With private health insurance you won’t have to wait on public hospital waiting lists when you need treatment.
In comparison, waiting times for treatment as a public patient in a public hospital under Medicare are on average:
• 4 months for removal of tonsils (120 days)
• 1.5+ weeks for coronary bypass surgery (13 days)
• 3.5+ months for hip replacement surgery (114 days)
• 6+ months for knee replacement surgery (188 days)
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian hospital statistics 2015-2016: elective surgery waiting times.