Frank Is Recommended For Budget Family 457 Visa Health Insurance

If your looking for low cost Family 457 Visa Health Insurance then Frank Overseas Visitor Health Cover is recommended.

This recommendation was made in July 2017 based on their policy:

• Being the cheapest family 457 visa health insurance cover at $150 per month
• Has 100% cover for private hospital fees (and public) except for doctor’s fees & excluded/restricted treatments
• Includes private room options
• Has doctor’s fees coverage when in hospital at 100% of the medicare scheduled fee
• Includes pharmaceuticals except for some expensive drugs
• Covers funeral expenses up to $5,000 per person
• Covers repatriation up to $20,000 per membership
• Includes emergency ambulance cover

Frank is a subsidiary of GMHBA, one of Australia’s older health funds that was formed in 1934. The health group has over 250,000 members in Australia with a wide range of health insurance policies. Both Frank and it’s parent company GMHBA have outstanding customer reviews of 94% and 82% respectively.

Unlike most other subclass 457 visa family health insurance policies, Frank includes private hospital cover and the option of a private room. While single 457 visa holders may be happy to be treated in a shared room within a public hospital most families prefer the option of treatment in a private hospital. The catch is that the policy has a $500 excess per person (up to $1,000 per family annually). This means that if you get administered to a hospital you will need to pay the first $500 of expenses after which Frank will pay the rest. If you choose to have a private room you also need to make a ‘co-payment’ of $100 per night (up to $700 per admission).

Don’t Mind Getting Treated In A Public Hospital (Shared Room)?

Some parents don’t mind either themselves or their family being treated in an Australian public hospital with a shared room.

These policy holder should consider Australian Unity’s Worker Cover plus based on:

• The policy’s low price of $184.25 per month.
• $0 excess when administered to a public hospital (shared room only)
• Doctors fees when in hospital being covered at 100% of the medicare scheduled fee
• Pharmaceuticals being included
• 100% emergency ambulance cover
• Repatriation cover being included (up to $20,000)

Australia Unity is one of Australia’s oldest health funds and has offered services across health, wealth and living for over 175 years. On product review they have a rating of 1.6/5 from 98 reviews. The work visa policy above excludes private hospital cover, specialists and out-of-hospital fees. These should be considered when purchasing the policy although the $0 excess can be critical when on a tight budget.

Overseas Visitor Visa Requirements

Work visas in Australia have different requirements with the subclass 457 visa and subclass 485 visa requiring condition 8501 be met. This overseas visitor requirement is to have proof of adequate health insurance for a 457 visa application. All the policies above meet this 8501 visa requirement. If you come from a country with a reciprocal health insurance arrangement excluding Ireland, you can’t apply for Medicare until you come to Australia so you still require health insurance for the 457 visa application. Most working professionals also choose to keep their overseas visitor health insurance even after they receive Medicare due to the additional cover and to avoid paying the medicare levy surcharge.

Overall, overseas visitor health cover is often chosen as it:

• Meets their visa health insurance requirement
• Provides cover above the ‘safety net’ level of Medicare
• Can help reduce tax (Medicare Levy Surcharge)
• Helps avoid lifetime health cover

Finding the right policy that meets your health requirements and budget is critical to ensure your happy with your overseas visitor health insurance cover.

About This 457 Health Insurance Comparison

This 457 health insurance comparison was made on the 27th of July 2017. And based on the lower price of cover and other features, HIF had the best value policy for those looking for affordable policies. If you’re looking for better levels of cover, then please change your options in which case the preferred policy may change. It’s important to note that other elements covered include accidents and ambulance cover in case you encounter an unforeseen issue during your stay in Australia. A full PDF of HIF’s family 457 visa health insurance policy should be viewed to understand all the key policy details.

As with all 457 health insurance policies there are required waiting periods that need to be served before you can make a claim. This includes two months waiting for services such as palliative care, rehabilitation and psychiatric treatments. There is also a 12-month waiting period for pre-existing injuries (standard across all Australian health funds) and for pregnancy and birth-related services. If you are seriously considering having children in the short to medium term, you should rethink your 457 health insurance comparison. You should consider increasing your work visa cover to a top level policy that gives you the option of getting obstetrics and childbirth services at a private hospital.

Background To Comparing Family 457 Visa Health Insurance

On the 27th of July, a panel of experts formulated the family 457 visa health insurance table and agreed on the recommended 457 visa health policy based on several key elements such as price, policy benefits and waiting periods. This was not an automated process and all information used for the table above and the decision of the recommended health fund was gained through diligent analysis of each fund’s website and policies. You can view our exclusive authors’ blog about the value 457 visa health insurance for families here.

It’s important to note, that none of the work visa policies include extras cover. Extras are not part of the subclass 457 visa health insurance requirement and are not typically covered by public hospital cover. Rather, these are elements you are more likely to make a claim on regularly such as optical, dental, physiotherapy and chiropractics. There are limits to these policies as to the maximum amount you can claim per year and per item (eg. a pair of glasses). There is also waiting limits on most extras which can range from two months to a maximum of 12 months (which often applies for major dental work). It’s strongly recommended that families consider how regularly they may need these services each year, the cost of treatment in Australia, as well as the additional cost of adding extras cover to your hospital cover package. An example is that for Australian Unity, adding comprehensive extras cover leads to an additional $1,363.20 cost annually. Now for a family of four which sees a dentist each twice a year, gets measured for a few pair of eyeglasses and some physiotherapy sessions; the policy costs vs savings may break even. Full consideration into these factors should be made prior to your family 457 visa health insurance purchase.

As the publishers of this website have compared policies themselves based on all the information available publicly, it cannot guarantee the data will remain accurate, as the prices and benefits offered by policies typically change on an annual basis. The website is updated regularly and any feedback received is quickly acted upon to ensure the accuracy of the advice and information provided. Therefore, the comparison tools on this site are indicative and should be used only as a general guide. Please refer to the relevant Family 457 Visa Health Insurance policy documents and PDFs for comprehensive details such as limits and waiting periods. Learn more about family visa requirements on our blog.

Making A Claim On Your Family 457 Health Insurance Policy

When you need a medical service such as visiting a general practitioner (GP) there will be two ways that you may be able to make a claim through your Family 457 health insurance policy. The first method is to provide the doctor/hospital your private 457 visa family health insurance card (which will be provided from the health fund) which will apply immediately to the bill. The second method is to pay for the procedure and then make the claim with your fund either online, over the phone, via e-mail or via post.

Whichever way you claim the amount you get back will be the same which is often determined by the MBS. If your policy is (budget) such as those above the amount back may not cover the full costs so you will have to pay the difference. The premium options offered through the drop-down tab shows other policies that will pay higher than the MBS rate. This is one of the key elements you should consider prior to purchasing your health insurance for 457 visa holder policy.