Everything comes with a price tag, which can ultimately sway your decision on whether to purchase something or not. You may decide that a particular vehicle is too expensive, or you choose an inferior brand of something because it’s more affordable. But how much value do you place on your health or health services?

We are blessed here in Australia to have a reasonably decent healthcare system that allows most people to get the care they need. The public system includes community-based services that the Australian public can access for free or at a reduced cost due to taxpayer funding.

Knowing that if you’re sick, you can get help, you may be wondering why health insurance would be important and necessary at all. However, if you speak to an insurance advice consultant, you would be surprised at how much value it can add to your life.

Shorter Wait Times

When you access treatment through the public health system, you can wait a considerable amount of time for non-urgent treatment. During that time, you may experience increased discomfort or find yourself waiting and waiting until a medical professional can fit you onto their list.

If you have private health insurance, however, those wait times are far shorter for planned and elective surgeries. If you are in extreme pain and discomfort, it’s often not all that long until that pain is alleviated.

More Choices

When you are on the public list waiting for care, you don’t get a lot of say in the process. You can’t choose when you want to have surgery, where you want to have it, and who performs it. If you have health insurance, that choice is often placed in your hands. You can usually pick the most appropriate hospital for your needs, and even make decisions regarding your care. Such control in the process can offer much-needed peace of mind.

More Cover

Healthcare can often be more than just doctor visits and surgery. What if you need to access an ambulance, see a chiropractor, a dentist, or a physio? Health insurance can encompass all, several, or some of those services that Medicare and the public sector don’t cover. The best part is, you can choose which ones you would like to be able to access as part of your health insurance plan.

Peace of Mind

It can seem mind-boggling to many that people would choose to buy health insurance when taxpayer dollars can fund some if not all of your necessary medical procedures. But peace of mind can be worth more than money. Let’s take the example of a hip replacement.

Your hip joint is failing, and you are in a lot of pain, but the wait times under the public system are quite long. You kept getting pushed back on the list, and now you are struggling to do your job. You can’t work, so you can’t pay your bills, and your life begins to crumble around you.

Now imagine this scenario. Your hip joint is failing, and you are in a lot of pain. You have health insurance, and you can get surgery within days or weeks, rather than months or years. You’re back at work, comfortable, and now no longer in pain. That peace of mind is what people are willing to get health insurance for.

Health insurance is not within everyone’s reach, but it’s worth your consideration if you are in a financial position to afford it. While you are in good health, shop around for insurance quotes and see if any jump out at you.