One of the best things about living in Australia is the health insurance system. Medicare is a government subsidized organization that pays for most of the healthcare costs. You may also go for private insurance, which includes certain costs that Medicare doesn’t cover.

There are many reasons to choose public over private Australian health insurance, and vice versa. Overall, health insurance provides you security and gives you assistance and more control over your medical treatment. Here are 8 things you need to consider before availing your health insurance:

Is it Public or Private?

The first thing to take into consideration is whether your health insurance is public and private. Depending upon the health treatment you need, assess your options. Even if you have private insurance, there are some treatment costs that are covered within the scope of Australian public healthcare provision.

What Types of Covers Does Your Insurance Offer?

Before you go to claim your health costs, you must take into consideration the types of covers your insurance offers – be it public or private. There are three types of covers you need to know about beforehand:

• Hospital cover: You must know which hospitals your insurance covers. It could be a public hospital, private hospital, or a day hospital facility.
• Doctors and specialists cover: Your private insurance could cover some or all of the fee, while Medicare covers 75% of the doctors and specialists’ fee. You may have to pay the additional from your own pocket.
• Hospital services cover: Depending upon the facility you choose and the insurance type you have, your insurance cover can range from hospital accommodation to theatre costs and meals.

Which Extra Services are Covered?

There are some extra services that are covered by health insurance in Australia and some that have limited covers. Take into consideration all these costs before availing your health insurance. Extra services that you have to pay for may be physiotherapy, dental treatment, orthodontics, opticians, and others. By several measures, Australia’s health-care system provides better outcomes at a lower price than the U.S. system, according to information tracked by the Peterson-Kaiser Health System tracker.

Are You Eligible For Rebate?

A health insurance rebate is offered in both private and public health insurance. It is the amount that the government contributes to your health insurance premiums according to your eligibility to receive it. This is how it works: the low-income group gets higher insurance premiums, while the higher-income groups get a lower percentage on their premiums.

Is There a Catch On Your Insurance Coverage?

Health insurance companies have a number of catches in their schemes and policies. Before availing your health insurance, find any catches there may be such as no ambulance costs or no dental treatment costs. Some insurances cover operation theatre charges, but not the cost of additional medicines. Australia’s government provides free or sponsored health care for Australian voters also as those with permanent visas, providing what is considered universal health care. In the U.S., about one in ten residents lack insurance, in line with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Is There a Waiting Period On Your Insurance Claim?

There are some health insurance plans that have a waiting period before you can make your claim. Most insurance plans have this waiting period for pregnancy or dental treatments. This is something to take into consideration, especially when you are utilizing Medicare health insurance. Private health insurance covers in Australia offer the benefit of shorter or no waiting periods.

Do You Have to Pay Medicare Levy Surcharge?

In Australia, if you earn more than a certain amount and you don’t have private health insurance, you may have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge. The purpose of this is to reduce the healthcare costs offered by Medicare.