The 485 visa health insurance rules are nearly the same as those for the Skilled Immigration Visa (General), or Skilled Immigration Visa (Spur visa). However, under certain circumstances you must also have an appropriate level of medical health insurance in force for your visa application to be successful. These plans are often called Overseas Visitor Health Insurance (OVHC), and they’re offered by only a select group of international health insurance funds. The main difference is that the health cover for the visa applicant needs to cover any potential healthcare costs for that applicant while they’re out of the country.
This is usually when an employer offers overseas employment to an Australian applicant. Typically, it’s also when a spouse or partner becomes permanently employed by an Australian company. An overseas spouse or partner needs to have an appropriate level of coverage on their own domestic health insurance policy. Often an additional overseas term life or sickness cover is required as well to ensure that both families’ health insurance remains in force throughout the period of employment. For those with an adequate source of income usually only require one overseas term life or sickness policy that will be sufficient to cover any potential medical costs while they’re working offshore.
When purchasing overseas hospital cover for the 485 visa health insurance, the primary concern is actually in obtaining hospitalization coverage that is sufficient for treatment that may occur while the applicant is outside the country. Many people don’t realize that they actually do have a few options when it comes to overseas hospitalization care. For those with an adequate source of income medical evacuation may not even be an option. For those families that are struggling financially, they often have to decide between arranging hospital care or risking the chance of leaving their loved ones back in Australia.
For families or individuals who are unable to leave their home country due to financial or other circumstances, the primary goal of health cover is to provide relief during periods of need when there isn’t a Medicare-based coverage available in the region of the world they reside. For these individuals or families, emergency ambulance cover is often the only option. Ambulance services are often very limited and it can be difficult to get the care you need in an emergency. For this reason, ambulance cover is often one of the more expensive options for 485 visa health insurance applicants. While this type of coverage does provide some important coverage, the out-of-country travel hospitalization premiums often have an additional premium that makes hospitalization far more expensive than the premiums to cover the emergency ambulance service while out of the country.
The Australian Institute of Health Insurance acknowledges, “Many international patients choose overseas hospitals that are accredited by the Joint Commission International.” Unfortunately, many Australian hospitals do not meet this standard and it is for this reason that some patients choose to travel to countries such as Malaysia or Thailand where hospitals that are licensed by the J CI can be found easily. This is why the private health fund offer over travel insurance to their customers as a supplement to their private health fund, but it should be noted that the benefits that can be accrued through the use of ovhc are far greater than the benefits that would be available if the applicant chose to use the J CI stamp.
If you are traveling to another country for healthcare reasons, you may not have adequate Medicare benefits in your country of origin. Even if you do not have Medicare benefits, you may find it difficult to get hospital cover from your medical travel company. For this reason, it is a good idea to investigate the options available to you in the country you are traveling to. In most cases, you will find that private health insurers and private health funds in other countries provide hospital cover to those traveling to Australia without any additional insurance. It is always best to confirm this with the hospital cover company you are using.
There is an additional type of coverage known as family health insurance policy and this type of policy is generally only suitable for those traveling to a country with a higher level of health care. This coverage is usually more expensive than the Medicare benefits provided but the benefit is better in the event of any unforeseen circumstances. The benefit provides you with extra cover in the event of your partner getting ill or taking ill with a terminal illness. However, family health insurance policy covers only the family and the cost of the premiums are taken out of the family’s income. For this reason it is usually recommended that family health insurance policy is purchased by those travelling to countries that have a higher level of health care. It is possible to get a family health insurance policy from most private health insurance providers although this would increase the premium rate.
The benefits of a 485 visa health insurance coverage are great as they offer you peace of mind in the event that any member of your family becomes sick. The benefits also make it easy for you to get the medical attention you require when you need it. Therefore if you are planning a trip to any countries in the Middle East and you are concerned about the health coverage available or the cost of the medical treatment, then you should consider purchasing a 485 visa health insurance policy that will ensure you get the medical attention you need at an affordable price.
