Private Health Insurance for dental

[Traveller]

Currently my family has no private health insurance, but as I have 4 kids I am thinking that getting at least extras cover would be wise. (I have visions of all 4 kids being told they need braces at the same time and me going bankrupt to fund it :lol ). I've looked through a comparison website and am even more confused than before I started. Private health insurance is very new to me, so I was wondering if any kind soul could tell me the basics of what sort of cover to look for? Also, are there any common mistakes people make buying insurance (things in the small print to look for)?

Thanks so much wonderful BBers

[onthefly]

Extras cover often doesn't actually cover all that much, especially dental. The basic ones generally just cover 1-2 checkups and a % of cleaning/x-rays, etc. You need the higher level ones to get orthodontics or whatever and there are still limits on what they will cover per year. For eg, we only have basic level cover and there's an overall annual limit of $500 per year.
So you need to consider what is covered. How much of individual treatments are covered. What % you're still likely to be paying and what agreements your PHI fund may have with particular practitioners (ie, in some cases you may get certain things with no out of pocket payment with some practioners but not others). Also, what annual limits there are on what you claim.

consider what your premiums will be like and any waiting periods (it might be 1 year on higher-level dental treatments) - and compare this total cost (over x years) against how much you can actually get back from the fund. Is it worth it? Could you have simply set aside x amount per year in the meantime and paid for it yourself at a lower overall cost?

[Bathsheba]

It CAN be so confusing. I find the best way is to ask people in a similar situation to yourself which insurer they use and are they happy? After you have asked around long enough you start to get a feel for what people are experiencing.

We have had PHI (private health insurance) for about 12 years now. We have only been with NIB and are very happy with them. We mainly use it for the dental cover and as we are a family of 5 we almost recoup our premiums by what we save at the dentist and optometrist each year alone! Our policy refunds us 80% of each visit. HOWEVER we recieve a discount on the premiums because DH's employer (a bank) gets a staff discount. We also have hospital cover and it came in handy recently when DH needed a sudden hernia operation... if we were public patients he would still be on a waiting list... he had the op within a week of it being diagnosed... $200 out of pocket expense.

Remember that if you have full PHI you wont need to pay as much Medicare Levy which might or might not save you $ at tax time.

Goodluck with your research.

ETA: Marcellus is right; you do usually need to pay more than basic Extras to get cover for braces. I'm not sure we are covered... but then again my kids probably wont be needing them according to what our dentist has already said.... phew!

[nic]

When comparing policies, you have to be careful reading the wording. Some might say a limit of per person per calender year, some will be per FAMILY for a year or per family for the lifetime of your cover. You read so many different policies, sometimes just those few key words slip through..
If you find something you like, ring or walk in if you can, and have a chat with someone. Get them to explain anything you don't understand or need more information on.

[Bathsheba]

Yep, we have per family member limits such as 2 scale & cleans per calendar year etc. But we haven't needed more than what we have been covered for, yet.

[Trillian]

Wow Bath, that doesn't seem like much! Ours is fantastic. Per person per year, we get $1700 preventative dental and 85% of the cost of x-rays and restorative services (fillings), plus $2400 per person for orthodontic. Which is good because DD1 starts orthodontic work next week and DS1 starts in Feb next year.

Traveller, it's easier to call them and ask them what you want. The internet sites are hopeless and usually you can get a deal if you talk to someone because they may have special joining offers etc

[onthefly]

Oh and those online comparison sites don't include the big companies either, generally speaking.
Are you a member of choice? I think they've done a comprehensive comparison (though it might be out of date)

[mrsmac]

We are with teachers health which has been great except orthodontic. We only get $1800 back in a lifetime per person after 3 yrs member ship and I think the max even after many years is 2K. Considering DD2 has just embarked on her orthodontic journey and is up for 2,800 and that's BEFORE the braces when she is 14 its not much. According to friends not many funds pay much for orthodontic sadly.

[Traveller]

Thanks everyone, you have given me a lot to think about.

At the moment I am thinking a credit card and savings account might be better than a health fund, but I will look some more before I decide

xx

[Trillian]

Traveller, that was always our plan too - have a slush fund of sorts to pay for things like that because we couldn't see the benefit of PHI for the little you get back. So we only have PHI because it is a corporate plan paid for by DH's work. Your kids are only little yet, so you have plenty of time in theory to save up for potential ortho work and anything else that may pop up.

[Bathsheba]

The 2 scale and cleans per year per family member is only one of many services we get 80% off under our plan... it also includes fillings and other procedures like sealing (our two eldest have had their molars sealed to prevent decay). They are the only services we've had to use so far.... oh and x-rays (covered). The best thing i like is that just swipe my NIB card and it tells the receptionist how much they will cover and the balance (it's called HiCaps i think)... usually walk out of the dentist paying only about $20... if we had no PHI I'd be handing over at least $100 per visit and with 5 of us going now it seems that we are there every month. Our dentist also gives us a little "show-bag" of items including a Colgate brush/ toothpaste/ floss each visit which also saves us a little.

[Pandora]

Traveller, that was always our plan too - have a slush fund of sorts to pay for things like that because we couldn't see the benefit of PHI for the little you get back. So we only have PHI because it is a corporate plan paid for by DH's work. Your kids are only little yet, so you have plenty of time in theory to save up for potential ortho work and anything else that may pop up.

Trill, which fund is that thru?

[Bathsheba]

Two of the BIG Four banks use NIB as their PHI corporate plan for staff. When DH switched banks our policy didn't change... phew!

[BeautifulMadness]

hmmh mine covers the usual stuff....i think you need to go to the next level of coverage to get what u r talking abt...

they all have an annual limit.. im with medibank

[Trillian]

Pandora, I only just saw this thread again now. Our PHI is with GUHealth.