*Prices are based on a single person living in Sydney earning less than $93,000 per year.
Here you can find some of the cheapest Basic hospital options from Finder partners. They cover emergency ambulance and would make you exempt from the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) at tax time. All prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and living in Sydney.
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| Response | 75+ yrs | 65-74 yrs | 55-64 yrs | 45-54 yrs | 35-44 yrs | 25-34 yrs | 18-24 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 36.36% | 41.28% | 52.17% | 45.56% | 65.41% | 56.84% | 49.41% |
| No | 34.09% | 34.88% | 29.81% | 31.36% | 15.14% | 17.37% | 29.41% |
| Not sure | 29.55% | 23.84% | 18.01% | 23.08% | 19.46% | 25.79% | 21.18% |
HBF's Basic Hospital Plus Elevate policy won the 2024 Finder Awards for best basic hospital policy. These awards compared all eligible basic hospital policies on the market. It won based on value for money, meaning policies that covered more treatments in a private hospital for a lower premium scored higher.
Bupa's Basic Plus Starter Hospital policy came in second place for our basic category. It costs around $19 per week and covers treatments including tonsils, adenoids and grommets, joint reconstructions and miscarriage and termination of pregnancy.
Frank's Entry Hospital Plus policy came in third place for our basic category. It costs around $20 per week and covers treatments including dental surgery, tonsils, adenoids and grommets, joint reconstructions, hernia and appendix, and gynaecology.
Gold-tier hospital insurance covers all 38 treatments outlined by the Australian government. This includes treatments like joint replacements, pregnancy and insulin pumps, as well as all services covered by Silver-tier policies.
Silver-tier hospital insurance covers at least 26 treatments outlined by the Australian government. This includes treatments like dental surgery, lung and chest, and podiatric surgery, as well as all services covered by Bronze-tier policies.
Basic-tier hospital insurance isn't required to fully cover any treatments outlined by the Australian government, but it does need to have restricted cover for rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services and palliative care. Generally, Basic cover is primarily used to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover loading.
*Average prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
If you earn more than $90,000, you'll be subject to the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) on your income tax. The MLS is a tax of up to 1.5%, and can quickly get into the thousands of dollars. Having a hospital health insurance policy is the only way to be exempt from the MLS. Fortunately, the cost of a Basic-tier policy can sometimes be less than the amount the MLS would cost you, meaning that getting a Basic policy would actually save you money.
Getting Basic health insurance will help you avoid the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading, which can make health insurance more expensive after a certain age. For every year you don't have hospital coverage after your 31st birthday, the LHC will add 2% onto the cost of a health insurance policy if you decide to get cover later. This only caps out after 35 years, at 70%.
If you never get hospital cover in your whole life, you'll never need to pay the LHC. However, if you think you might want hospital cover eventually, getting a Basic policy now can prevent you from ever being charged the LHC.
While Basic policies don't offer cover for many treatments, they often include ambulance cover, which can be very useful if you need ambulance transportation – even to a public hospital. Not all hospital policies automatically include ambulance, so you'll need to check the product details.
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