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| Health Insurance - 457 visa; Comments/experiences good/bad with particular insurance plans or the process in general. | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 25 2010, 08:01:13 PM (1,013 Views) | |
| tanman | Aug 25 2010, 08:01:13 PM Post #1 |
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Yacker
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Hello, David here (hello all, first post). I will be relocating to Sydney shortly on a 457 visa. The time has come to obtain health coverage. The information online is abundant and this site in particular is helpful (http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/ - thanks YDU, I found that link here). However, before I sign up, does anyone have an experience to share, be it positive or negative. Or lessons to share that you learned while going through the process? Quickly, my situation (which slightly complicates things), but shouldn't matter much. I will arrive first. My wife will arrive 2-3 months later. We have two separate 457 applications, so I don't have to buy coverage for her at this time. My wife is pregnant. I don't believe no matter how much I am willing to pay will maternity benefits be available due to the 12 month waiting period (please correct me if I am wrong). One company did suggest trying to do continuation of benefits based on current coverage, but that did not work out. My plan: 1) buy the cheapest coverage that meets the immigration requirements for the first month 2) possibly, but not necessarily, upgrade that coverage when I am closer to actually moving (in 1-2 months) 3) add my wife when she is going through the 457 approval process and likely again change the plan benefits Obviously there is some inherent benefit/stability of staying with the same company. Still, if I wanted to change, could I do so easily? Any glaring consequences to consider? Can my coverage level be easily changed month to month, as we go through the first few months of transition into our new lives? Your thoughts are appreciated! Cheers, David Edited by tanman, Aug 25 2010, 08:16:41 PM.
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| redmoon | Aug 25 2010, 08:47:52 PM Post #2 |
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Chinwagger
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I only just got my health insurance, but you can pay monthly or upfront and cancel at any time. if you pay upfront, you'll get a pro-rated refund for time unused. .. (atleast with Exfin who I'm using). so with that in mind, I'm assuming you can switch plans as needed. But I would ask the health provider first. seems like everyone here responds rather quickly to emails, so you shouldn't have a problem getting a response right away. |
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| tanman | Aug 26 2010, 05:06:45 PM Post #3 |
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Yacker
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Just a short note, for others who browse this thread - The link I shared above has a section titled "Compare policies" - these policies are NOT valid for overseas visitors (this information provided to me when I called the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman with a few questions). These sections of the same website have details and more information about 457 visitors in particular. http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/overseas/ http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/overseas/457visa.htm Companies that sell policies specifically for overseas visitors in NSW (perhaps other states too) include: HBA - http://www.hba.com.au/public_insurance_sales/vic/home/index.htm Manchester Untiy - http://www.manchesterunity.com.au/site/contentpublic/default.asp IMAN - http://www.austhealth.com/ BUPA - http://www.bupa.com.au/ Medibank Private - http://www.medibank.com.au/Client/StaticPages/VCHome.aspx Marsh - http://www.marsh.com.au/expathealth/index.htm |
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5:56 AM Feb 8