Health Insurance Waiting Period
When you take a health insurance plan, you may have to wait for a specific period before your insurance policy becomes effective. This is known as the waiting period, and it is a necessary part of the health insurance policy of the health insurance companies. If there were no waiting period, then there might have been chances that people would join a plan to claim for planned health related expenditure and then leave it after reimbursement of their claim. With a waiting period, your health insurance effectively starts some time after you buy a policy. The waiting periods vary from one policy to another. However, there is generally no waiting period for medical treatment which may result due to an accident just after joining the policy, and such other incidents.
As per the law in force in Australia, there is a maximum waiting period specified for health insurance companies, meaning thereby that the company can make its members wait for the reimbursement of their claim for hospital treatment only up to that maximum time limit fixed by the Government. The maximum waiting period is 1 year for pre-existing conditions and pregnancy, 2 months for rehabilitation or palliative care, psychiatric care and all other circumstances. In deciding whether or not the disease was pre-existing, the health insurance company appoints a medical practitioner who will make the decision, by taking into account information provided by your own doctor. Government does not set a waiting period for claims under general treatment cover. These are regulated by the particular insurance company and you should be aware of the waiting period that applies to you.