recommend health cover for uk family on 457 visa

[gingle]

dear all, as i wade through all the threads and sites on this and that, i am still no wiser.
i am paranoid about doubling up on health care that i dont need. i realize i have reciprical cover with medicare. but my employer requires me to get private cover.
when i look at various company health cover it takes me for ever to figure out what is covered, and what is not. oh ! not to mention all the extras.

can you please share your good experiences and offer some advise, also any bad ones (experiences that is)? are there companies that i should stay away from? what sort of price should i be prepared to pay (for good cover) ?
what companies are you with ? would you go with them again ? should i look for something special because of the 457 visa.

if someone can just lay it out for me, i would be much appreciative.

cheers

[kaz101]

Hi Gingle,

Welcome to the forum.

This is a tough one to give recommendations on because:
What one person thinks is essential anohter will say is unnecessary
Each person/family has different requirements
You don't know how good they are until you need them

Have you looked at Private Health Insurance Australia - iSelect They don't have all the companies on there but they are advertised a lot and you can chose what you want and what you don't want.

We went with GMHBA partly because of recommendation, partly out of cost, and because we could tailor it to ours needs. However since I haven't had to claim I have no idea whether they are really that good. There are different sorts of cover - hospital cover, extras (such as opticians, dental etc) and ambulance cover.

You need to work out what is important to you in health cover since you already have some reciprocal agreements with Medicare. Once you know that it may be easier to work out which company to go for.

Regards,
Karen

[gingle]

hi karen, thanks for that. i saw iSelect, but i dont think there is an option for 457 visas. am i right thinking we should make sure the policy covers 457 holders. because when i see some policies they specifically mention they are for 457 holders. whether that is for marketing or not i dont know.
also, even when you find out what is important, no company seems to be able to compare like for like. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

thanks anyway

[jabba]

Hey Hun,
I am in the same position as you, I am getting ambulance and extra's i.e dentist and opticians--nothing else my boss said i needed private health cover she didn't say at what level
Cheers

[kaz101]

Sorry I only know about private healthcare for PR holders (since that's what I am). It seems that because some 457 visa holders are not entitled to Medicare that makes things more difficult for healthcare (and it seems like higher charges too).

There are several websites in google offering 457 visa healthcare but I don't know how reputable they are....

Regards,
Karen

[northern mover]

Hi Gingle,
like you i am going on a 457 visa. And, yes my employers state i need full insurance cover on health!
Reciprocal agreement is so confusing; i still haven't figured out just what it means!!! I know we will need a lot more than it covers tho.
As a (former) NHS employee, i have always resisted private health insurance; - queue jumping is the only plus
The OH is currently looking to extend and transfer his BUPA cover over to Oz; its a bloody expensive and long-winded operation, mind!!

Jane

[gingle]

hey jane
i have been looking today, and notice that although there are many companies and policies, i dont think all of them cover "overseas visitors health cover (ovhc)" which narrows it down in NSW to 8 companies, then there are the policies for each of these. i found a good way is, look at the extras only, narrow what is good for you, that will give you a better idea on the policy and company. anyway, i'm still looking.

its amazing that i have not heard from anyone's, bad experiences, or in fact, good. i wonder how many of us actually have used this ?

g

[Tiffani]

we have IMAN (Australian Health Plans - comprehensive health plans for Temporary Residents and Overseas Visitors) and even though it's a little pricey, we are very happy with it. They provide 100% cover for just about everything.

It meets the requirements of the 457.

[jabba]

I think Iman is expensive since it doesn't cover optical dental or prescription charges unless you choose top cover which is over 400 dollars a month, I have found comprehensive top cover for 100 dollars a month less than that ie ISelect .com and choose and compare
Jacqui

[Tiffani]

Hi Jacqui,

My partner's employers decided we'd be using Iman and they take it out pre-tax so that does help a bit. We have been happy with the service, I have to say, but once our PR comes through we'll be switching to a lower-priced insurance (partly because we can't keep Iman once our PR comes through)