Posted by
PlanB
20 yrs ago
My husband and I are considering having another baby. Our first was born in Australia (in a family birthing centre - wonderful experience!), and our second in HK (Queen Mary - not such a wonderful experience!). We used the public health system in both cases and would be looking to do so again. I really don't think I could face the whole Tsan Yuk and QMH thing again, so if we were to have another baby we would seriously consider going back to Australia for the birth. My husband and I are both Australian citizens who have been living in HK for a couple of years...are we still entitled to use the public system in Australia? I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has done this...
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Hi. I understand that you are entitled to Medicare benefits for five years after leaving Australia (provided you're Australian of course!). Medicare would be able to answer your question.
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Medicare
General public enquiries
Phone
132 011 (local call rate)
Mail
Medicare
GPO Box 9822
in your capital city
Email
medicare@medicareaustralia.gov.au
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ness
20 yrs ago
Ring and check the details very carefully . Whilst living in England I returned home for my sisters wedding. I was fifteen weeks pregnant and miscarried whilst I was in Sydney. On going to the doctors to get treatment I discovered that Medicare refused to cover my care because I had been out of the country for more than 180 days. When I asked if I could be covered under the reciprocal care arrangement they have with the UK (since all our aussies guests in the UK had seen my GP for free when they were ill) they said NO... it is only for emergencies!! I required a D and C because I wanted to fly alone with a nine month old back to the UK. My care was covered by my private health care in the UK in the end, but it did make a distressing event somewhat more so. When we then returned to live in Australia (I still only held an australian passport - not UK) I was thirty weeks pregnant with my second child. I was asked to pay a bond of $2,000 Aussie before I could attend my midwife visits and book into the hospital. We had to wait two months for our medicare cards to be reissued and provide all sorts of information regarding our moving back like rent receipts bills which we didn't have because we were staying with my mum - but we were able to use our shipment details of all our furniture. I never told medicare I was leaving the country, perhaps they found out from the tax agency - so definitely check every detail. I am thinking that the cost for you and the kids and the baby to fly you could pay to go private here perhaps?
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Before you embark upon your proposed course of action, you need to consider the taxation issues thoroughly canvassed in the thread below:
http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/practical/threads/78984.asp
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PlanB
20 yrs ago
Thanks guys, you all make good points. I am still paying Australian tax (I work from home for a business in Australia) so I believe I am still paying the Medicare levy. Anyway, I will contact Medicare direct and enquire (thank you Wendy7 for the contact details).
Ness - I am so sorry to hear about your experience. Thanks for the advice...your posts are always thoughtful and informative.
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Be careful with who you speak to in medicare and make sure you speak to a manager - I had a terrible time in Australia with different people giving different information about my son who is at boarding school and entitled to a medicare card...after much tooing and froing and lost tempers I finally got it sorted after about 5 weeks of running around and being told different things by different people of the documents I needed to produce. Take the name of the person you speak with and get the information in writing if you can.
You may also want to explore the option of home birth in HK - many women have done it by bringing a midwife up from Australia or USA. I had my 4th baby this way in HK - way cheaper than the private system in HK, better conditions than the public and my private medical insurance paid for her services. I had to pay for her ticket and accomodation for 7-10days - all came in a package deal so didn't cost too much.
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Kimmi
20 yrs ago
Yes dimac4 is right. Make sure you get the right person to talk to in regards to your Medicare Benefits. I had a few years out of Australia and on my return had a terrible stressfull time with Medicare and I just couldnt believe how rude they were. Also bear in mind the extemely long waiting list's they have in these birthing centres now as they have become very popular. Alot of my Aussie friends missed out even though their names when down on the lists at 4-6 weeks pregnant. GOOD LUCK!!
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Just curious how any hospital in Australia would know whether you had been out of Oz for too long (or, indeed, ever).
I'm British and, when I spent a week in an Australian government hospital (excellent, btw), nobobody asked me for any ID or passport or anything. I never paid a penny.
Maybe you just need to have a British accent...!
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The hospital won't know - it will be when the bill is processed that the medicare office will know and the tax office will be questioned etc - In Australia unlike HK, the gov departments are very organised with regard to communicating with each other!, they will hunt you down and tax you outrageously.!
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ness
20 yrs ago
Without sounding too much like a whinger... I think I was also most upset with the rude and ignorant attitude that was displayed in my situation/s by everyone I dealt with. They just didn't care and I also had tremendous trouble getting to speak to 1. anyone other than a machine, 2. anyone who knew the answer to the questions and also we were told when awaiting the reissue of our medicare cards that we were not to contact the offices whilst waiting or we would be moved to the bottom of the list. I was in a fairly good position in that most of my family are doctors and we had lots of spare cash to pay up front for all and any care that I needed. Medical care was great though and the baby was born in under an hour practically in the foyer of the hospital so it seems I could have kept my cash in any case!! lol
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Yes, Oz is strange like that: it is such a wonderfully welcoming and efficient place... until you need to deal with the government (or property agents... have you ever seen an Ozzie property agent open on a Sunday, the only day when most people can go house-hunting?).
Ozzie civil servants seem to go to a special academy to have any common sense or interpersonal skills extracted on day one. Maybe they should send them all to to HK for training.
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meeow
20 yrs ago
Burgundy...yes, there is ONE property agent open Sundays in SYdney,Joeseph Tan of Century 21 at West Pennant Hills.....Many a times, I have driven by his office late night in a holiday week/weekend and I see atleast him and his wife there!!
As for how Medicare can find out your whereabouts, all the data systems are connected with the DIMA (Dept.of Immigration and Multicultural affairs), so even though you may not disclose your departure from the country, the minute your passport is scanned at immigration as outgoing, in a few days, all concerned agencies know about it....best to let them know anyway.
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hkkm
20 yrs ago
Burgundy, since most people in Australia only work 5 days a week, unlike HK, they are generally free to look at properties on Saturdays. And, though it may be inconvenient not to have some things open on Sundays, I bet the people who work there really appreciate not being worked like slaves!
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Ah yes but in Australia - you work to live, in HK you live to work.
Everytime I return home now I am appalled at how slack customer service is on all fronts- not just medicare or other gov. depts. The best service I now think is the check out kids at the grocery stores - cheerful, happy and seem to be grateful for the opportunity to work and serve. Everyone else on the most part are not very helpful - they need those ads like we have in Hk "you make a difference". Although I must also admit it took something like SARS for people to wake up in HK and realise how good they have it most of the time, so now they are much better at service.
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ness
20 yrs ago
OK - I emailed Medicare and they sent me back a message saying that when I am next in australia I can bring my passport into a medicare office and they will see if I am able to be covered - not of help as it would be too late by then if the answer was no..and they gave a number to ring which I did. Bottom line is that if you have been out of the country more than five years then your medicare card will be invalid and you will have to prove that you are resident in australia to have it renwed. Similarly mine and the children's card has expired this month and we have to a. be in the country to renew it and b. show we are resident - which we cannot so we are not covered and they do not have reciprocal care agreement with Hong Kong so no joy there either. Funnily enough my husbands medicare card does not expire until 2010 and so he is covered and he is a Brit! The kinds of documentation that they want you to show for residency are sale of overseas properties and purchase of australian ones, resignation from overseas jobs and acceptance of australian ones and funnily enough private health insurance documentation for australia, furniture receipts, rent, electricity bills etc.
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