Page 4 - Go55s summer web

Lifestyle

Contents

Body & Mind 12
Contact us

Published by Flight Publishing

ABN 66 086 424 259 Country Towns 20

Mailing Address PO Box 1269
Bondi Junction NSW 1355
Cruise & Travel 28
Ph 02 9386 4213

Web www.go55s.com.au

Email admin@go55s.com.au Lord Howe Island 38
Delivery of Go55s
Would you like to collect Go55s from your local library or club? Please Looking for some
email us at admin@go55s.com.au and we will contact the venue to
see about having Go55s delivered each quarter. part time or full time work?

Website Love the look of Go55’s and want to be a part of our sales team?
Our website has weekly updates with great articles and subscribe to
our monthly e-newsletter. www.go55s.com.au We have positions available for telephone sales people, work from our
office in Bondi Junction or from your home.
Facebook Flexible hours, commission based, phone experience an advantage but
Join our Facebook page for weekly updates on travel, health, finance, not necessary.
light hearted videos and interact with other like minded people! Call Reg Allen for more details 0414 367 672 or admin@go55s.com.au

SENIORS WANT CRACKDOWN ON HEARING-

HEALTH “HORROR” STORIES

Continued from page 1
to allow older people to age in their own homes and “With such overwhelming support for choice, we need In a submission to the Senate Inquiry Value and
communities, rather than moving to nursing homes. to reform consumer-directed care to make it work and affordability of private health insurance and out-of-
“This is like shifting from a ‘command’ to a ensure we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” pocket medical costs, National Seniors said the next
‘market’ economy,” Prof McCallum said. “But what Prof McCallum said National Seniors was eager price rise – around six per cent – would come on top
we found was that people don’t know what to buy or to work with the Federal Government to ensure the of soaring power prices and changes from last January
how to buy it, and the system can’t respond without success of consumer-directed home care. to the Age Pension means test.
change and further development. Meanwhile, seniors could be forced to downgrade “Those changes adversely impacted around 30,000
“The experience here in Australia is what’s their level of cover or drop their health insurance part-pensioners, many of whom are now struggling to
happened elsewhere in the world during the start-up altogether, if premiums continue to rise unchecked. maintain health insurance,” Mr Ian Henschke said.
phase of consumer-directed systems. People, As health insurers prepare submissions supporting “Our members have told us they want to keep their
particularly those who are most vulnerable, just aren’t their case for a hike next April, National Seniors Australia health cover so they can avoid lengthy waiting lists in the
used to having choice, and we must ensure that we is raising concerns about issues driving seniors away public hospital system and have the doctor of their choice.
don’t allow the system to fail at the starting gate. from health cover at a time when they need it most. “But the higher insurance premiums mean they
are downgrading their level of cover with products
that have higher excesses, co-payments and more
exclusions, just to avoid dropping the private health
cover altogether.
“National Seniors’ research has also shown us that
93 per cent of people aged over 75 have at least one
chronic condition, while 77 per cent of people aged
between 50 and 64 have at least one chronic condition.
“Many of them could return from an unavoidable
hospital stay or course of treatment and find themselves
thousands of dollars out of pocket due to gap payments
and product exclusions, which can be difficult and
confusing to estimate. They usually come as a nasty
surprise when making a claim.”
Mr Henschke said most seniors with health
insurance would have been paying their premiums for
decades during which health funds would have reaped
the benefits of fewer claims.
“National Seniors is calling on the Federal
Government to explore all options to improve the
affordability of premiums, including the pricing
arrangements between health funds and providers,”
Mr Henschke said.
Information supplied by National Seniors
Australia.

4 Summer 2017 | The Go55s Newspaper