June 24, 2025 • 21 mins
Overwhelmed by the options in private health insurance? Sick of hitting a wall of jargon and exclusions? Join Canna Campbell - a financial planner for 20 years - and Fear & Greed's Michael Thompson as they demystify the world of private health insurance, with the assistance of someone who answers these questions every day: Jason Jones, who manages the member contact centre at HBF.
HBF is a supporter of this podcast.
The information in this podcast is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances, financial needs or objectives. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of it and the relevant product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. In particular, you should seek independent financial advice and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or other offer document prior to acquiring any financial product.
Canna Campbell is a Corporate Authorised Representative and Corporate Credit Representative of Wealthstream Financial Group Pty Ltd ABN 35 152 803 113 Australian Financial Services Licensee AFSL 412079.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to How Do They Afford That? The podcast that
peeks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm Michael Thompson.
I'm an author and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed Business News As always, I'm with Canna Campbell,
financial planner, founder of Sugar Mummer TV, the financial literacy
platform that you will find pretty much everywhere. You would
be on Mars if we were able to get there.
(00:23):
You're on YouTube, podcast, books, pretty much everywhere. Yeah, TikTok,
Sorry if I leave them off the list. You're very
quick to jump in and correct me. Keynote speeches and
the lot.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hello Canna, Hello, So I'm very passionate. So I like
to make sure everyone can access great quality, independent general advice.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Passionate, Canna, that is absolutely the word I would use
to describe you. You get very, very passionate here in
the studio, and sometimes it is not the safest place
for me to be. All right, today we are tackling
private health insurance. We're not just tackling it. Actually we
are going to demystify it. We are going to take
what can often be a tricky, somewhat potentially overwhelming topic.
(01:05):
I'm speaking from personal experience that I get overwhelmed.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I do too.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, and because there are there are so many options,
there's so many inclusions, so many exclusions, and so many
just alternatives out there that it is it is hard
to know where to look. So today we're going to
simplify it and what is right for you. Yeah. Yeah,
we are setting ourselves a lofty goal right that in
the next twenty minutes we are going to demystify the
(01:30):
entire world of private health insurance. But that burden is
not upon you and it is not upon me, because
we have roped somebody in to help us with that.
Jason Jones manages the member contact center at HbF, one
of our supporters here at the podcast, so it's probably
actually answered every single question that we are going to
ask a million times over. So to him, this is
(01:52):
going to be very very easy. It's still quite the
challenge to do it all in twenty minutes. Jason, welcome
to how do they afford that?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Oh? Thank you so much for having me, guys, And
hopefully I'll be able to debunk and simplify some of
the challenging questions that I'm sure all your listeners and yourselves.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Have We're not putting you under much pressure here, are
we the expectation that you will explain the entire thing
in now under twenty minutes. Because I took so long
to introduce you, let's well jump straight into it, shall we.
Because in a nutshell, right by international standards, we've got
a good health system here in Australia. So the big
(02:29):
question I suppose is why do we need it? Why
do we need private health insurance? And look acknowledging this
is a free kick for you, right because there is
there are We have really good hospitals, we've got good
facilities set up, but we still need private health insurance.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, that's right, And there's a whole range of reasons why.
At the moment, I'm sure we'll probably talk about it
given we're on a financial podcast, but there's some taxi
locations there. But there's some also some really real personal
challenges that you might go through that the public system
and may not be able to support you as well
as the private system, and what I would love to
(03:04):
be able to talk about, and I'm sure you've got
some questions around it, but how does that private system
really help you? And protect you and your family more importantly.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, and that's the thing is that that I mean,
I have used the public system, but we have private
health insurance and we would not be without it because
there are so many things that you just need that
extra care. You need the ability to use it when
you need to use it as well, which really matters.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
And you don't actually realize this until you're in the
heat of the situation where you need to see a
specialist or you want another opinion, or you need to
go to a particular facility that focuses on this particular
area in your life. It's that that's the moment you
discover these things. So it's so important to know upfront,
you know what you're covered for, what you're protected for.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Well, I think that that point, just around the second
opinion or your choice of who you feel comfortable with,
is actually so important. So I'm really glad you mentioned that.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Look, there is a financial element to this as well.
