@matthewoz said:
Naka received po ako ng offer from a school at binigay din po yung babayaran kong initial fee + OSHC cover.
Sabi po nung school, kung sila ang magpoprocess nung OSHC ay kailangan ko nang bayaran. Nakalagay po dun tatlong klase, single, couple, at family.
Single - $1,194.00
Couple - AUD AUD $4,083.10
Family - AUD $6,148.00
May partner po ako at isang baby.
Ano po ba ang mas ok at mas makaka mura? Base po kasi sa na-research ko, dapat yung main student applicant muna mag apply ng visa then to follow na lang si partner para pag na-deny si partner, hindi madeny kasama si main sponsor. Tama po ba ito?
Kung tama ito, pwede po ba syang mag apply ng hiwalay na insurance kasi parang mas mura pag single cover type base sa binigay na presyo nung school (Medibank).
Ano po ba magandang diskarte dito para makatipid kami?
When you said "main sponsor," do you mean that may magssponsor sa family mo to study in Australia? Whether combined or subsequent application, you'd still have to provide adequate proof of financial capacity to support the family while in Australia.
I'm not sure if anyone in this forum was able to apply for separate OSHC for families and not have problems with it when claiming benefits, and if may difference sa visa grant rates kung separate din ang application ng student from the student dependents. In my opinion, the cost of couple and family OSHC coverage is much higher possibly because of the high cost for pregnancy-related procedures (check-up, radiology, delivery, etc), and tendencies of kids to get sick (and therefore have to visit the doctors often).
Kahit makatipid po with separate OSHC, you still have to set aside some funds for upfront medical fees. I don't know if you are aware of how OSHC works, but you have to pay for the medical fees upfront, and then you'll have to lodge a claim online to your OSHC provider (scanning or taking photo of the receipt). The OSHC will only reimburse you up to the value based on your policy's coverage for a particular item. If the medical provider charges beyond the maximum value for an item under the MBS, you will have to pay for the Gap Fee / Co-payment / Out-of-Pocket expenses yourself. For example, if the doctor charges AUD 50 for a consult, and your OSHC only covers up to AUD 38, your OSHC provider will only reimburse you AUD 38. So in the end you've paid for AUD 12 outside of your OSHC coverage. If the specialist charges AUD 250 for initial consult (even if may referral from GP), and the OSHC will reimburse you AUD 75, that's still an AUD 175 out-of-pocket expense.
In my experience, hindi naman ako sakitin, kaya bihira ko magamit ang OSHC ko (swerte ang OSHC provider ko hahaha). In the past year, I've spent about AUD 1400, but was only able to get reimbursement for AUD 711. That's a whopping AUD 689 in out-of-pocket fees (mahal kasi yung magpatingin sa specialist). I've been to several GPs, a specialist (dito ka talaga mapapagastos, they can charge around AUD 250 for a consult), have blood work and radiology tests done (which, thankfully, hindi ako na-charge). OSHC puts a high premium based on the assumption that potential students may require frequent GP visits throughout their stay in Australia.
BTW, confirm if the Medibank OSHC is the comprehensive policy. I'm on that, and so far I really like it kasi mabilis lang ang process for reimbursement and nakocover to some extent yun medical fees. You can also shop around for other OSHC providers and see their coverage. If you feel you don't need to get comprehensive coverage, you can spend less on your OSHC policy by getting basic coverage lang, but yun nga may risk na mas malaki ang babayaran mo kung sakaling kailanganin ang isang procedure na hindi covered ng insurance mo.