Will I be covered if I take up private insurance and have a pre exisitng condition?

Yes. Most funds will cover pre-existing conditions after a 1 year waiting period, provided that your new policy covers you for that type of surgery. Be careful when choosing your policy. In particular avoid policy that only covers you as private patient in a public hospital. This particular policy has been described as “junk policy” by the AMA and other medical bodies as the only benefit it confers is enabling you to have surgeon of your choice in a public hospital. It does not enable you to avoid the waitlist. Also many policies designed for younger patients exclude hip and knee replacement. Many older patients that require a knee replacement need to be aware that knee reconstruction is not the same as replacement in policy wording. Unfortunately this is not made clear to them by the health funds when renewing their policies.