That we are talking about this now in the lead
up to the end of the financial year. Why now,
why is tax time, I suppose the time to look
at private health insurance if you haven't already got it.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, excellent question. And that all comes down to what
we call the Medicare levy surcharge. So the Medicare levy
surcharge is a charge or it's an extra tax that
the government put on people that earn over a certain
threshold in that year. So if you're earning over one
hundred and one thousand dollars as a single or two
hundred and two hundred thousand dollars as a couple of family,
(04:34):
you may be liable to pay up to one point
five percent in the Medicare levy surcharge. So even by
having a lower level of cover at a fund like HbF,
you could actually be saving thousands of dollars in your
tax return.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Okay, Then when it comes to cheap policies, is there
a difference between what is called like a scene as
and perhaps a cheap policy versus junk policies.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
From my point of view, at least at HbF, there's
no such thing as a junk policy. What we look
at is what's the things that you want to protect
yourself and your family for, and then which product actually
aligns to those needs. And like every single health insurance
or every single car or any purchase that you make,
(05:19):
if you spend more money, usually you get better things.
And in this case, the more money you spend, the
more clinical categories that you're actually covered for. And so
call it three or four years ago now, the government
brought out bronze, silver, and gold standards that every health
fund had to apply to. And so if you went
to a bronze level of cover, you had to have
(05:42):
a minimum level of those clinical categories covered. And then
as you went to silver and as you went to gold,
they increase the amount of coverage that you must have.
But given when you move up those levels, you'd pay
more because some of those higher cost treatments just costs
more in a hospital. And so when we look at
whether it's a cheaper product or to use your term,
(06:04):
a junk policy, I don't really I don't really subscribe
to a junk policy because it's what you and your
family need at that particular time, and then it's what
you need not just at that time, but also into
the future that you might not have uncovered yet.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yes, such a good point. It's going to evolve with you.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah. Yeah. It's not a kind of a one size
fits all, certainly not a one size fits all, but
it's also not a one size will fit you forever
that it's it is evolving.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
No, that's exactly right. And if you look at things
like waiting periods, that that would be a topic when
people are trying to discuss their health insurance is that
I couldn't tell you what I'm going to be doing
in twelve months time. And so if I don't know
what I'm doing in twelve months time, I certainly don't
know what my health of myself or my family would
be doing at that same time. As well, your health
insurance policy is a little bit harder to understand because
(06:53):
if you're looking at your home insurance or your car insurance,
you know exactly how much you paid for those things.
You know how much you maintenance is, you know how
much you would have to repay that if you lost
it for any reason. But you can't put a price
on your health. And that's the really troubling part, is
that you're going to pay for something that you potentially
never want to use.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And also, you know, I think when you think about
health insurance, it covers accidents as well as illnesses, whereas
you know general insurance like home insurance, contents insurance is
a particular event, you know, a praying, you know, burglary.
This is something that actually, you know, your health can
be can suffer for an extended period of.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Time, and there's also a million different things that can
affect you. The point that you made, I think Canna
before was a really important one that it's actually too
late when you need it to get it like that,
This is actually something that you do in advance, do
it when you're well, so that when you're not, you're
actually already covered.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It's just which for someone who has a tendency to
put things off, it's what I have been known occasionally
to procrastinate on certain items. But I mean, this is
not something that you can you can't really You've got
to do it now because the moment when you do
need it, when something does actually go wrong, it's probably
(08:11):
going to be too late. And so it's just that's
why I think it's useful to look at kind of
the end of the financial year as a motivator to
do it, rather than like a health issue being the motivator.
Use the financial kind of element of hey, coming up
to the end of financial year, let's just get this
done now.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Well that's right, and what you'll find is that depending
on the level of cover you need, it's probably cheaper
than what you actually think. And when you take into
consideration any tax implications that you do have, you could
actually save thousands of dollars by paying for something you
weren't paying for before.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
That's a good point. Can I at the risk of
sounding naive, I suppose, but I can you explain to
us the claims, how claims actually work. And I know
that this is probably simplifying things, but I think it's
worthwhile doing it because you have you're asked when you're
(09:07):
getting a medical procedure done, you're asked if you have
private health insurance, and you perhaps provide your number, or
you are seeing a specialist, or you're seeing a dentist
or something along those lines, and they're asking for your card,
and sometimes they're scanning your card. Sometimes they're processing a
refund straight away. Sometimes it's all done separately, and it
all just seems like it has a lot of variables.
(09:28):
Can you explain to put you on a time limit
in under two minutes, how the whole thing works, just
to give it a bit of a bit of sport.
