Katie wanted more from her health fund – and found it!

Katie didn’t give much thought to choosing her first health fund – after all, she thought, they’re much the same, aren’t they? With a sports-mad husband, the time inevitably came when he required surgery for an ankle injury.   

Turning to their then health fund, they submitted the required paperwork and were given the go-ahead. On the morning of the surgery as they prepared to head into the hospital, their health fund rang to tell them they weren’t covered for the surgery. Katie remembers the confusion to this day. 

“Sure there had to be some mistake, we headed to the hospital anyway. We’d done our due diligence; they’d given us the go ahead. Surely this was an error. So, while my husband was getting settled in for his surgery, I spoke with the onsite rep for that insurance company and, after many phone calls back and forth (and after my husband was already in surgery), they decided they would cover us after all.”

“As stressful as this ordeal was, the thing that really put me off was feeling like that insurance company was trying it on, and that other people may not have had the energy or resources to stand up for the cover they'd been told they had access to.”

Unhappy with their experience, Katie knew she had to find a new provider. She wanted a health fund offering great value for money, who were not-for-profit, and who put people first. A timely union market day led Katie to our member-owned, not-for-profit health fund. She describes finding out she was eligible to join and that signing up was a ‘no-brainer’. 

“They ticked all the boxes - the price was right, they’re union affiliated and not-for-profit. It was such an easy decision. Their cover was more affordable than the other options and they offered such great value for money with additional benefits and perks.”

“The sign-up process was so easy. I received information that helped me compare my existing cover with what they could offer and it was very clear what I would get for my investment. I spoke to an extremely pleasant and helpful team member over the phone and they helped me with everything from setting up my billing, down to fine details like making sure that the direct debit day was convenient for my circumstances.”

“Since moving across, we’ve made regular extras claims and had one hospital admission and the whole process was so much easier than I could have expected.”

“As someone who’d never really been to hospital before, I was concerned how it would all work (especially after my husband’s experience with our previous health fund). When I arrived at the hospital, I simply filled out a form with my private health details, paid the excess and that was it. I didn’t have to think about it again at all.”

“This was such a positive contrast to our past experiences and there were no surprises or gaps (thanks to Access Gap). Not having to worry about being covered when going into hospital is the biggest load off your mind”

“Underpinning the whole experience has been their values. They place value on people before profit, focusing on offering high-value and useful health insurance that’s easy to understand - you know what you have access to and can easily keep track of this yourself online or with their easy app. There are different ways to interact with them so you can find a way that suits you and they’re so responsive. You’ll be looked after.” 

Katie’s advice to anyone considering a switch to Union Health is:

“Give them a call and get them to do a comparison of their offer with your current insurance package and talk it through with them. I think the product is worth checking out and will be worth every cent that you pay.