Australasian Dentist Issue 89

Category 24 AustrAlAsiAn Dentist i f you or your team are nervous about giving patients accurate and reliable information about their private health insurance questions then you’re not alone. Many dental professionals want to feel confident about how to handle their patient’s questions. to help build the confidence of your team, get to know the top six questions your patients are likely to ask. 1 Do I need both hospital and extras cover for dental? For most patients, extras cover should be sufficient for their oral health needs. Most extras cover will include both endodontic and orthodontics under major dental. if a patient requires surgery in a hospital they will need hospital cover. 2 Do I have to re-serve waiting periods if I switch to a new health insurance provider? no. When you move from one fund to another fund and your new policy benefits are the same or lower than your previous policy benefit you will not need to re-serve any waiting periods. if your new plan includes new or higher benefits that were not included in your previous policy, waiting periods may apply. Any benefits paid by the previous fund will be taken into account by your new fund when it determines your annual benefit limits. 3 Do I have to serve waiting periods if I am new to private health insurance? All health funds have the same waiting periods for new members taking up a private hospital cover. Waiting periods are normally 12 months for any pre-existing conditions, obstetrics and reproductive related services, whilst a 2 month wait for all new conditions, any psychiatric care, rehabilitation or palliative care. Waiting periods for extras items (dental, optical, physiotherapy etc) vary from health fund to health fund and item to item. 4 Can I get a rebate? A great dental practice should accept all private health funds. A co-payment or gap payment may be required. Private health insurance may not cover your entire dental treatment. some health funds may cover up to two preventive dental visits per year. Your dentist can provide you with itemised codes of your treatment. Your health fund can use these codes to let you know your level of cover and rebate that will apply. 5 If I change my mind, is there a cooling off period? insurers offer the benefit of a 30-day cooling off period. if you are not happy with your choice in the first 30 days after joining, and haven’t made a claim for benefits on the new policy, you can request a refund of any contributions you have paid. 6 How do I know if I’m getting the best cover? With more than 30 health funds in Australia the team at Care to Compare have hand selected 8 health funds they feel will provide people with the value they are seeking in price, benefits or both. Care to Compare simplifies the comparison process. they can compare any current health insurance policy from any health fund within Australia. they look at both policies side by side to ensure they only recommend a policy that is right for them. real customer reviews are already speaking volumes about the level of service, knowledge and transparency provided. “superb hands-on guidance by the Care to Compare team! everyone i spoke to was very lovely and well educated on the insurance options available to me.” — emelie, nsW. “sebastian was friendly, approachable and helped me with my goals. He didn’t assume what i wanted. instead he asked a few questions that were easy for me to answer. We went through the options and i was able to make a decision. You could tell he wasn’t pushing one insurer over the other. He focused on what was best for me and that was getting the cover i actually needed. — Kerry, ViC. If you’d like to learn more about how Care to Compare can support your patient communications contact Roberto Pietrobon on 0448 737 747 or email roberto@caretocompare.com.au . top six patient Questions about Private Health insurance n ws About the author Roberto Pietrobon , Founder of Care to Compare More than 10 years ago Roberto found his passion working in health as a founding member of a dental startup. Roberto’s most recent experience is with health charities where he is the Director of Partnerships & Philanthropy at Red Dust. Working with health charities have led him to explore alternative ways to financially support the delivery of prevention and support programs they provide. ® REFER TO BACK COVER FOR AWARD WINNING PULPOTOMY TREATMENT (DUAL CURED) 1800 806 450 www.amalgadent.com.au TheraCal PT Footer Ad #89.indd 2 30-Jun-21 1:28:51 PM By Roberto Pietrobon