Under two minutes, I'll give it a go whack the
timer on, here we go.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So the reason why it is complex is because each
provider that you see, so each specialist, your surgeon for example,
they might have a different agreement depending on which location
that they are going to operate on you on okay,
And then you've got your anthetist who would then have
a different agreem to the surgeon, and then maybe any
(10:02):
assistance that would actually near the room at the same time,
and then the hospital that you attend would then have
a different agreement with that health fund as well. So
you're right, there are many variables. What I would suggest
to do and to make it really simple for or
hopefully you guys never need it, but for yourselves and
all our listeners out there, is that before you go
in for a surgery or any kind of operation, ask
(10:24):
the us that specialist their charges and in particular the
item numbers that they're going to use. Because what you
can do then is contact well in my case, contact
HbF and you'll get a quote and you'll know exactly
what we cover and you'll know exactly what out of
pockets there would be if there is any out of pockets.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So it's very clear as to you know what the
cost is going to be, what's been covered before you
know you've jumped in the car or headed to see
your doctor.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, absolutely, very transparent. Yeah it is. And we can
do those quotes up to three months in advance for
you as well. So if you do then have I've
looked at the shock on your face. So if you
do have any then out of pockets and you've got
some financial challenges there, then you can pick and choose,
and that's the beauty of private health insurance. You can
then push that out by another month for two months
(11:14):
if you need to, or if you realize, oh, actually
I can afford to do that in a couple of
weeks time. You can then contact the surgery or the
surgeon sorry, and maybe bring it forward as well.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Well.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I really like about that as the transparency on it,
and that applies to everyone. The fact that you kind
of have this, you hear the bad stories about going
and getting something done and being hit with this massive
bill afterwards. The fact is you can actually plan ahead
for that. Yeah, you's just kind of music music too well,
penis Is I'm sure maybe not. I still probably won't
(11:46):
plan still probably won't plan ahead No.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
You definitely can, and whether you want to contact us
via our contact center. We have people that work all
across Australia. We've got a center in Melbourne, in Queensland,
we've got people that work in New South Wales and
our head officers in Perth. But you can contact us
through there. You can send us an email, you can
chat to us, you can access your information through your
online portal. There are so many different ways in contact us,
(12:12):
and we will help you with some of those details.
If you don't know exactly what you need, just give
us a call and we'll be able to assist you
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Okay, the next part that I want to talk to
you about, and we'll take a quick break first, is
want to talk about how to choose the right policy
for you, because when we introduced the start of this show,
talked about the number of options that are out there
and the fact that it just appears very dense and
(12:40):
if you don't know what you're looking for, then it
can be very hard to find the right policy for you.
So because you pass the two minute mark, like you
pass that test just then, Jason, so.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
That I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
So we're going to put you under a under pressure
again to put together a checklist basically for us, so
the things that we should be looking for when we
are searching for a private health insurance policy. Will take
a quick break and be back in a moment, can
I we're talking private health insurance today. We are joined
(13:12):
in the studio by Jason Jones from HbF, one of
our great supporters, and he has helped us so far
to demystify most of private health insurance. The big mystery
at the moment though, is still how to choose the
right policy.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
So, Jason, I'm like you, I am really passionate about insurance,
particularly private health insurance. I value mine, I've claimed online
multiple times, but i also love just the sense of
peace of mind that it gives me, like a good
night's sleep. But I'm interested to hear from you, as
the actual expert the final details covered when it comes
(13:48):
to private health insurance. So what would you say, in
your professional and even personal opinion are the three most
important things that you need to consider as an individual
or as a family to help make sure that you
pick the right policy for your needs and obviously your budget.
(14:08):
Because there's just so many options.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Yeah, there are so many options, and thankfully my personal
opinion still my professional opinions, that's the same one. So
what we look at at HbF and the way that
our conversations go when we are poised with that question
is we need to find out what you need now,
So is there any concerns that you have right now?
And then is there anything that maybe your parents had
that you might have a health problem with later on
(14:32):
the future, or their grandparents and anything hereditary that way,
And if we know those kind of starting blocks, then
we can help facilitate what it might look like in
the future for you as well. So that are some
things to consider probably before you even contact a health
fund like HbF to have that discussion. And then what
we will do is have a quite an in depth
conversation not just okay, not just about yourself, but maybe
(14:54):
your kids and what you might be concerned for in
the future. I've got a little almost four year old
girl and thinking about what she might need when she's six, seven, eight, nine,
ten is a realism when it comes to planning your future.
And I'm sure you've got plenty of listeners in that
same boat. They're looking at going maybe my kid will
need braces and I don't know where to start. So
(15:15):
it's those kind of concerns as well. And we've got
some really authentic conversations that we have at HbF and
that will allow us to uncover some of those needs
for you. And then to your point around that budget,
understand that everyone might want that top level of covering,
you just can't afford it. What we can do there
and to the transparency comment before, we'll tell you exactly
(15:36):
what you're covered for and what you might not be
covered for. And then some of the products you might
be covered to a particular portion and the rest might
be restricted. But hey, at least you'll know exactly what
you're paying for before you purchase that policy.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
I love that you could have a conversation. You're not
as left to your own devices to figure it out.
