advantage of private health insurance.......

[crystal**flake]

I'm really wondering (again) whether its really is worth it.

I had to go to emergency on the weekend and was there for 13 hours!

I have private health insurance and I'm wondering................why!

I'm after peoples point of view on the advantages of having it.

Also having to go to see specialists too.

[isgodnu]

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@crystal**flake wrote:

I'm really wondering (again) whether its really is worth it.

I had to go to emergency on the weekend and was there for 13 hours!

I have private health insurance and I'm wondering................why!

I'm after peoples point of view on the advantages of having it.

Also having to go to see specialists too.

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Why would private health insurance make any difference in how long you had to wait in the emergency room? Is it supposed to move you to the front of the line?

Wouldn't that be an issue with the efficiency of the health care system?

[karliandjacko]

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@crystal**flake wrote:

I'm really wondering (again) whether its really is worth it.

I had to go to emergency on the weekend and was there for 13 hours!

I have private health insurance and I'm wondering................why!

I'm after peoples point of view on the advantages of having it.

Also having to go to see specialists too.

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PHI won't help with the line at A&E but might with the specialist waiting time.

[j*oono]

Crystal, it doesn't work that way.  The emergency room is run by the triage nurses and thank goodness for them.  I have sat through the awful wait on a weekend and then I was taken when my life was under threat.  Thank goodness they didn't bother to check on my health insurance.

The up side for you is that if you need a hip replacement you can hurry it along and if you want to claim on cosmetic surgery you might be able to claim on that too.

[fiestas*girl]

PHI wpnt pay on cosmetic procedures and in some cases they wont do lap band surgery either

[azureline**]

Less medicare levy tax.......................... choice of private treatment or hospital.

[daydream**believer]

From the side of someone who doesnt have PHI

I received quick free physio both times ive dislocated my knee cap and fractured my tailbone

Had private rooms each time i had a baby.

DId have to wait on a list to see the public hospital about my sons nasal problem but once i found out i could pay $80 to see a private specialist, he was seen within a week.

[boris1gary]

about 50% of Australians have private health cover, during the Howard years private health insurance companies were struggling so the fear campaign started. It's a rort and is propped up with our public money anyway. I prefer to pay the medicare levy and would happily pay more income tax for the benefit of the public health system.

https://ama.com.au/ausmed/ama-sounds-alarm-move-toward-us-style-managed-care

AMA President Associate Professor Brian Owler has raised the alarm about a strong push by private health insurers into primary health which he warned could pave the way for US-style managed care.

Health funds have already been accused of interfering in clinical decision making after claims the Medibank Private was refusing to cover plastic surgery for patients with burns, cancer and other conditions.

The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons has, according to News Corporation newspapers, raised objections after Medibank refused to cover the cost of surgery to remove both breast implants from women after one of them had burst. Other concerns include a refusal to cover reconstructive surgery for burns victims and patients who have had cancers removed.

[grumpy*cat*rocks]

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@crystal**flake wrote:

I'm really wondering (again) whether its really is worth it.

I had to go to emergency on the weekend and was there for 13 hours!

I have private health insurance and I'm wondering................why!

I'm after peoples point of view on the advantages of having it.

Also having to go to see specialists too.

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Being privately insured has nothing to do with triaging patients. They go in order of medical priority and obviously your medical need wasn't as much as some of the other patients.

Heart attacks, strokes, chest pains, trauma etc all take priority from what I have been told and witnessed myself when waiting at hospital with family members.

Aren't there private hospitals in Sydney that have their own Accident and Emergency section?

Or doctors that do home visits?

[ashjoma]

It will help you with choice of specialist if you need it.

I worked as a student nurse at one hospital and one orthopedic surgeon was hated, regarded as the worst surgeon in the hospital and the joke in emergency was if a staff member was to go in with two broken legs and he was on, they would walk out.

It gives you a choice

Hubby had his gallbladder removed a few years ago was was done by the specialist who had a good name and was done within 3 weeks

Private health insurance does not mean you are seen quicker in emergency as that is done on priority at that time.

But it might get you a transfer to a private hospital with a bed for admission, if needed.


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