MBF Health

Illogical and unfair providers – I do not believe the way they assess claims is fair or reasonable, or even intelligent, which you might think it would be given its size. In my opinion, they are a very untrustworthy organisation. Show details

rip off – Overpriced premiums-Over paid executives. Member for over 50 years--Short changed by Bupa take over-- Conveniently overlooked over 20 years of MBF membership .Bupa has no reward / discount for long term loyalty. Some piddly insignificant discounts on unlikely purchases Show details

30 wasted years – The membership is dwindling, the fees continue to go up, the services go down, the profits increase, the benefits drop off. The member that chose to stay was in no way rewarded for their term of support to the fund. As members get older and require the use of the fund that they have supported for 30 years we find that we have to continue to pay more.Interesting to see that employees of the fund dont even use MBF personally.

Better ones out there – We joined MBF 7 years ago to fulfil our commitments to have private cover. We claim very, very little and we wear glasses. My wife would take me glasses shopping once a year to take advantage of the rebate before it expired, but I couldn't understand why the plain, single vision specs would cost hundreds every time. This made me suspicious of the… Read more

level of cover we were receiving.

Then, when I broke a tooth, I made my rare pilgrimage to the only dentist I've ever used. More than a couple hundred out of pocket, I took the receipt to MBF for processing. Granted, it was processed and refunded on the spot- just $28! When I questioned why the refund was so low, I was told I went to a dentist that was not on the preferred list. I asked which ones were on the list, but she didn't know. I then asked where I could get a hardcopy of the list of providers, she told me I would have received it when I joined. Given that was 7 years ago, I suggested the list would be both lost, and no longer current. I suggested they post one each year to members but she disagreed. She also suggested in order to get a little bit more back, I could go to a higher level of cover. Given we were paying thousands a year in premiums, for a $28 return, I declined the upgrade.

The upshot is, I insisted we change. We took up a staff offer with CBHS, and have never looked back. We get refunds of up to 80% at ANY provider, and my glasses only cost about $40 a year. And the premiums are less too. Overall, very happy with the new provider. MBF have lost us forever.

Nearly everything

No email correspondence Possible, very hard to deal with – Very poor service No idea what current technology is.. Will not use emails for exchanging information. Have to send faxes twice maybe three times before received. They are cheap, you get what you pay for ..... They are cheap, you get what you pay for ..... No email correspondence possible, very hard to deal with.

re Osteopathy – One of the reasons I joined MBF was because of their "extras" options, one of them being Osteopathy. It states in their booklet that they cover at least 60% if you see one of their Member Care Providers. I called to ask If I could have the details of one close to me. They told me that they do not have preferred providers that only do Osteo, they… Read more

only include Chiropractors that do Osteo, WTF? OK fine, so I ask if I can please have the details of the chiropractors that do Osteo. They don't have those details,at all! I have to call every bloody Chiropractor(in their network) in Sydney to find one! Im halfway through my list and still havent found one!

I'm so annoyed because I find this very misleading. They're very straightforward in the conversation and in the booklets about this service but when you actually go to use it, what a nightmare!!

I've had to start using an Osteo near me in the meantime and it works out that I get about 30% back grr.

I'm looking at other funds.... Easy to join up.... Misleading Informtion

OK – I was satisfied with their claim rebates and got a cheaper premium under the corporate plan where is covers pretty much everything I need. I would still suggest MBF as they are one of the private insurance that can be used in most of the place (within Australia). It offers good deal when you join under Corporate Plan. It has high It offers high… Read more

claim rate and sometimes no-cap. It also has sounds customer services. Price is bit dear than other private insurance if you're not under corporate plans. Also, they raise their premium faster than their services quality.

They often issued a faulty card to you which is quite disturbing.

Terrible – Its extremely disappointing after being a member for many years, that when you need MBF's support you can't get it. You pay the premium do the right thing, make no major claims, Beware MBF change policies without ensuring the member is aware of these changes. MBF needs to improve on their communication to members. (not only MAIL if the changes are… Read more

this important, they need to use other means i.e. email, text or phone) to ensure important information is received and understood. In my families case MBF sent important policies changes to the wrong address, as we have never moved addresses in over 60 years this is unacceptable and now MBF don't care! Be very aware. Hope this can make a difference to at least one person, so no one else needs to experience service like we have.

Will do everything possible to avoid helping a client of 20+ years, Can't be relied on when you need them most. Untrustworthy with your families health care.

Bad – We are considering cancelling our membership, at $210 per month for the two of us and so many rules about 'preferred providers' we would be better off without this cover. Feeling of security. Unless you use their preferred Doctors, Dentists etc there are huge gaps you have to pay. In the last 12 months I have had 1 claim, a Dentist bill of $180… Read more

for a single filling. MBF paid only $70 as my dentist is not a 'Preferred' supplier and there is no preferred suplier in the area. For $210 per month I expected more!

Terrible – Looking for another fund. She pays a high premium every month and it is a drain on our budget, which keep increasing every month. MBF is a ripoff. My wife had a hand operation with pins inserted in her fingers and paid $500.00 excess. Now she is having the same procedure with the pins removed and has to pay another $500.00 excess. She was given 12… Read more

hours notice that she had to pay this. She has been a member of MBF for quite some time. I am the husband and I am looking for another fund for her to join to get a fair deal and not getting ripped off. Absolute rip off

Good value from the extras – While we have had health insurance as a family for years and have seen the benefit of it with a couple of hospital trips it is worth noting for this review a key benefit we've enjoyed with MBF of using the extras correctly.  What we've found is that MBF have done deals with a range of physios, dentists etc so that if you use an MBF preferred… Read more

provider you get either a n'o gap' or a 'known gap' refund.  For example my daughter went to a physio and sure enough he took the MBF card, but he then charged a $35 fee on top.  WIth advice from MBF she went to a MBF preferred physio for the next visit and the gap was only $5.  The deal is MBF guarantee the physio his fee IF he charges the agreed rate. I rang MBf to find this out, but they also list the physios, dentists etc on their website.  They're everywhere - particularly in QLD where we are. A great Extras program Its all costs