You know, she jump on the phone and talk to
a human.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, Jason Kenna is a very enthusiast stick advocate of
just picking up the phone and having a chat, whether
it's with your super fund, whether it's with your bank,
basically anyone they I suspect her number has now been
blocked at most call centers around the country just because
you can call us whenever you want.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
I'm safe with you. Guys.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
You have no idea what you have just done, Jason,
prepare for daily calls.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
What days do you work, what's your what's your house.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
It's interesting actually hearing you explain this. The language that
you use in explaining it is really simple, which actually
matters to everyone. I think when you're talking private health
insurance that it's not filled with legal jargon and little
disclaimers and things. It really makes a difference. Though, I'm
not going to let you off on the checklist yet.
(16:47):
Of the three things, so the first one is assessing
your own needs, right is that? Is that correct? So
that pick up the phone, have a conversation, talk through
what your needs are now, and not just right now,
but what might be your requirements for the next two, three, four,
five years, based on yourself, your family members, some of
(17:09):
the conditions perhaps that your parents suffered in case that
there might be hereditary things coming through, and in doing so,
that can uncover essentially what tier you're going to need,
the inclusions and exclusions that are actually right for you,
because it's partly about excluding the things that you don't need,
as well as making sure that you've got the inclusions
(17:31):
that you do, right.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, well that's exactly right. But I guess the extra step,
if I can have a fourth one, would be to
revisit it. So it's not just a set and forget.
You do need to revisit your health because things could
change and then with HbF depending on your level of cover,
but we offer some fully covered consults with people like
physios and dentists network as well, where once you see
(17:54):
them you might need to change something for your future
as well. So there's plenty of options available. But definitely
revisit it. Don't just set and forget, because our health
funds will bring out new products all the time, potentially
change things, make things better for our members in our
case at least, and so revisiting your policy every now
and again is not such a bad idea either.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Okay, So it's become a checklist of four things, which
is fine. We're okay, it's actually delivering additional value. You've
just delivered twenty five percent extra value. I think, I
think that's right. So it's pick up the phone, have
a conversation about your needs, go through inclusions and exclusions,
work out then what is right for your budget and
then revisit that it is not, as you say, a
(18:36):
set and forget, which is kind of you are talking
about something that canna or you're always talking about the
fact that nothing that you do in terms of whether
it's investing or your budget or anything along those lines.
It should never be set and forget. It should always
just be keep checking in and make sure that it's
still right for you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yeah. Absolutely, it needs to be reviewed and it needs
to be up to dat as to you know, as
Jason said, what you need now, but also what you
need in the future, particularly if your situation changes, you know,
in any capacity.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Yeah, the last one I would say, because I know
not everyone has time to have those kind of longer conversations.
On our website, you just head to HbF dot com
dot au. There's actually a selection guide there and based
on what you've selected or actually advise on what product
we think you might fit your needs as well. So
that might be an option for people to have a
look at Connor if you're laying in bed at night
(19:27):
and you can't quite get your head around if you've
got the right thing, maybe jump on an have a look.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I'm waiting to give you guys a call I'll do
it a little bit of research beforehand.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Perfect long ago Jason Kenna revealed that she sits in bed,
and we discovered this. We discovered this many years ago
when we first started this podcast, that she sits in
bed and does her budget in bed, and just kind
of that that's what she does.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
We view my budget in bed because it's only my
tom I can have a conversation unbroken. Yeah, without that,
I highly recommend ye.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
So there's also probably the comfiest place you could do it,
So there's no judgment here. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
So the fact that you're actually suggesting jump onto the
website in bed at night, it as though you just
listened to every episode of How Do They Afford that
we've ever done. Look, Jason, I think we've I mean,
it's hard to kind of mark our own homework here
on this one, but I think we've done a very
good job of demystifying the world of private health insurance today.
(20:22):
And thank you so much for taking us through it
and explaining some of that terminology and giving us that
four point Really it was actually a five point checklist
in the end, wasn't it. So just a bit of
a checklist free for all, I'm all excited about the
private health insurance christionnaire on the HbF website.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Might door even before bedtime.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Oh my god, goodness, thanks so much, Jason, no problem, guys,
has been a pleasure being on.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
That was Jason Jones from HbF for great supporter of
this podcast, Canna. Now, if we need more information from you,
I'll find you.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Sorry, cut you off. The best place I'm just so excited.
