
Compare Health Insurance
Health Insurance Finder® helps you compare health insurance from 30+ funds in Australia.
Health Insurance Finder® helps you compare health insurance from 30+ funds in Australia.
Private health insurance helps with the cost of healthcare not covered by Medicare. Not all policies are created equal, so it's important to compare health insurance and find the best health cover for you. There are two main types of cover: hospital and extras.
The cost of private health insurance varies, but we crunched the numbers from 30+ Australian funds to see what you'll have to pay for hospital and extras cover per month, depending on the level of cover you choose.
Tier | Average | Treatments included |
---|---|---|
Basic | $86 |
|
Bronze | $100 |
|
Silver | $150 |
|
Gold | $193 |
|
Extras cover | Average | Included benefits |
---|---|---|
Core | $32 |
|
Medium | $67 |
|
Comprehensive | $116 |
|
Prices quoted are based on a single 30 year-old in Sydney, earning less than $90,000 with a $750 hospital excess from June 2022. Extras categories used the same methodology as the 2022 Finder Health Insurance awards.
Why compare health insurance with Finder?
We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.
With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.
You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.
APRA data shows combined policies are held by some 11.76 million people in Australia. Here's something insurers like to keep quite about: you can split your hospital and extras policy and get them from 2 different providers. By doing so, you can shape both policies to your actual needs while saving money at the same time.
James Martin
Editor for insurance
Funds including Medibank, Bupa, HCF and NIB are delaying their premium increases until later in the year (this usually happens every April). They all let you pay a year (or more) of your health insurance upfront. For example, HCF lets you lock in for 18 months. It's delaying its 3.33% price increase until September 2023. That means you could lock in 2023 prices until March 2025. Depending on the policy you have, you could save up to $134 by prepaying.
Gary Ross Hunter
Insurance and innovations editor
I've always been a big proponent of private health cover - and geez I was glad I had it when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. With any unexpected serious illness, the type of treatment - and crucially the speed of it - could make all the difference.
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Freelance finance journalist
Health insurance is heavily regulated in Australia, which makes it easier to compare health insurance policies like-for-like. That said, funds still have different products and prices, so it's still important to make sure you're getting the right cover for you and your family.
Tim Bennett
Finder health insurance publisher
Hospital cover helps pay for a range of hospital treatments in a private hospital. This can include joint reconstructions, hernia operations and childbirth.
Extras cover helps towards out-of-hospital healthcare. This includes trips to the dentist, eye care by an optomotrists, physiotherapists and natural therapies.
Take our 30 second quiz to see if you need private health insurance at all. It's an important product, but not everybody needs it.
The private health insurance rebate makes health insurance cheaper for most people. Your exact rebate is determined by your age and income.
Whether you're a high earner or turning 30, there are a few things you need to know about private health insurance at tax time.
The price of health insurance can vary a lot based on your age, income and your lifestyle.
Switching health funds is quick and easy. You can transfer your waiting periods, while potentially saving money with new sign-up deals.
Extras benefit limits place a cap on the amount you can claim. They typically reset every 12 months. A higher limit may mean a more expensive policy, but not always.
Waiting periods apply to both extras and hospital policies - you'll need to serve these before claiming a benefit. Some extras policies let you skip some waiting periods.
Not sure if private health insurance is worth it? Here are some key differences between the public and private healthcare systems in Australia:
Public system | Private health insurance | |
---|---|---|
Doctor | A public hospital will allocate a doctor for you. You don't get to choose. | You can choose which doctor you see. |
Private room | You'll likely end up in a shared room in a public hospital. | Insurance gives you access to a private room if there's one available. |
Waiting lists | Waiting lists for elective treatments can range from a few weeks to a few years. | Private insurance usually involves a shorter wait. For some procedures, you may even be able to pick your date. |
Treatment types | Medicare doesn't cover most dental, hearing aids or other out-of-hospital treatments. | Extras can give you cashback on out-of-hospital services such as optical, dental, psychology and hearing aids. |
Ambulance costs | In most cases, Medicare won't pay for your ambulance except in Queensland and Tasmania. | Most health funds include cover for an emergency ambulance, even on Basic policies. |
Having a baby and wondering whether to go public or private? Here’s a comparison of the two, along with some of the costs you’ll be facing.
Find out how to get cheap health insurance for young people.
An online doctor is just like any other GP – except the appointment usually takes place via video call rather than face-to-face.
Health insurance is going up on 1 April 2020. Here are some tips on avoiding the price hike.
Get the lowdown on what's happening, so you can get a better deal on your health insurance.
Need health cover for gastroscopy? Find out how private health insurance and Medicare cover treatment and compare the costs for the most affordable option.
Medibank offers policy options to suit people with a wide range of needs and budgets.
Read our guide to eye tests.
Telehealth is an exciting new way of providing remote healthcare services using different technologies.
It's not possible to skip waiting periods for health insurance but there are exceptions.