Health Insurance

[Tiffani]

Hi all,

another question

Edo (my partner) and I are arriving in Australia on a Long-Stay Business 457 visa and as soon as we get there the university is going to sponsor our Permanent Residency. Whilst we await the PR to come through, we have to have the IMAN health insurance plan. Because I have a pre-existing condition (nothing life threatening, more of a quality of life issue) the health insurance won't cover that for the first year. So my question is: approximately how much do prescriptions and GP visits cost when paying out of pocket? Trying to decide if it's more cost-effective to just buy as many months of my prescriptions as possible here before I leave or wait until I get to Australia and pick them up there.

Also, for those of you who were sponsored for your PR by a company or university, how long did it take you to receive it once you started the process?

Thanks!

[kaz101]

Hi Tiffani,

The no cover for the first 12 months on pre-existing conditions is pretty common here. All the health insurance I've been looking at have the same clause.

With that business visa are you allowed Medicare? The reason that I ask is that changes the cost of the GP visits and any medication. The cost to my local GP is A$57 with a reduction of A$4 if you pay that day. Medicare then gives a refund of A$32, so the real cost to me is A$21 per GP visit.

Any medication is paid for personally by myself and you can request generic medications, which are usually cheaper but any cost will really depend on the medication that is required.

In the UK I used to get a prescription and the medication itself was paid for through the National Health Service but that's not how it works in Australia.

I wasn't sponsored so I can't help with the other question...

Regards,
Karen

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by kaz101

Hi Tiffani,

The no cover for the first 12 months on pre-existing conditions is pretty common here. All the health insurance I've been looking at have the same clause.

With that business visa are you allowed Medicare? The reason that I ask is that changes the cost of the GP visits and any medication. The cost to my local GP is A$57 with a reduction of A$4 if you pay that day. Medicare then gives a refund of A$32, so the real cost to me is A$21 per GP visit.

Any medication is paid for personally by myself and you can request generic medications, which are usually cheaper but any cost will really depend on the medication that is required.

In the UK I used to get a prescription and the medication itself was paid for through the National Health Service but that's not how it works in Australia.

I wasn't sponsored so I can't help with the other question...

Regards,
Karen

I'm not sure if we're eligible for Medicare or not. I remember reading something about a Medicare Levy but haven't studied it carefully. Either way, it doesn't seem to unreasonable, the charges for Dr. visits in Australia (keeping in mind that I"m coming from the US where it'll cost you $100 to say "hello" to you Dr. if you don't have insurance). The medicines are fairly cheap and all are available in generic form, so that's good news!

Still, I'll try to milk my insurance company out here for all I can get before I leave so I can at least have a few months' worth of my medications while I get myself sorted and find a GP etc.

[kaz101]

Hi Tiffani,

It sounds like you've checked this out already, but just make sure that the medications you take are actually available in Australia since there may be some differences (as I found out recently).

Regards,
Karen

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by kaz101

Hi Tiffani,

It sounds like you've checked this out already, but just make sure that the medications you take are actually available in Australia since there may be some differences (as I found out recently).

Regards,
Karen

oh dear. I hadn't thought of that... How does one go about finding out what medicines are available out there? Do you know?

[kaz101]

Hi Tiffani,

I didn't find out until I went to the GP because I hadn't considered that either.

If you know the company that makes the drugs (usually on the packet) check out if they have a website in Oz and ask them the question. Then at least you'll know that the medication exists even if it's not the generic form. That's what I ended up doing to make sure that the medication wasn't available in Oz.

The company responded that if I really wanted that medication a GP in Oz can still write a prescription and the medication can be bought overseas and then shipped in but I decided it wasn't worth the cost.

Regards,
Karen

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by kaz101

Hi Tiffani,

I didn't find out until I went to the GP because I hadn't considered that either.

If you know the company that makes the drugs (usually on the packet) check out if they have a website in Oz and ask them the question. Then at least you'll know that the medication exists even if it's not the generic form. That's what I ended up doing to make sure that the medication wasn't available in Oz.

The company responded that if I really wanted that medication a GP in Oz can still write a prescription and the medication can be bought overseas and then shipped in but I decided it wasn't worth the cost.

Regards,
Karen

Thanks for the advice. I'll get in touch with the manufacturers but even if they aren't available there, there will be plenty of adequate substitutes, I'm sure!