I am 65 yrs old now, i will be hitting the road full time in 18 months.

I have had private health insurance for well over 30 years and have never claimed on it once in all that time.

Thats about $54k in premiums.

Do people continue with private health insurance when ythey are travelling full time?

We kept our, I recently had total knee replacements (both knees).

All it cost me was $500 for anethesasist, surgeon charged no gap, private hospital - 19 days, plus physio, totally free. And that is only one example....

Would have happened either on the road or not..

Hi all; With both my wife and myself now fully retired we have never had private hospital cover and over the years i have 3 stays in hospital as public patient. 2010 double hernia repair, August 2012 total left hip replacement ( 6 month waite ) and again in August 2014 had the right hip replaced. Both were worn out and had bone on bone. The only cost at the time was to pay for a bit of pain relief ( $100.00 ) on all three occasions. The wife and myself have always been public patients. At the time the wards that i were in were all 6 beds wards. You always had someone to talk to and to pass the time away.

On the other foot my father in law had his right hip replaced way back in 1992 and had top cover in the local private hospital, and STILL had to come up with $5000.00 just to pay for the anesiest. The other only other thing that i could see that my father in law got was in private room was the local paper !!. Tiny rooms too, no bigger than your average bathroom in size.    

-- Edited by valiant81 on Thursday 11th of March 2021 03:21:29 PM

-- Edited by valiant81 on Thursday 11th of March 2021 03:23:36 PM

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

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What difference does being on the road or not make to the decision?
Cheers,
Peter

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 Agree. I think I its individual. If your very fit, don't worry. My wifes R hip is a bit crook. So recently increased it.

Claimed SFA over the past 30 odd years though.

We don't have private insurance.

For those who have started private insurance late, the age loading stops after 10 years.

My initial thought was that carrying the extra cost of private Health may have been an expense that some would consider stopping.

gdayjr wrote:

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My initial thought was that carrying the extra cost of private Health may have been an expense that some would consider stopping.

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 I consider stopping everything i look at the bank account. Then remember I'm getting older.

Tony Bev wrote:

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I agree with Peter (Peter and Margaret), it is a decision only you can make, Graham
Regardless if you are on the road, or in your home

I have also had private health insurance, since 17 years of age

I am now 73 and still have it, and it is not cheap

But...

I have no option as I will not get the OAP Old Age Pension, until I am 75, so have nothing to fall back on, if my health deteriorates

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Have you got your ages for pension correct?

B

One major illness and you will understand why private cover is important.

Even more so as you age.

Dropped private health the day my pension health card arrived, Ive since had a major operation, free, had recouperation accommodation, free, fuel paid to and from city. Yes, I shared a ward, no biggie. Another procedure coming up, free. When I had private and had anything done, there was always a gap payment required. I did have top cover. A pair of new glasses each year for us is still less than one months health care payment.

Love that avatar. Its a personal choice.  we have no health insurance. We live in qld and we have public hospital. When i fell and broke my leg and ankle i got a private room because of chemo meds. Win, win. Great food, looked after great. Had a specialist and the best of care. All for free. Cant do better than that. When strop and  i have been sick we have been seen quickly. But i suppose someone who has paid these premiums for a long time would probably feel like its a security blanket and it would b hard to let it go Because letting it go might make u feel insecure. Only you can make your decision. Good luck. 

I had a parent who over a couple of years didn't get much change out of $10k in gap fees.

Whenarewethere wrote:

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I had a parent who over a couple of years didn't get much change out of $10k in gap fees.

 

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 They say thats value !!  Pffft 

Brodie Allen wrote:

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Tony Bev wrote:

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I agree with Peter (Peter and Margaret), it is a decision only you can make, Graham
Regardless if you are on the road, or in your home

I have also had private health insurance, since 17 years of age

I am now 73 and still have it, and it is not cheap

But...

I have no option as I will not get the OAP Old Age Pension, until I am 75, so have nothing to fall back on, if my health deteriorates

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Have you got your ages for pension correct?

 

B

 

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 Yes I have my ages for pension correct

Not complaining, just explaining, I am still happy with my lot, I just have to count my pennies before I spend them

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

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What difference does being on the road or not make to the decision?
Cheers,
Peter

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Budget. Simple as that

Hello Graham,

You held private health cover for all of the healthy years of your life, now when you are approaching what is unarguably the years when you will contract your fatal illness, and possibly require extensive medical treatment, you question the need private health cover.

As you have been relatively healthy up to now (like I was at your age) I am guessing you have not had the chance to experience the difference between public health system and the benefits of private health cover.

From personal experience, I prefer the flexibility and choices that private health insurance offers. Choice of surgeon can make a huge difference to the outcome, of say a cancer operation.

When I was 65, I could have written a similar post as yourself, now mid 70's and 3 major health challenges later, I an extremely grateful for my private health insurance. I do not owe my health insurance provider a cent, I will be forever in their debt.

My recommendation would be to maintain your private health cover, if you  can afford it.

Regards,

Bob

I have no intention of cancelling my private health insurance. 

I simply asked the question about how many people have kept it, and how many have cancelled it due to budget restraints.

I can afford it, and will continue to keep it, but the answers are pretty mixed about what people consider value for money, verses the risk of not having it.

bomurra wrote:

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Hello Graham,

You held private health cover for all of the healthy years of your life, now when you are approaching what is unarguably the years when you will contract your fatal illness, and possibly require extensive medical treatment, you question the need private health cover.

As you have been relatively healthy up to now (like I was at your age) I am guessing you have not had the chance to experience the difference between public health system and the benefits of private health cover.

From personal experience, I prefer the flexibility and choices that private health insurance offers. Choice of surgeon can make a huge difference to the outcome, of say a cancer operation.

When I was 65, I could have written a similar post as yourself, now mid 70's and 3 major health challenges later, I an extremely grateful for my private health insurance. I do not owe my health insurance provider a cent, I will be forever in their debt.

My recommendation would be to maintain your private health cover, if you  can afford it.

Regards,

Bob

 

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 Hi, we use public health system and strop had bowel cancer, had surgery and chemo and i can tellyou, he had the best care. you are wrong if you think there will be a huge difference in the outcome. A lot of private doctors work for the public system Too. Nothing wrong with public health system in qld. And i tell u that for free.