Best place to reach out to me is through Instagram
at sugar ma My tv or Canna Campbell Official.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And you can hear me every day with Sean Aylmer
on Fear and Greed Business News. You can use Thank
you very much for listening to how do they afford that?
Remember to hit follow on the podcast. And the very
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Join us again next week
Welcome to How Do They Afford That? The podcast that
peeks into the financial lives of everyday Australians. I'm Michael Thompson.
I'm an author and the co host of the podcast
Fear and Greed Business News As always, I'm with Canna Campbell,
financial planner, founder of Sugar Mummer TV, the financial literacy
platform that you will find pretty much everywhere. You would
be on Mars if we were able to get there.
(00:23):
You're on YouTube, podcast, books, pretty much everywhere. Yeah, TikTok,
Sorry if I leave them off the list. You're very
quick to jump in and correct me. Keynote speeches and
the lot.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Hello Canna, Hello, So I'm very passionate. So I like
to make sure everyone can access great quality, independent general advice.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Passionate, Canna, that is absolutely the word I would use
to describe you. You get very, very passionate here in
the studio, and sometimes it is not the safest place
for me to be. All right, today we are tackling
private health insurance. We're not just tackling it. Actually we
are going to demystify it. We are going to take
what can often be a tricky, somewhat potentially overwhelming topic.
(01:05):
I'm speaking from personal experience that I get overwhelmed.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I do too.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, and because there are there are so many options,
there's so many inclusions, so many exclusions, and so many
just alternatives out there that it is it is hard
to know where to look. So today we're going to
simplify it and what is right for you. Yeah. Yeah,
we are setting ourselves a lofty goal right that in
the next twenty minutes we are going to demystify the
(01:30):
entire world of private health insurance. But that burden is
not upon you and it is not upon me, because
we have roped somebody in to help us with that.
Jason Jones manages the member contact center at HbF, one
of our supporters here at the podcast, so it's probably
actually answered every single question that we are going to
ask a million times over. So to him, this is
(01:52):
going to be very very easy. It's still quite the
challenge to do it all in twenty minutes. Jason, welcome
to how do they afford that?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Oh? Thank you so much for having me, guys, And
hopefully I'll be able to debunk and simplify some of
the challenging questions that I'm sure all your listeners and yourselves.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Have We're not putting you under much pressure here, are
we the expectation that you will explain the entire thing
in now under twenty minutes. Because I took so long
to introduce you, let's well jump straight into it, shall we.
Because in a nutshell, right by international standards, we've got
a good health system here in Australia. So the big
(02:29):
question I suppose is why do we need it? Why
do we need private health insurance? And look acknowledging this
is a free kick for you, right because there is
there are We have really good hospitals, we've got good
facilities set up, but we still need private health insurance.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, that's right, And there's a whole range of reasons why.
At the moment, I'm sure we'll probably talk about it
given we're on a financial podcast, but there's some taxi
locations there. But there's some also some really real personal
challenges that you might go through that the public system
and may not be able to support you as well
as the private system, and what I would love to
(03:04):
be able to talk about, and I'm sure you've got
some questions around it, but how does that private system
really help you? And protect you and your family more importantly.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, and that's the thing is that that I mean,
I have used the public system, but we have private
health insurance and we would not be without it because
there are so many things that you just need that
extra care. You need the ability to use it when
you need to use it as well, which really matters.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
And you don't actually realize this until you're in the
heat of the situation where you need to see a
specialist or you want another opinion, or you need to
go to a particular facility that focuses on this particular
area in your life. It's that that's the moment you
discover these things. So it's so important to know upfront,
you know what you're covered for, what you're protected for.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Well, I think that that point, just around the second
opinion or your choice of who you feel comfortable with,
is actually so important. So I'm really glad you mentioned that.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Look, there is a financial element to this as well.
That we are talking about this now in the lead
up to the end of the financial year. Why now,
why is tax time, I suppose the time to look
at private health insurance if you haven't already got it.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, excellent question. And that all comes down to what
we call the Medicare levy surcharge. So the Medicare levy
surcharge is a charge or it's an extra tax that
the government put on people that earn over a certain
threshold in that year. So if you're earning over one
hundred and one thousand dollars as a single or two
hundred and two hundred thousand dollars as a couple of family,
(04:34):
you may be liable to pay up to one point
five percent in the Medicare levy surcharge. So even by
having a lower level of cover at a fund like HbF,
you could actually be saving thousands of dollars in your
tax return.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Okay, Then when it comes to cheap policies, is there
a difference between what is called like a scene as
and perhaps a cheap policy versus junk policies.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
From my point of view, at least at HbF, there's
no such thing as a junk policy. What we look
at is what's the things that you want to protect
yourself and your family for, and then which product actually
aligns to those needs. And like every single health insurance
or every single car or any purchase that you make,
(05:19):
if you spend more money, usually you get better things.
And in this case, the more money you spend, the
more clinical categories that you're actually covered for. And so
call it three or four years ago now, the government
brought out bronze, silver, and gold standards that every health
fund had to apply to. And so if you went
to a bronze level of cover, you had to have
(05:42):
a minimum level of those clinical categories covered. And then
as you went to silver and as you went to gold,
they increase the amount of coverage that you must have.
But given when you move up those levels, you'd pay
more because some of those higher cost treatments just costs
more in a hospital. And so when we look at
whether it's a cheaper product or to use your term,
(06:04):
a junk policy, I don't really I don't really subscribe
to a junk policy because it's what you and your
family need at that particular time, and then it's what
you need not just at that time, but also into
the future that you might not have uncovered yet.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Yes, such a good point. It's going to evolve with you.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah. Yeah. It's not a kind of a one size
fits all, certainly not a one size fits all, but
it's also not a one size will fit you forever
that it's it is evolving.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
No, that's exactly right. And if you look at things
like waiting periods, that that would be a topic when
people are trying to discuss their health insurance is that
I couldn't tell you what I'm going to be doing
in twelve months time. And so if I don't know
what I'm doing in twelve months time, I certainly don't
know what my health of myself or my family would
be doing at that same time. As well, your health
insurance policy is a little bit harder to understand because
(06:53):
if you're looking at your home insurance or your car insurance,
you know exactly how much you paid for those things.
You know how much you maintenance is, you know how
much you would have to repay that if you lost
it for any reason. But you can't put a price
on your health. And that's the really troubling part, is
that you're going to pay for something that you potentially
never want to use.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And also, you know, I think when you think about
health insurance, it covers accidents as well as illnesses, whereas
you know general insurance like home insurance, contents insurance is
a particular event, you know, a praying, you know, burglary.
This is something that actually, you know, your health can
be can suffer for an extended period of.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Time, and there's also a million different things that can
affect you. The point that you made, I think Canna
before was a really important one that it's actually too
late when you need it to get it like that,
This is actually something that you do in advance, do
it when you're well, so that when you're not, you're
actually already covered.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Right.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It's just which for someone who has a tendency to
put things off, it's what I have been known occasionally
to procrastinate on certain items. But I mean, this is
not something that you can you can't really You've got
to do it now because the moment when you do
need it, when something does actually go wrong, it's probably
(08:11):
going to be too late. And so it's just that's
why I think it's useful to look at kind of
the end of the financial year as a motivator to
do it, rather than like a health issue being the motivator.
Use the financial kind of element of hey, coming up
to the end of financial year, let's just get this
done now.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Well that's right, and what you'll find is that depending
on the level of cover you need, it's probably cheaper
than what you actually think. And when you take into
consideration any tax implications that you do have, you could
actually save thousands of dollars by paying for something you
weren't paying for before.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
That's a good point. Can I at the risk of
sounding naive, I suppose, but I can you explain to
us the claims, how claims actually work. And I know
that this is probably simplifying things, but I think it's
worthwhile doing it because you have you're asked when you're
(09:07):
getting a medical procedure done, you're asked if you have
private health insurance, and you perhaps provide your number, or
you are seeing a specialist, or you're seeing a dentist
or something along those lines, and they're asking for your card,
and sometimes they're scanning your card. Sometimes they're processing a
refund straight away. Sometimes it's all done separately, and it
all just seems like it has a lot of variables.
(09:28):
Can you explain to put you on a time limit
in under two minutes, how the whole thing works, just
to give it a bit of a bit of sport.