Bad – After nearly 10 years, I've finally got around to changing health insurers - goodby MBF. Premium keep increasing and benefits keep decreasing. Overall I don't consider MBF's benefits to be worth the premium compared to other health insurers. Offices nearby that I could claim directly from if needed. Snotty office staff (have had only 2 of them,… Read more

and they were not helpful). Low level of refunds for extras. Continual increases in premiums for no added benefit. Could only claim for pilates run by my physio out of my physio extras allowance (could not use my Living Well allowance because she's a physio and not a pilates instructor).

Good – I've always been with MBF and never had any problems. There are alot of stores in Sydney so you dont have to travel too far to visit your local one. Their customer service is fantastic and the instore staff are friendly and helpful. They offer cheaper movie tickets to both Hoyts and Greater Union which saves alot of money. They are a bit stingy… Read more

with what they cover you for and they're not exactly cheap. They no longer allow you to purchase movie tickets instore, you have to to it online which means you have to give your credit card details over the net.

OK – For the small costs its ok, like glasses, but when you need serious medical attention and the bill is over $20,000 and you need them most, they do whatever they can to avoid. Family has been with them for 15 years at the time on the top cover. Took lots for them to accept resposibility for the bill and even then we had to pay huge excesses we… Read more

werent expecting. No longer with them after how difficult they were. Optical cover was pretty good and paid out a fair bit Arent there when you need them most, will try to get out of paying anything they can!

Good – great value health insurance with alot of options, only they take ages to issue your membership cards, great claim backs and very good customer service fantastic customer service, the operators are all english speaking and australian offices are very helpful. I am never on hold for more than 1-2 minutes when calling. Great price differences and… Read more

offers that are on all of the time. i swapped from my parents cover to my own once i turned 21, i didnt have a waiting period time to wait as i never left my membership, however my card took 6 weeks to arrive and you cant claim without your card

Terrible – While I had no problems from MBF for a few years when I upgraded my cover I had numerous problems: unable to automatically claim for services (even though I had already served the waiting periods and had confirmation by MBF staff that I would be able to automatically claim), a yearly premium was deducted from my bank account rather than a monthly… Read more

amount which took longer than appropriate to be refunded, requested paperwork/statements took weeks and weeks to be received (some documents never received) because it had to come from another department and they were 'very busy'. After numerous phone calls I managed to get compensated for the over deduction and delayed refund, but problems kept occuring and visits to the local MBF office to try to sort them out were not always convenient because the office is not open on Saturdays. cheaper than other health insurers incorrect information received from staff, delays in receiving refunds from being overcharged, delays in receiving requested paperwork, office not open Saturdays

OK – If you earn over the threshold you need to have some kind of private health insurance to avoid the medicare levy surcharge but I usually don't see much benefit in private health insurance - as a private patient as a public hospital you end up paying out of pocket for services that would be free if you were a public patient. Still, that's a problem… Read more

with the system in general, not just MBF. The way I look at it I guess I should be grateful if I haven't claimed much - it means I haven't been unwell! Well known brand; I've never had a problem getting them to pay anything; Cheap movie tickets available to members. Pretty expensive, especially the extras cover when you consider the maximum benefits.

Good – I've had this health cover for a few years now and haven't actually had to make a claim. It is useful for dental work where you get differing amounts of money depending on the type of dental procedures that are taking place. The fees are regularly indexed to go up every six months it seems. There are a number of different plans with options… Read more

available and it can be a bit confusing as to what plan to take. They are also different by price by getting a different excess amount options depending on the likelihood that you will have to actually make a claim. A good option for health insurance. The different plan options are a bit confusing.

Good – We have ancillary and ambulance cover only with MBF. We have held full hospital cover in the past but we can no longer afford it. We have found the staff helpful and accurate in their work, and we have never had to call to correct any mistakes made. We usually get back more than we pay into the fund as we have three members of our family in… Read more

glasses, one who needs extra dental work and several who receive osteopathic and massage treatment. I do wish, however, that we could pay a little more as a larger family to receive higher limits on things. They have generous rebates and most years we get back more than we pay in! Some services aren't covered or have small limits per membership.

Good – So far I have been happy with the service. I have only used the extras side of the cover and fins this quite good. They process on line claims really quickly and it gets back in your bank within a matter of days. I like the fact that they are a big company and that they are australia wide. I have spoken to customer service reps in their shops and… Read more

they have been more than helpful. Love the fact that you can do your claims on line. I dislike their price hikes and feel instead of taking things off your cover why not intice people by adding extras things to your cover.

Bad – Looks smart but too many hidden non-reimbursed things and a huge lack of no gap general practitionners. when you save money on the pharmacy bill with generics you may then not be reimbursed at all. They cannot be trusted on money they take from your account. appealing Worse client relationship. Make big mistakes on your bank account and never call you bacl

Good – I only have extras but the cover is reasonable cheap and there are lots of providers out there. Good rebates Great extra cover. Good customer service. Best deal I've found so far Nothing to this stage

Excellent – I am a memeber of MBF and I found it to be the most affordable cover available to me I am a young university student so price is important to me as well as good cover I am currently covered by extras and now I can afford to get important treatment like dental and chiropractic (I have a bad back) before I had MBF my health suffered because I could… Read more

afford even to get a filling at the dentist. and most of the other private health company were out of my price range. low cost, great extra's cover rolls over in Jan no matter when you join, but I guess that works its selof out once you have the first roll over