# Health insurance for international students with medical condition?



## muse (Nov 26, 2009)

Hi everybody, 

my question concerns health insurance options in Australia. 

I am a European student who received an offer to undergo graduate studies (PhD studies) in Australia. 

As I have a medical condition (chronic disease) which requires medication I was wondering if the Australian government allows people like me to come to their country, work there and get a proper insurance which covers the cost of the medication (in Europe the drugs are too expensive to pay by myself).

Does anyone can help me with that? I would also be very grateful for links to other webpages or forums which could provide information on insurance options.

Cheers, 
muse.


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## elkitten (Jul 6, 2009)

When you are a student in Australia, you have to get Overseas Student Health cover as part of your Visa conditions. Since it is mandatory, I would assume that yes, you will be covered. The question would be just how much of your medication will be covered, etc.

I used Medibank Private, here is a link to info about them: OSHC Student Health Insurance - Medibank Private

They do not cover more than $300 a year on medication though....

here is another one, but the cover is the same...

https://www.oshcworldcare.com.au/Default.aspx

I was shopping for "non student" health insurance the other day, and i did find that there were waiting periods for pre existing conditions... you can go on:

Private Health Insurance Australia - iSelect to compare plans and what they offer.

Now, you do have to pass a health screening before getting your Student Visa--whether or not you would be accepted with your chronic condition, I don't know. I would contact your immigration hotline and speak to a representative about it and see what they think.

With a student visa, you can apply for permission to work--you normally have a 20hr a week limit on the amount of work you can do, but i think PHD students might get a bit longer? not sure....

Go on Department of Immigration & Citizenship and check out what it says about student visa's and at the same time there will be links to the health requirements. You'll also find the number to your nearest embassy/immigration information hotline on this site.

Good luck!


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## muse (Nov 26, 2009)

Hi,

thanks a lot for your advice.

OSHC is mandatory for international students, but as it does not cover my medication I was wondering if I should have another insurance on top of that.

Up to now I could not find any insurance where there is not a 12-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions.

Besides, the medication would probably cost at least 300 $ per *month* - I don't know the Australian price list, but in Europe my health insurance company pays around 800 € per month which is 1600 Australian dollars. I assume that it is more "cheap" in Australia, but still in the 300-500$ region.

Of course, also the visa problem is not solved yet. I contacted the Australian embassy in my country but they cannot tell whether my condition prevents me from entering the country or not. They recommend to apply and then see what happens, no guidelines at all. Also not so good. :/


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## elkitten (Jul 6, 2009)

Yikes! That sucks that they can't tell you!

The only place i know that has a prescription list is the medicare website, but that won't help as those are medicin's that are covered by the government if you are elligible for medicare, which you are not on a student visa...

hmmmmmmmm.....

How about.... o.k, here is the link to the pharmacy that was near where I used to live in North Melbourne: Gary Bohmer Pharmacy, Medical Fitzroy, Carlton & Collingwood Australia

What if you gave them a call and asked how much your medication costs?

What about travel insurance from where you are? Is there any policy that you could purchase in the U.K that would cover your medication? I know travel insurance doesn't normally include prescriptions.... but maybe there is something? Is there any way that you could stock up on your medication before leaving? Semesters typically last from say, February/March to June/July, then August through to october or november.... 13 weeks or so with a 1 to 2 week break somewhere in there....if you could get 4 months worth of your medication, you could then fly back and get more?

Sorry im really not sure how it all works, I wish you all the best though and hope that you can find a way to come to australia to do your PHD! Good luck!


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

The situation re DIAC not advising on medical conditions is that they do not have the expertise.

If you have a look at the detailed information for Health checks you'll see that the process is you go to what is called a panel doctor, one approved by DIAC and you'll find a list of them for all countries under the health section via links.

A medical officer will forward their recommendations to DIAC and their recommendation is based on judging the impact on Australia re health of Australians and possible costs.

If you are applying for a temporary visa as Student Visas are, it could be their recommendation would be diferent to where an applicant was applying for a PR visa.

I'd suggest that you may be able to do the medical and then see if DIAC would release the information on whether the student visa would be rejected on medical grounds.
Certainly discuss that approach with DIAC first.

As for insurance in Australia, if you cannot get it, your options would be:
. see if you can continue your existing cover for application to Australia. or
. just have to carry the cost yourself if that is feasible.


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## muse (Nov 26, 2009)

I already have a list of available panel doctors and the embassy also told me it is possible to do the medical examination before visa application (of course there are also some costs for the examination, around 600 AUD). 

Anyway, there is still the problem with health insurance in Australia. My existing cover is not applicable any more when I stop working here and leave the country.

Let's say I pay for the medication costs by myself. Do I also have to pay for the regular blood tests to monitor the viral activity because it is due to my pre-existing condition or can this be covered by an Australian insurance?


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## elkitten (Jul 6, 2009)

Anytime I had blood tests done while on OSHC I never had to pay for actual doctors visit, or the visit to the lab to have the blood drawn, but I did pay for the actual...ummm errr pathology? is that what its called? Basically i paid the lab people.

Is it possible fr you to call up one of the OSHC coveres to ask? Even e-mail them? It might be the case that you will have to pay for the lab work but not the visit to get it done. How much that lab work would cost, im really not sure, but i never paid more than $50 even though i had several things tested at once.

Sorry im not more help but i hope it helps some!


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