Under two minutes, I'll give it a go whack the
timer on, here we go.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So the reason why it is complex is because each
provider that you see, so each specialist, your surgeon for example,
they might have a different agreement depending on which location
that they are going to operate on you on okay,
And then you've got your anthetist who would then have
a different agreem to the surgeon, and then maybe any
(10:02):
assistance that would actually near the room at the same time,
and then the hospital that you attend would then have
a different agreement with that health fund as well. So
you're right, there are many variables. What I would suggest
to do and to make it really simple for or
hopefully you guys never need it, but for yourselves and
all our listeners out there, is that before you go
in for a surgery or any kind of operation, ask
(10:24):
the us that specialist their charges and in particular the
item numbers that they're going to use. Because what you
can do then is contact well in my case, contact
HbF and you'll get a quote and you'll know exactly
what we cover and you'll know exactly what out of
pockets there would be if there is any out of pockets.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So it's very clear as to you know what the
cost is going to be, what's been covered before you
know you've jumped in the car or headed to see
your doctor.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, absolutely, very transparent. Yeah it is. And we can
do those quotes up to three months in advance for
you as well. So if you do then have I've
looked at the shock on your face. So if you
do have any then out of pockets and you've got
some financial challenges there, then you can pick and choose,
and that's the beauty of private health insurance. You can
then push that out by another month for two months
(11:14):
if you need to, or if you realize, oh, actually
I can afford to do that in a couple of
weeks time. You can then contact the surgery or the
surgeon sorry, and maybe bring it forward as well.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Well.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I really like about that as the transparency on it,
and that applies to everyone. The fact that you kind
of have this, you hear the bad stories about going
and getting something done and being hit with this massive
bill afterwards. The fact is you can actually plan ahead
for that. Yeah, you's just kind of music music too well,
penis Is I'm sure maybe not. I still probably won't
(11:46):
plan still probably won't plan ahead No.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
You definitely can, and whether you want to contact us
via our contact center. We have people that work all
across Australia. We've got a center in Melbourne, in Queensland,
we've got people that work in New South Wales and
our head officers in Perth. But you can contact us
through there. You can send us an email, you can
chat to us, you can access your information through your
online portal. There are so many different ways in contact us,
(12:12):
and we will help you with some of those details.
If you don't know exactly what you need, just give
us a call and we'll be able to assist you
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Okay, the next part that I want to talk to
you about, and we'll take a quick break first, is
want to talk about how to choose the right policy
for you, because when we introduced the start of this show,
talked about the number of options that are out there
and the fact that it just appears very dense and
(12:40):
if you don't know what you're looking for, then it
can be very hard to find the right policy for you.
So because you pass the two minute mark, like you
pass that test just then, Jason, so.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
That I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
So we're going to put you under a under pressure
again to put together a checklist basically for us, so
the things that we should be looking for when we
are searching for a private health insurance policy. Will take
a quick break and be back in a moment, can
I we're talking private health insurance today. We are joined
(13:12):
in the studio by Jason Jones from HbF, one of
our great supporters, and he has helped us so far
to demystify most of private health insurance. The big mystery
at the moment though, is still how to choose the
right policy.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
So, Jason, I'm like you, I am really passionate about insurance,
particularly private health insurance. I value mine, I've claimed online
multiple times, but i also love just the sense of
peace of mind that it gives me, like a good
night's sleep. But I'm interested to hear from you, as
the actual expert the final details covered when it comes
(13:48):
to private health insurance. So what would you say, in
your professional and even personal opinion are the three most
important things that you need to consider as an individual
or as a family to help make sure that you
pick the right policy for your needs and obviously your budget.
(14:08):
Because there's just so many options.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Yeah, there are so many options, and thankfully my personal
opinion still my professional opinions, that's the same one. So
what we look at at HbF and the way that
our conversations go when we are poised with that question
is we need to find out what you need now,
So is there any concerns that you have right now?
And then is there anything that maybe your parents had
that you might have a health problem with later on
(14:32):
the future, or their grandparents and anything hereditary that way,
And if we know those kind of starting blocks, then
we can help facilitate what it might look like in
the future for you as well. So that are some
things to consider probably before you even contact a health
fund like HbF to have that discussion. And then what
we will do is have a quite an in depth
conversation not just okay, not just about yourself, but maybe
(14:54):
your kids and what you might be concerned for in
the future. I've got a little almost four year old
girl and thinking about what she might need when she's six, seven, eight, nine,
ten is a realism when it comes to planning your future.
And I'm sure you've got plenty of listeners in that
same boat. They're looking at going maybe my kid will
need braces and I don't know where to start. So
(15:15):
it's those kind of concerns as well. And we've got
some really authentic conversations that we have at HbF and
that will allow us to uncover some of those needs
for you. And then to your point around that budget,
understand that everyone might want that top level of covering,
you just can't afford it. What we can do there
and to the transparency comment before, we'll tell you exactly
(15:36):
what you're covered for and what you might not be
covered for. And then some of the products you might
be covered to a particular portion and the rest might
be restricted. But hey, at least you'll know exactly what
you're paying for before you purchase that policy.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
I love that you could have a conversation. You're not
as left to your own devices to figure it out.
