Hi All,

I'm a pom, with a band that's done me the world of good. However, I'm about to move to Australia.

I'll need health insurance - do any of you guys know a good insurer that will cover fills or possible future operations that the band may need?

I'm worried that as it's both elective surgery and a pre-existing condition I might not be able to get insurance for band-related issues.

Any thoughts?

Cheers for your help :smile:

Private Health Insurance Australia - iSelect will have info on most of the major private funds. You will likely have a 12 month wait before they will cover anything band related, but banding is covered by most of the major funds.(revision surgery, removal ect) And Medicare covers a good chunk, if not all of fills in Oz.

I don't know the deal with Medicare for people from the UK. It might be worth checking out Medicare Australia for that sort of info.

Good luck with the move.

Hi,

You will be covered with medicare as they have an agreement with the UK to cover ppl from the Uk and vice versa. So when you get here just go to the medicare office and with your documents and they will supply you with a medicare number etc.

Sam

Hi All,

I'm a pom, with a band that's done me the world of good. However, I'm about to move to Australia.

I'll need health insurance - do any of you guys know a good insurer that will cover fills or possible future operations that the band may need?

I'm worried that as it's both elective surgery and a pre-existing condition I might not be able to get insurance for band-related issues.

Any thoughts?

Cheers for your help :shades_smile:

Skinny2B,

where are you moving to in Aus?

As far as I know, all the health insurance companies in Aus cover the band, as long as you've done the 12 month waiting period. As you've already had the op, the fills won't be that big a deal to cover I'm sure. Contact your insurer at home and see if they have any connections with companies here who they might have an agreement with to take on each other's customers.

Medicare will cover $108 of the doctor's visit for a fill. My doc charges $150 per visit, so you'd need a health insurer to cover the gap or pay the $42 yourself. Poms get automatic Medicare coverage when they move here, so you should be right there, not sure what the deal would be with private health care but with all the "instant coverage" deals they're offering at the moment, I'd say there's a good chance you'd get covered straight away.

So where are you planning on landing? Come to the west!! WEST IS BEST!! :thumbup: