private health insurance

Question 1

private health insurance

Answer 1

• type of insurance under which members pay a premium in return for payment towards health-related costs not covered by medicare
• optional form of health insurance which can be purchased in addition to medicare
• largely funded by private health insurance companies

Question 2

elective surgery

Answer 2

surgery that does not involve a medical emergency (involves a waiting list)

Question 3

emergency treatment

Answer 3

medical treatment that is necessary as a matter of urgency to:
- save a persons life
- prevent serious damage to the persons health
- prevent the person from suffering significant pain or distress

Question 4

premium

Answer 4

the amount paid for insurance (the fee)

Question 5

incentive

Answer 5

something that motivates or encourages someone to do something

Question 6

rebate

Answer 6

money that is coming back to you from the government

Question 7

surcharge

Answer 7

an additional charge or payment

Question 8

the private system

Answer 8

• private health insurance (includes hospital and extras cover)
• private hospitals
• private health providers

Question 9

why do we have private health insurance?

Answer 9

• contributes much of the necessary healthcare funding to medicare
• gives Australians more choice in the sort of care they wish to access

Question 10

what does it cover out of hospital?

Answer 10

• extras cover: pays for services that are generally not covered by Medicare eg:
  
  • dentists
  • physiotherapists
  • chiropractors
  • optometrists
  • dietitians
  • obstetricians
    the individual can choose which extras are covered

Question 11

what does it cover in hospital

Answer 11

• greater choice in terms of which hospitals they go to and doctors that treat them
• may be provided with their own room
• generally don’t have to wait on long waiting lists for elective surgery

Question 12

the gap

Answer 12

• costs that the patients must pay themselves
• the cost that the private health insurance companies don’t cover

Question 13

costs in private hospitals

Answer 13

• medicare pays 75% of the schedule fee
• private health insurance pays the majority of the rest
• patients may have to pay the gap

Question 14

incentives for private health insurance

Answer 14

• private health insurance rebate
• lifetime health cover
• medicare levy surcharge
• age-based discount

Question 15

why are there incentives in place?

Answer 15

• many people opted out of private health insurance when medicare was introduced
• this put strain on the public health system as fewer people were using private hospitals

Question 16

private health insurance rebate

Answer 16

• people will earn some of the money from their premiums back
• up to 30% money back
• income tested

Question 17

lifetime health cover

Answer 17

• those who take out private health insurance after the age of 31 will pay an extra 2% on their premiums
• encourages young people to take out private health insurance

Question 18

medicare levy surcharge

Answer 18

• 1-1.5% additional tax for those high income earners who don’t have private health insurance
• targets high income earners
• income tested

Question 19

age-based discount

Answer 19

• people aged 18-29 can receive up to a 10% discount on their premiums
• allows for a 2% reduction in premiums up to 10% for each year that this person is aged under 30
• the discount will be applied until the person turns 41 at which point it will decrease by 2% each year until it is 0
• encourages young people to take out private health insurance

Question 20

income tested

Answer 20

a determination of
whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance
based on their level of income