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Basic hospital cover
Basic hospital cover may help you save on tax from
$20
a week*. Basic policies won't cover much, but 'basic plus' policies can cover for a range of treatments.
Top pick: Winner: Best Basic Cover
HBF Health Limited
Winner: Best Basic Cover 2023
hbf's Basic Hospital Plus Elevate covers 19 treatment categories
Top pick: Highly Commended
Bupa HI Pty Ltd
Highly Commended: Best Basic Cover 2023
Bupa's Basic Plus Starter Hospital covers 13 treatment categories
Top pick: Highly Commended
nib Health Funds Ltd.
Highly Commended: Best Basic Cover 2023
nib's Basic Essential Hospital Plus covers 11 treatment categories
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What you need to know:
Basic hospital insurance won't cover much. Policies only have to partially cover 3 treatments.
If you want better cover, go for a basic plus, bronze, silver or gold policy.
Basic hospital policies start from around
$20
a week*, and may help reduce your tax burden.
*Prices are based on a single person living in Sydney earning less than $90,000 per year.
Pros and cons of Basic health insurance
Pros
Cheap cover that exempts you from the Medicare Levy Surcharge and the Lifetime Health Cover loading.
Lots of 'Basic plus' policies are available that give you affordable access to some Bronze-tier treatments.
Most Basic policies also include ambulance coverage – however, you will need to check the policy details.
Cons
Only required to offer restricted cover for rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services and palliative care.
Many Basic policies won't cover treatment in private hospitals. Instead, they will cover you as a private patient in a public hospital.
Doesn't include coverage for common treatments like ear, nose and throat, bone, joint and muscle, and joint reconstructions.
Compare more Basic health insurance policies
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 $90,000 income and living in Sydney.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
HBF's Basic Hospital Plus Elevate policy won the 2023 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.
nib's Basic Essential Hospital Plus policy came in third place for our basic category. It costs around $18 per week and covers treatments including tonsils, adenoids and grommets, hernia and appendix, and miscarriage and termination of pregnancy.
What are the hospital health insurance tiers?
Each of the different health insurance tiers has to cover a standardised set of treatments. Here's a quick summary of each tier.
Gold hospital cover
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.
Average premium:
$218.78
a month for a single policy.*
Lowest premium:
$162.44
a month for a single policy.*
Silver hospital cover
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.
Average cost:
$147.89
a month for a single policy.*
Lowest premium:
$102.5
a month for a single policy.*
Bronze hospital cover
Bronze-tier hospital insurance covers at least 18 treatments outlined by the Australian government. This includes treatments like joint reconstructions, gynaecology, and ear, nose and throat, as well as all services covered by Basic-tier policies.
Average cost:
$98.84
a month for a single policy.
Lowest premium:
$86.34
a month for a single policy.*
Basic hospital cover
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 cost:
$84.13
a month for a single policy.*
Lowest premium:
$76.9
a month for a single policy.*
*Average prices are updated monthly, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $90,000 income and living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
If a policy is described as a 'plus' policy, then it will cover the minimum number of treatments for its tier, plus at least 1 treatment from the next tier up. For a full list of the treatments covered by Basic policies, click the link below.
Clinical category
Basic
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Rehabilitation
R
R
R
Hospital psychiatric services
R
R
R
Palliative care
R
R
R
Brain and nervous system
Eye (not cataracts)
Ear, nose and throat
Tonsils, adenoids and grommets
Bone, joint and muscle
Joint reconstructions
Kidney and bladder
Male reproductive system
Digestive system
Hernia and appendix
Gastrointestinal endoscopy
Gynaecology
Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy for cancer
Pain management
Skin
Breast surgery (medically necessary)
Diabetes management (excluding insulin pumps)
Heart and vascular system
Lung and chest
Blood
Back, neck and spine
Plastic and reconstructive surgery (medically necessary)
Dental surgery
Podiatric surgery (provided by a registered podiatric surgeon)
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.
Avoiding the LHC
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.
Ambulance cover
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.
Why you can trust Finder's health insurance experts
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Since 2014, we've helped 350,000+ people find health insurance by explaining your options simply. We'll never ask for your number or email to see prices. We're here to help you make a decision.
Australia hospital insurance comes in 4 different tiers: Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each tier is required to cover a standardised set of treatments, set out by the government. This makes it easier to compare different policies, as they are all required to cover the same set of treatments.
Basic-tier hospital policies do not cover very many treatments – they are only required to offer restricted cover for rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services and palliative care. Generally, Basic hospital cover is best suited to avoiding the MLS and LHC. However, there are some 'Basic plus' policies that offer cover for additional treatments above the mandatory requirements.
A 'plus' policy offers cover for additional treatments (other than those required by the government for a given tier). An example of a 'Bronze plus' policy would be one that offers restricted cover for the 3 mandatory treatments, but also offers coverage for joint reconstructions, which is only mandatory for Bronze-tier policies.
Yes, Basic policies do cover pre-existing conditions, provided they are covered in the base policy and you serve a 12-month waiting period. This is a feature common to all Australian health insurance policies, as it is mandated by the government.
Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more.
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