lab band in australia

[Goannabanda 0]

When you go to buy private insurance, do you ask for a special package or is the lab band cover in everything??? If you pay for the lab band your self how much are you looking at????

andree

The rules are different for permanent Australian residents and others, so exactly what happens in your case would also depend upon your residency status.

Australians enjoy a government subsidised health care system. Australian taxpayers pay a Medicare Levy as part of their income tax assessment. It is means tested, and usually works out at 1.5% for most average wage earners. A higher levy is charged if you don't have private health cover. For people who do have private health insurance, 30% of the premium is tax-rebateable. There is also a Medicare "Safety Net" when medical expenses are over a certain amount per year ($1250??). I am not sure of the details, but understand that this year we will qualify for this, and as a result have an additional rebate or a reduced Medicare Levy in our tax return at the end of this financial year.

It pays to check what your policy covers, as they do differ. However, generally the story is that once you have qualified for the waiting time on the policy, and the surgeon says you need the procedure, you are covered. End of story.

I think without insurance, and without waiting on the public list, the lapbanding would cost between $15,000 - $20,000. I am not aware of any Aussies who have done this, but there must be someone somewhere.

I went through the same surgical centre as Oldspark (Mark), and had similar out-of-pocket costs (just over $4,000), including all consultations, procedures etc, pre-surgery diet products, and some exercise equipment that I decided to also buy as part of my "new life".

We have Medibank Private AdvantagePlus cover, which is a packaged hospital & extras cover, costing around $220 per month for family cover. It gives you full hospital cover, and also covers the full range of extras, but at slightly lower levels of cover for some procedures when compared against "Blue Ribbon" cover. Waiting periods vary from 3 to 12 months, with 12 months being the norm for most procedures.

The product allows us to earn a package bonus, up to a maximum of $1000. It accrues at about $200 per year, and can be spent on any medical or health related service or product, up to a maximum of $500 per person per policy year. I used it to cover the hospital excess ($200) and out-of-pocket expenses for the dietician ($300).

The hospital excess is something that we have elected to pay, in favour of a reduced monthly premium. It's capped per policy year, to $500 per person and $1,000 per policy (for family cover). The excess is $200 for the first and second hospital admissions, and $100 for the third, up to the cap level.

I don't work for Medibank Private, and am not endorsing their products or anything, I am just outlining how our cover works to try and help you understand how some of the health insurance products work in Australia. There are many other companies that offer health insurance, including some coprorate plans. However, as Medibank Private is part government owned, they are generally the best in terms of value for money.