Mag Corner
Growing concern: Need for proper valid health Insurance for visitors Rise in number of medical emergencies of visitor parents in Australia. going visit to a worst effected burdened one with health, financial and emotional consequences.
S
Daljeet Bakshi
ince, the migrant community in Australia is growing rapidly, its attracting more visitors each day from other countries that includes family, friends of the migrants. It‘s great to see parents visiting their kids who are here in Australia, who are settled as citizens with families, those who are permanent residents and students as well. There is significant number of visitors coming from India. Visitors are required to get health insurance cover for any inevitable event. Some get insurance for the period of their travel from India and some get from Australian insurance providers. Some leave it as they are visiting for a shorter period. But, this is where there is a concern which can turn a happy
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During last few months, there are many cases reported in Australia, where parents visiting their kids have got medical emergencies that included heart surgery and brain stroke surgery. And the worst scenario was absence of either proper health insurance or insurance from unreliable company or no insurance cover at all. Due to all these issues the whole family of the effected got major setback with their present situation and future planning. In few cases, families effected had to raise FB fundraiser to support the huge bills of hospitalization and few had to organise for funeral or sending the body to India. It’s really worsening with the passage of time and the emergencies mostly medical one are reported from almost every state of Australia. This is a crucial and most important issue now that needs to be addressed by everyone , right from the visitors who
MARCH I 2019
are planning to visit their families in Australia , families inviting their parents here and authorities for a proper check for valid health insurance before finalising the visa . We all need to understand that it’s better to be prepared rather than to leave as it can have complicated consequences not only for the one who has suffered but also the whole family which gets affected. Yes, for some it may look huge amount for having proper insurance , but it’s better to have it that can give u and your family a sigh of relief in case of any emergency. At the same time, be careful not to hide any present condition of health; don’t put yourself in such a situation where saving small amount of money results in spending a lot more. Good Samaritans and members of the community in particular, authorities and consulate has been assisting in these emergencies. But, still lot of information needs to reach out with a loud and clear message to check out for valid insurance before u plan a travel.
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