Considering Bupa for your OVHC? See what's on offer.
Several Australian visa types require visitors to take out overseas visitor health cover (OVHC). As a major international health insurance provider, Bupa offers several OVHC types to choose from.
All options are 100% compliant with Australian 485 and 457 visas, so no matter which policy you choose, you should be able to meet the visa requirements.
What cover options does Bupa OVHC offer?
Bupa offers four OVHC plans:
- Essential Visitors Cover
- Essential Plus Visitors Cover
- Gold Visitors Cover
- Platinum Visitors Cover
| Essential | Essential Plus | Gold | Platinum | |
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| Cost | $25.30 per week | $31.15 per week | $55.72 per week | $82.02 per week |
| Hospital cover | Basic | Basic | Comprehensive | Comprehensive |
| Amount of costs covered | Medium | Medium | High | High |
| Default extra health services | None | Basic dentalOpticalPhysiotherapyChiropractic Natural therapies | None | Basic dentalOpticalPhysiotherapyChiropractic Natural therapies |
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| Repatriation cover |
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| Covers all Medicare services in hospital? | No pregnancy cover or fertility treatments | No pregnancy cover or fertility treatments |
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| Emergency ambulance |
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| Excess options | $0 | $0 or $500 | $0 | $0 or $500 |
With all plans, you can add more extras cover if you want.
You may also add the Reciprocal Health Cover feature to your plan. This applies if Medicare is accessible to you, such as if you are from an RHCA country. This option does not deliver any additional cover but it might save you money. With it, you can get an exemption from paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge on your Australian taxes. This is only applicable if you earn more than $90,000 as a single person, or more than $180,000 as a couple or family.
What limitations should I know about?
The costs covered are different depending on which option you choose. When you pick Essential or Essential Plus, you might need to pay more out of pocket for hospital procedures than if you pick Gold or Platinum.
Not all procedures will be fully covered either. Certain treatments like heart surgery, hip replacements and renal dialysis may result in more out-of-pocket expenses.
Waiting periods also apply to certain treatments. For most hospital services and extras services, you will have to wait for two months after taking out cover before you can claim them. For most pre-existing conditions this is 12 months for hospital cover.
How can I make a claim with Bupa?
When you sign up, Bupa will give you a membership card. This can be used at participating extras service providers to claim reimbursement for services, as covered under your plan.
For hospital treatments, the hospital can bill Bupa for services directly, and you will often only need to pay the difference, as well as any applicable excess, directly to the hospital or service provider.
Hi Susan, thanks for your inquiry!
You can extend the coverage by contacting Bupa directly on:
134 135
Customer Service:
Mon – Fri 8am – 8pm AEST/AEDT
Best,
Jonathan