Hi Mums!
Has anyone with children ever actually cancelled health insurance, or not had it above 40? It's just so damn expensive...
What have been the implications people have found from experience?
Thanks in advance😀
Health insurance for familes
Health insurance for familes
Posted in:
Money
8 Replies
I don't have it, and I have 3 kids aged 23, 22, and 16. If I had private health insurance I would have paid a lot more than I ever received back. Our local public hospital is better equipped than our local private hospital so I would have given birth at the public hospital anyway, one child had his tonsils out and had to have it done at Perth Children's Hospital due to complications anyway so private cover wouldn't have helped us, one child has prescription glasses and another has epilepsy. Glasses and specialist appointments are expensive but I have still spent a lot less than I would have with private cover. I'm now in my 40's and I still don't see a need for it, I'm still happy with my public hospital and I would rather wait for elective surgery in the future if it means I don't have to pay for ridiculously large gaps after years of paying for it anyway. We really don't need it here in Australia.
You'll get a range of personal experiences here, but it's insurance.
Personally, knowing my baby would have an experienced surgeon, who we chose, doing her corrective surgery instead of a *student, at the optimal time for it to be done & knowing she has no disability from it & doesn't need follow up surgery (which would be due about now if needed) because of the knowledge & skill of the surgeon.
(*I asked, surgeon told me it's mainly supervised students in public for her type of surgery & listed surgeon isn't always in theatre with them. No way I was sending her off to someone I'd never met & saw her as 'experience'.)
Also been embarrassed twice when DH has had minor, non essential surgery quickly & friends needing important surgery have been waiting years & never get done due to government criteria.
Public system is good when you can get in, it's the wait times & lack of choice & autonomy over our health decisions that make insurance worthwhile for us.
The cost of our private hospital is offset by the tax rebate. Unexpected things come up. Public hospitals are good, but only if waiting isn't an issue.
You might have to wait for life saving treatment including cancer treatment. Just because something is life threatening doesn't mean the public system will have a place for you immediately. The public wait could be the difference between living and dieing.
You could face life in a wheelchair because you can afford the $100k plus surgery needed to allow you to walk.
Both of these are family experiences when public meant they were screwed but having private insurnce was what saved them. It's expensive until it literally saves your life or your quality of life. Then it seems like a bargain
I don’t know what state you’re in but in QLD (where it’s meant to be the worst), this is absolutely and completely wrong.
I have a child who has had multiple surgeries through the public system (including neurosurgery and there’s no way they would not operate if it’s urgent), a cousin with stage 4 cancer and a mum with a million different things wrong with all her specialists at the public hospital.
Please give me the name of a hospital where you required urgent spinal surgery that could fix the problem or you would end up in a wheelchair and you didn’t see neurosurgeon ASAP.
Life and death, you are put in ICU, not a wait list, your post is actually funny.
We are 39 and 40 this year and we have never had PHI. My birthing experiences at my local hospital (with an emergency transfer of myself and bub to our larger public hospital) were wonderful. My public midwife was so lovely, I asked for her for my second baby.
My husband has an unidentified lump/mass at the top of his groin/pubic bone. From first GP appointment to surgery was 4 months. He had blood tests, biopsies, Ultrasounds, MRI and surgery with no cost to us at all. It turned out to be a benign cyst but because of it size, they wanted it out asap.
If you have an emergency, they are going to get you treated quickly. Also with an emergency, you are going to a public hospital anyway
I think you need to weigh the pros and cons.
As someone who's family had a need for it, I would never go without.
My dad was frequently taken to hospital via ambulance, I'd my mum didn't have insurance that is $400+ each trip she would have to had paid. He isn't able to be transported any other way and his condition would require the medical attention of paramedics.
Also if you require surgery etc the wait times in private can be lengthy.
Have you ever heard of ambulance cover?
Surgery depends, you are classified and you won’t wait if the surgery is urgent.