If you have private health insurance, you won’t have to suffer in pain and discomfort on long public hospital wait lists.
Wait lists have blown out up to two years in the public system for some common procedures, such as:
This compares to people who have private health insurance, where members can access surgery and treatment within weeks.
Having private health insurance also allows you to choose your Doctor and have continuity of care with your fully trained specialist.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the backlog of elective surgeries won’t be cleared until 2022.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone said he “feared patients facing additional delays after waiting for surgery in the public system would be left in pain or suffering potentially deadly complications.”
This means if you need a joint replacement, cataracts or surgery for endometriosis – you may not be treated in the public system until 2022.
It’s so important that you keep your private health insurance to get access to timely and efficient care. By avoiding long public hospital wait lists – you’ll get back to your life, work and family sooner when you don’t have to wait as long for surgery.
The private system also funds surgeries and treatments that are not readily available in the public system, such as:
Private health insurance is an important part of any household budget and in these challenging times, families are looking for things to cut back on.
However, private health insurance shouldn’t be one of them.
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven our health and access to quality care is more important than ever.
Keep you and your family covered in these uncertain times.
Australia’s mixed private/public system is one of the best health systems in the world.
Particularly when it comes to mental health, Australians with private health insurance have better access to services and treatments than those relying on the overstretched public system.
In the private system, members with PHI have access to comprehensive in-patient treatment for depression, anxiety, eating disorders and drug/alcohol substance abuse.
Mental health treatment is the most common reason women under 30 claim against their private health insurance and the second most common reason men under 30 claim.