You know, she jump on the phone and talk to
a human.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, Jason Kenna is a very enthusiast stick advocate of
just picking up the phone and having a chat, whether
it's with your super fund, whether it's with your bank,
basically anyone they I suspect her number has now been
blocked at most call centers around the country just because
you can call us whenever you want.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
I'm safe with you. Guys.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
You have no idea what you have just done, Jason,
prepare for daily calls.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
What days do you work, what's your what's your house.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
It's interesting actually hearing you explain this. The language that
you use in explaining it is really simple, which actually
matters to everyone. I think when you're talking private health
insurance that it's not filled with legal jargon and little
disclaimers and things. It really makes a difference. Though, I'm
not going to let you off on the checklist yet.
(16:47):
Of the three things, so the first one is assessing
your own needs, right is that? Is that correct? So
that pick up the phone, have a conversation, talk through
what your needs are now, and not just right now,
but what might be your requirements for the next two, three, four,
five years, based on yourself, your family members, some of
(17:09):
the conditions perhaps that your parents suffered in case that
there might be hereditary things coming through, and in doing so,
that can uncover essentially what tier you're going to need,
the inclusions and exclusions that are actually right for you,
because it's partly about excluding the things that you don't need,
as well as making sure that you've got the inclusions
(17:31):
that you do, right.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, well that's exactly right. But I guess the extra step,
if I can have a fourth one, would be to
revisit it. So it's not just a set and forget.
You do need to revisit your health because things could
change and then with HbF depending on your level of cover,
but we offer some fully covered consults with people like
physios and dentists network as well, where once you see
(17:54):
them you might need to change something for your future
as well. So there's plenty of options available. But definitely
revisit it. Don't just set and forget, because our health
funds will bring out new products all the time, potentially
change things, make things better for our members in our
case at least, and so revisiting your policy every now
and again is not such a bad idea either.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Okay, So it's become a checklist of four things, which
is fine. We're okay, it's actually delivering additional value. You've
just delivered twenty five percent extra value. I think, I
think that's right. So it's pick up the phone, have
a conversation about your needs, go through inclusions and exclusions,
work out then what is right for your budget and
then revisit that it is not, as you say, a
(18:36):
set and forget, which is kind of you are talking
about something that canna or you're always talking about the
fact that nothing that you do in terms of whether
it's investing or your budget or anything along those lines.
It should never be set and forget. It should always
just be keep checking in and make sure that it's
still right for you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Yeah. Absolutely, it needs to be reviewed and it needs
to be up to dat as to you know, as
Jason said, what you need now, but also what you
need in the future, particularly if your situation changes, you know,
in any capacity.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Yeah, the last one I would say, because I know
not everyone has time to have those kind of longer conversations.
On our website, you just head to HbF dot com
dot au. There's actually a selection guide there and based
on what you've selected or actually advise on what product
we think you might fit your needs as well. So
that might be an option for people to have a
look at Connor if you're laying in bed at night
(19:27):
and you can't quite get your head around if you've
got the right thing, maybe jump on an have a look.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
I'm waiting to give you guys a call I'll do
it a little bit of research beforehand.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Perfect long ago Jason Kenna revealed that she sits in bed,
and we discovered this. We discovered this many years ago
when we first started this podcast, that she sits in
bed and does her budget in bed, and just kind
of that that's what she does.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
We view my budget in bed because it's only my
tom I can have a conversation unbroken. Yeah, without that,
I highly recommend ye.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
So there's also probably the comfiest place you could do it,
So there's no judgment here. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
So the fact that you're actually suggesting jump onto the
website in bed at night, it as though you just
listened to every episode of How Do They Afford that
we've ever done. Look, Jason, I think we've I mean,
it's hard to kind of mark our own homework here
on this one, but I think we've done a very
good job of demystifying the world of private health insurance today.
(20:22):
And thank you so much for taking us through it
and explaining some of that terminology and giving us that
four point Really it was actually a five point checklist
in the end, wasn't it. So just a bit of
a checklist free for all, I'm all excited about the
private health insurance christionnaire on the HbF website.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Might door even before bedtime.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Oh my god, goodness, thanks so much, Jason, no problem, guys,
has been a pleasure being on.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
That was Jason Jones from HbF for great supporter of
this podcast, Canna. Now, if we need more information from you,
I'll find you.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Sorry, cut you off. The best place I'm just so excited.
Best place to reach out to me is through Instagram
at sugar ma My tv or Canna Campbell Official.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And you can hear me every day with Sean Aylmer
on Fear and Greed Business News. You can use Thank
you very much for listening to how do they afford that?
Remember to hit follow on the podcast. And the very
best thing that you can do is tell somebody else
or Betty yet send them this episode. Send them a
link to this episode if you think that they might
benefit from listening to it and spread the word about
how do they afford that? Thank you for your company.
Join us again next week
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