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Private health insurance is a dud. That’s why a majority of Australians don’t have it
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2024
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I’ve seen how the public system can work when it’s working well and I’ve read plenty of terrifying stories from USA from both “successful” and failed private health visits to know that our public system is a treasure that we should try our damndest to protect.
It’s part of why I’ve copped the Medicare charge instead of getting private health when I turned 30. I would rather pay a little more for a decent health system than pay a lot more for a shit one.
I have Private health insurance because I essentially need to pay the cost of private insurance in extra levies if I don't get it.
I am currently copping the extra levies out of principle.
I would rather pay the extra tax than be forced to entire the criminally corrupt public system.
The problem is that the runaway inflation (caused by corporate price-gouging) is resulting in increased cost of living.
I have been fortunate enough to receive a pay-rise that reduces the pain caused by the CoL crisis, but it has pushed me into a higher tax bracket.
We do use Medibank. In a family of four, I've maxed out my Physio for the year (first time), my kid has spent a chunk on orthodontics, my wife got glasses and osteo care. It's borderline on whether we use enough to justify our premiums - probably not this year. But we did have one year with a few surgeries that made me happy the insurance was there.
Edit: oh! And our dental visits, I forgot!
If it were just me, my own use of private insurance would not have justified the premium I've been paying all these years. But I'm probably close to breaking even over the past 15 years or so with my wife and kids added to the mix.