We were always of the view that we didn't need it - we were healthy people who don't use doctors a lot and we were in the financial position that if we needed anything, then we had the money to just pay to go private anyway. But then we had kids. Kids who need glasses (and now I need them too!), kids who need a truckload of dental work (2 kids with crap teeth), kids who play football and need mouthguards, kids who need chiropractic (and DH and I need it too), a DH with worn out knees that needed fixing, me with endo problems that needed fixing and the PHI has been a GODSEND! We only got it because DH's work pays for it as a fringe benefit but even once he leaves there we will continue to keep the PHI because you can't afford to be without it these days. the health system is that crappy that even if you are a priority 1 public patient where you need immediate treatment, you are still better off with PHI because it gives you more choices in how you want your treatment handled and not just hoping the hospital lottery pays off.

So it's not always a financial benefit that you will get from it, but it is more of the type of treatment you get and the time it takes you to get it. Some people still have a lot of faith in the public system and in some cases there is little or no difference between public and private - or in the case of maternity services public is far better - but I want the choice, I want to know that I'm able to acess health services quickly if I need it. When I had my endo problems, I saw my GP, saw the gyno 2wks later and had the op 4 weeks after that - 6 weeks was all it took! When I was a lot younger and had the same op done, it took nearly 9 months from seeing the GP for a referral to having it done publically. Even with DH's knees, if he went public, he would be looking at a 2+ year wait, but it only took him 8 weeks with PHI.

I know it is hard to visualise the benefits when all you see is the premium being paid out each month, but it is like that with any insurance - seems pointless to have it when you never make a claim, but if you have to use it for something really substancial, then it immediately pays for itself.