Can I add to the original question? I have never ever had PHI and neither had hubby, nor did our parents when we were kids. I know that not having it means you get put in waiting lists when you need something, but generally everything is covered by medicare? But when you have PHI you may get treatment straight away but you have to pay for loads of things like blood tests, ultrasounds etc. Is that right? And if so, is the only benefit to PHI not going on waiting lists?
There are many medications and health services that are not covered under Medicare (or they may be, but they are in such short supply that it's not only the waiting list but being able to access those services that is the issue). Dentists are one example, yes, there are public dentists (mostly through hospitals) but good luck getting an appointment for an annual check up!

Physios, chiros, most other 'alternative' therapies are not covered by Medicare. You can go to a dr or pharmacy and get drugs if you are in pain, but ongoing pain management through anything I mentioned you'd have to pay out of pocket without PHI. Also, a lot of health aids might not be covered (or if they are you are very restricted in what you can get, glasses come to mind here, as do braces). My orthodontic expenses all up cost over $12,000 (braces, dental work, oral surgery, implant). I got about two thirds of that back from PHI. The point is not just that I would have been more out of pocket, but in all likelihood, because it was 'cosmetic' (let's ignore the fact I was grinding my teeth down to nothing, had one missing completely and would have needed significant work and probably dentures in future when it got acute) it would not have happened at all in the public system.

Psychologists and psychiatrists are another one - there are some that are publicly funded, but unless you have an acute condition and can get to where they are based, then you certainly won't get treatment in the timeframe you might like.

That's just off the top of my head. So if it's a specialist that you can find in a public hospital, yes, Medicare will cover that and technically you would be more 'out of pocket' if you went to someone privately. But because there are so few, you might not be able to get all the treatments you would like.

I actually have used the public hospitals when I needed to (not as an in-patient) and for acute issues, like an injury, I found them to be good. But when I had a sore back this week, I was very grateful to be able to book in to see a chiro immediately and only pay a very small fee by comparison to what the actual fee was, thanks to PHI. And with two more visits needed this month, then my PHI has paid for itself for the month. And that's before I factor in the physio-led antenatal aqua classes I take every week that PHI also contributes the majority of the cost towards.

At heart, I'm actually more of a socialist and I have a strong belief that publicly funding PHI (though the PHI rebate) is not the best use of public health money and taxes. I would like all people to have access to the health services I mentioned above, without preference going to those who can afford it and not those who need it most. But that's a debate for another day! I work with the system I find myself in.