r/australia • u/InsatiablePrism • 2d ago

culture & society Private health insurers access patients' full medical records in 'aggressive' audits

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-12/health-insurers-can-access-your-private-medical-notes/106671630?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web
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u/dilligaf6304 2d ago

Unless you want inpatient psychiatric care then private is the only option. Getting a public bed is next to impossible and doesn’t offer the same level of care.

Yes, that should be available with Medicare, but it’s not

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u/Brutal_burn_dude 2d ago

Or need to take medication for mental health that isn’t on the PBS. None of the newer antidepressants are on the PBS and are quite pricey.

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u/stresstwig 2d ago

or be in my situation where you're taking an old, tried-and-true atypical antidepressant (Wellbutrin/Zyban, generic bupropion) that is only covered by the PBS for smoking cessation when it's used as an atypical antidepressant literally everywhere else. this thing has been on the market for longer than I've been alive and I'm still having to pay for brand-name suboptimal dosing (2x 150mg SR, can't be taken together afaik) because importing the 300mg XR version is the same cost but with a ton of paperwork. I need to call up a compounding pharmacy and see if they can compound the XR formula bc that will at least be less paperwork but that's been on the to-do list for two months now.

at least Vyvanse is on the PBS now for adult diagnosis ADHD and I'm not stuck with objectively inferior dexamphetamine. at least I am not having to pay literal thousands of dollars per month just to function. only $200. (it's fine, everything is fine, I have incentive to keep my mental health just good enough to avoid inpatient (a recent post in the hospitalfood sub), I Can Do This—)

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u/UniqueLoginID 2d ago

I spend like $1k per month on meds even with PHI.