I would only keep it if you can afford to. If it’s causing financial difficulty, I’d drop it.

Health cover is just so expensive now,we cut it out!

yes def if you can afford it, for tax reasons and other stuff like physio etc

For children, they tend to be treated at public hospitals anyway regardless of private health so I’m not concerned about having private cover. We are lucky in Australia

I have debated about getting health care cover for a while now. There is some very good advice here. I just wish I could afford it.

If yout earn over a certain amount you pretty much have to have it or you pay a fortune to the medicare levy.

I wouldn’t be without it unless I absolutely had too. Got me extra care through my pregnancy that I wouldn’t have got as a public patient

If you can afford it keep it, it gives you options If you get ill, I broke 2 bones last year, one ankle and one wrist, the ankle I went to the public emergency and they set it, I then went a private orthopaedic surgeon a few days later, he xrayed it and the way it was set was appalling, it was soon enough to be manipulated and reset with a lot of pain, had I not gone I would have required an operation. after getting that heal I fell over again and broke my wrist, not having learnt my lesson last time, I went back to emergency, had it set, and worried about it in a few weeks, by the time I got to the ortho I had limited use of my hand and required intensive physio before they could operate and fix it, my wrist was deformed, painful and useless, without private health I would not have been able to get the operation for many months into years, and this year my husband has had cataracts on both eyes removed by a surgeon who only works training students and private patients my husband was almost blind, he can now see the tv without glasses, read a paper etc, under the public system he would have had a 2 year wait, with private health his wait was 2 weeks, we would not be without it.

If you can afford it just have family extra cover for dental, optometry, physiotherapy etc. You may like to save what you normally pay for insurance, into a special savings account so if there is an emergency you have the savings there.

it’s really up to you though.

this is a great question. when the kids are 18 then you can change that cover

Private health insurance gets you certain operations faster. Some operations need to be done in weeks, not necessarily in days but have the chance, however small, of causing issues before the weeks are up. It’s a weighted decision and in the overburdened public health system, the delay is unfortunately necessary. Also be aware of really long waiting lists, under the public system, in some areas for things like tonsillectomies. Basic hospital cover covers really little.

Having private health cover also allows you to build relationships with doctors who could treat you in private but may also practice in the public system. This opens up opportunities such as your chosen doctor reviewing you in person rather than a rotating team. While the team will be medically trained and sound, they won’t know you as well as your one chosen doctor can. It also makes it easier if the treating team in the public system identifies issues that need follow up as a doctor who works in private would probably agree to see you. This also applies to anything your children need done. Mind you, these private consults probably will leave you with an out of pocket cost, as can treatment in a private hospital.

On the other hand, if it’s a true emergency (ie if it’s going to kill you), it’ll get done through the public health system.

I think private health cover is good to have for your future years when you are senior and require more hospitalisations and surgeries. It’s also good if you require services where there are long waiting lists on the public system.

It’s a tough decision. I’ve always had private health cover, but after becoming a single mum something had to give. When I called up to cancel, they asked me if I knew I could essentially put it on hold for up to 12 months. I did not know that. So while I can’t afford it at the moment, I can take the 12 months to decide if I really want to cancel or if I can work out a way to afford it again. Financially, if you’re going to get rid of it, make sure you put a little aside each pay if you’re going to get hit with the Medicare surcharge (eg. If your income is $80,000 then 1% is $800). The other thing to consider is your own stash away account for health costs, can you squirrel away a little each pay into a separate account that can grow and only be used for health related expenses? At the moment I still haven’t made a final decision, I’m stuck in the ‘what if’ loop.

I dropped mine down to the basics when I had finished having my kids. You just never know when you may need it. So I don’t have obstetrics now but extras and basic hospital.