We have all heard the famous saying, “health is wealth.” But many of us forget to take care of our health because we feel that we won’t be victims of accidents or illnesses.
However, a private health insurance scheme will be your best friend if any unforeseen situation arises.
You’d be surprised to know that in Australia, more than half of the population, that is, 13.6 million people approximately, have private health insurance.
If you’re unsure whether to enroll in health insurance, here are some reasons why you must!
1. Shorter waiting periods
Probably the greatest advantage of private medicare life insurance schemes is the fact that you have to wait for a much shorter period to receive your health benefits as compared to public health insurance policies.
This is particularly helpful when it comes to elective surgery because, in the public healthcare system, the waiting time is far longer.
Elective surgery is when you have pre-booked the surgery in advance, such as for a cataract operation or a joint replacement.
In private health insurance schemes, the patient can even decide when to be admitted to the hospital.
2. Extra care
Another big advantage of private health insurance is also the aftercare that you receive after getting your surgery or checkup done.
Medicare often cannot cover extra care facilities such as physiotherapy, dental care, in-home nursing, occupational speech therapy, or chiropractors, to name a few.
But according to the extra policies in the private health insurance scheme, you get all these benefits.
These extras or ancillary covers will enable you to take advantage of non-hospital treatments without having to spend a whole lot of money.
3. Dental care covered
As mentioned, dental care isn’t covered by Medicare but is part of private health insurance.
If you don’t have private insurance coverage, you’ll either have to go to a public dental clinic or pay the entire bill at your private clinic.
However, access to public dental clinics is often limited, and the waitlist is also long.
So, having the benefit of private health insurance can be a big advantage here. This is because they will cover almost the entire bill and you won’t have to pay anything.
The exact amount covered will depend on your policy provider.
4. Health insurance rebate
Did you know that the majority of Australians who have access to private health insurance receive a rebate from the government?
This helps them to cover the cost of the premiums.
Your private health insurance rebate amount will depend on your income and age. You can claim it directly from your annual tax returns, or the money can be deducted from your premium payments.
In many cases, the rebate allows you to access options that wouldn’t be possible without private health insurance, such as pregnancy-related services.
5. Private hospital rooms
Most patients prefer a private hospital room to recover quietly after a major surgery. This reduces the risk of contamination but also makes sure that every patient heals properly.
However, this option is only limited to private hospitals because public hospitals don’t often have the facilities to accommodate only one person in each room.
Private health insurance members can easily ask for their own room in a private hospital without going through any problems.
However, the availability of single rooms will depend on the present vacancy at the hospital.
6. Hospital selection
Private health insurance members can also choose which hospital or specialist they wish to go to. This is especially beneficial for people living in rural and remote areas since they can’t access hospitals or specialists easily.
If you have private healthcare insurance, you can ask your policy providers which doctor you’d like to go to.
In a public hospital, however, this choice will be severely limited because you won’t have the option of going to a hospital of your choice. Instead, it will solely depend on the doctor on their duty rounds at the time of your arrival.
Over to you…
So, dear reader, these are just a few of the very many benefits that you’ll get after enrolling yourself in a private healthcare scheme.
So what are you waiting for? Book an appointment with your healthcare provider today, or look up some online resources!
Disclaimer: This article contains sponsored marketing content. It is intended for promotional purposes and should not be considered as an endorsement or recommendation by our website. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise their own judgment before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article.
