Edition 63
June 2009
Message from the Manager
Federal Budget — May 2009
The May 2009 federal budget will not have an effect on members of Phoenix Health Fund until mid next year, 2010. Note that the planned changes have yet to pass through parliament, and may be altered from the details released on Budget night. The Federal Government Rebate on Private Health Insurance (usually 30%) will be subject to a Means Test, such that “high income earners” will have the amount of the Rebate reduced or eliminated.
At the same time, the Medicare Levy Surcharge will also increase for high income earners, to discourage current members pulling out of hospital cover, and encourage those people without private hospital cover to join. At this stage the changes are due to come into force on 1st July 2010.
We will be having discussions with the Department of Health and the Tax Office over the next few weeks and months. As the details of final start dates and definitions are known, you will be advised, either directly or in HealthLinks.
Member Survey — February 2009
During February this year, a random sample of members were invited to participate in a Member Survey. While the response rate was less than anticipated, the members that did reply showed Member Satisfaction to be consistently high. This largely mirrored the last Member Survey that was undertaken some years ago.
There were quite a number of comments and suggestions, and these will be considered in detail, to maintain and improve our services for members. The survey was done prior to the release of the new Fund Website (see the back page article), and some of the suggestions have already been put into place.
We thank those members who took the time to respond. Feedback of this type is invaluable, and encourages the staff to continue with their efforts, and shows how we can improve further.
William Beaton
Chief Executive Officer
The Back Page
Phoenix Health Fund Website — www.phoenixhealthfund.com.au
We have released a revised Fund website, with four major additions to the site:
- Get a Quote includes Lifetime Health Cover provision;
- Product & Features Summary, a snapshot view of what the different products cover;
- FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions, covering many of the phone calls we receive;
- Site Search facility, quick way of finding relevant pages.
There have been many revisions to layout, colours and details in individual sections, making the site easier to read and navigate. Of course, the facilities remain for:
- Travel Insurance — Online to QBE;
- Online Payments facility — BPay and Credit Card (Visa & Mastercard);
- Access Gap Cover Doctors (who wish to be listed) via interactive lookup;
- Hospital Search of Contracted Private Hospitals;
- On-Line Member Services, where you can update information about your membership, and check your member information.
As you may know, parts of the site are brought up to date on a regular basis. Some of these are:
- Hospital Lists — in addition to ‘Hospital Search’;
- Newsletters — including an ‘Archive’ of previous editions;
- Latest Forms — these can be printed and/or downloaded;
- Alternative Therapy — Therapies and Provider Associations for which we pay benefits.
Have a look and tell us what you think, by email! Always open to constructive criticism!
End of Financial Year — 2009
During the second week of July we will be mailing out documentation about your cover. This will include:
- 2009 Rebate Statement for your tax return. Note that only payments processed in the 2008-2009 tax year are included on this statement;
- Standard Information Sheet. This is a snapshot of your cover – not all benefits are shown for the cover you have. For more detailed information about your cover please refer to our website or your brochure;
- Lifetime Health Cover Statement – information about your membership and LHC loadings, if applicable.
Direct Credits
If requesting a benefit payment via Direct Credit please ensure that your banking details are filled out on the Claim Form. Benefits will be paid by cheque if this information is not shown.
Phone Enquiries
Please have your membership number handy when calling our office: it enables much faster look-up of your details, which helps to answer your enquiry quickly.
