Medibank: Extras Cover Insurance
Medibank is one of the most popular insurance providers in Australia.
I was with them for a while when I was on a bridging working visa ten years ago (2008). Eight years later, I still decided to opt for them when I was deciding on the Extras Cover Insurance.
I was with them for a while when I was on a bridging working visa ten years ago (2008). Eight years later, I still decided to opt for them when I was deciding on the Extras Cover Insurance.
The Extras Cover is an optional cover that local residents can opt for in the case that they choose not to have the hospital cover.
In Australia, if you are a wage earner earning above the $90,000 threshold, it is recommended that you get the hospital cover. Buying private hospital cover can may help you to minimise your tax by avoiding having to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).
The MLS is a surcharge of between 1% and 1.5% of your income if you don’t have private hospital cover. The good news is that you can buy a basic level of hospital cover for around the same price as (or even less than) the additional tax you might have to pay.
In Australia, if you are a wage earner earning above the $90,000 threshold, it is recommended that you get the hospital cover. Buying private hospital cover can may help you to minimise your tax by avoiding having to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).
The MLS is a surcharge of between 1% and 1.5% of your income if you don’t have private hospital cover. The good news is that you can buy a basic level of hospital cover for around the same price as (or even less than) the additional tax you might have to pay.
There is also the LHC (Lifetime Hospital Cover) which is a loading on top of the base rate premium for your private health insurance cover. It was introduced by the Australian govt in the year 2000 to encourage more people over the age of 31 to take out hospital insurance earlier, and to maintain the cover over their lifetime.
Hence if you are a local resident aged 31 years old and above, there is a 2% loading for every year for the next continuous ten years on the hospital cover.
For the purpose of this post, however I will write about Extras Cover instead. As I currently do not earn more than 90,000, the MLS does not affect me... and frankly, I don't really care about the LHC until my pay goes above the 90,000 threshold anyways.
I am currently on the Basic Extra 70s. I pay a monthly premium of $32.70 which works out roughly to $392.40 for 2018 (The insurance providers change their premium every year). I currently am eligible for the Australian government rebate of 25.42% .
What Do I like about the Medibank Basic Extra 70?
Initially, I was on a Top Extras 70 cover which cost me about $64 over per month in 2015. When I first bought this plan a few years ago, I was living in New South Wales. At that time, traditional massages were much cheaper, with some places offering massages for as long at $60 per hour. I was only paying 30% out of pocket.
When I moved to Victoria in 2016, I realised that traditional massages were much more expensive. I could hardly find affordable traditional treatments.
Considering that I was hardly using the benefits (and paying a lot more out of pocket for the traditional massages in the state of Victoria), I decided to downgrade to a cheaper plan that still covered the basics, and 70% out of pocket.
One of the main reasons I bought the cover was that it included the Ambulance services. In the event of an emergency that I was hospitalised, I had ambulance cover that would pay for the calling of the ambulance, and my trip to the hospital.
The following are the benefits I am covered under, and how much I am entitled to every 1st January:
* $750 cover for General Dental (which I haven't used any this year... so I really need to make a trip to the dentist).
* $200 cover for Optical (I also need to get a new pair of sunglasses ordered)>
* $55.60 cover remaining (out of $100) for alternative therapies
(which is useless in the state of Victoria, as all the treatments are overcharged... it is cheaper to pay using cash for a normal traditional massage).
Last but not least, I have $313.60 balance cover (out of $450) for Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, and Osteopathy combined cover.
I use most of my Extras Cover for chiropractor services these days, as I have found a provider that charges competitively although it is a bit of a drive to Melton (about 25 mins from Truganina).
Hence if you are a local resident aged 31 years old and above, there is a 2% loading for every year for the next continuous ten years on the hospital cover.
For the purpose of this post, however I will write about Extras Cover instead. As I currently do not earn more than 90,000, the MLS does not affect me... and frankly, I don't really care about the LHC until my pay goes above the 90,000 threshold anyways.
I am currently on the Basic Extra 70s. I pay a monthly premium of $32.70 which works out roughly to $392.40 for 2018 (The insurance providers change their premium every year). I currently am eligible for the Australian government rebate of 25.42% .
What Do I like about the Medibank Basic Extra 70?
Initially, I was on a Top Extras 70 cover which cost me about $64 over per month in 2015. When I first bought this plan a few years ago, I was living in New South Wales. At that time, traditional massages were much cheaper, with some places offering massages for as long at $60 per hour. I was only paying 30% out of pocket.
When I moved to Victoria in 2016, I realised that traditional massages were much more expensive. I could hardly find affordable traditional treatments.
Considering that I was hardly using the benefits (and paying a lot more out of pocket for the traditional massages in the state of Victoria), I decided to downgrade to a cheaper plan that still covered the basics, and 70% out of pocket.
The following are the benefits I am covered under, and how much I am entitled to every 1st January:
* $750 cover for General Dental (which I haven't used any this year... so I really need to make a trip to the dentist).
* $200 cover for Optical (I also need to get a new pair of sunglasses ordered)>
* $55.60 cover remaining (out of $100) for alternative therapies
(which is useless in the state of Victoria, as all the treatments are overcharged... it is cheaper to pay using cash for a normal traditional massage).
Last but not least, I have $313.60 balance cover (out of $450) for Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, and Osteopathy combined cover.
I use most of my Extras Cover for chiropractor services these days, as I have found a provider that charges competitively although it is a bit of a drive to Melton (about 25 mins from Truganina).
Do you subscribe to Extras Cover, and which provider do you go with?
Related Link:
Related Link:
Health.gov.au: private hospital cover LHC
Etax: Health Cover
Comments
Yef Pay
LOL. Can't believe I have my own blog domain now instead of having to see "blogspot" on the url address.