What impacts the cost of health insurance?
Health insurance is community rated which means you don't have to pay more for pre-existing conditions and the price you pay isn't impacted by your age.
However, here are a few things that can impact your quote:
- Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading. If you haven't taken out private health cover by the time you turn 31, you'll have to pay 2% extra for each year you were uninsured when you do eventually take it out.
- Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). This is an additional tax penalty ranging from 1–1.5% of your annual income, depending on how much you earn, and is applied every year that you do not have an adequate private health insurance policy.
- Private health insurance rebate. One of the major benefits of having private health insurance is being able to claim the private health insurance rebate. The rebate is determined by your age, your relationship status and your income.
- Your excess or co-payment. When you take out insurance, you can agree to take some responsibility for the health cover costs in return for lower premiums – this is your excess. You only pay it if you go to the hospital. The higher your excess, the lower your premiums will be.
- Your location. If you live in a regional area of Australia, your insurance might cost you more due to poorer access to health facilities as well as potential travel and accommodation expenses.
- Which fund you choose. Use the new tiered structure – Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold. If you shop around, you can find more-affordable providers better value for money.
Is there any available private insurance package that covers beauty and plastic surgeries? What package is the most applicable for those procedures?
Hi Maria,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃
That’s an interesting question, Maria.
In most cases, elective cosmetic procedures are not covered by health insurance policies. However, reconstructive plastic surgery is more likely to be covered.
We do have a guide about health insurance covering cosmetic surgery. Please check this page. On that page, you will know which health funds cover medically necessary plastic surgery.
However, if you are after health insurance that covers elective surgery, your options might be limited. You may still want to fill out the form found on this page to get in contact with health insurers. From there, you can ask them directly whether they cover elective cosmetic surgeries or not.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Hi there , is there a health fund which allows me to use my total benefit where ever i like to spend ,instead of their own set breakdown ?
Hi Surinder,
You can look for a combined limit on many extras, as an example, AHM just give you one year limit to use. If you use the comparison above, you can see an individual breakdown of every funds policy limits – hope this helps!
Cheers,
Reggie
Do any funds cover the cost of Intraocular Lenses to cure Cataracts please?
Hi David,
Thanks for getting in touch! Here is our page that talks about health insurance for major eye surgery. Hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to message us back if you have more questions.
Best,
Nikki
Please give me health funds which have a policy for NO pregnancy or infertility cover.
Hi Pauline,
Thank you for reaching out to finder.
Yes – it’s only top-level hospital cover (Gold or the occasional Silver Plus) that include pregnancy in the policy, by comparing Silver policies, or below – these won’t include pregnancy.
Cheers,
Reggie
How to combine two existing top (premium) health cover policies from adult single to a couples when both are with separate insurers? Wish to compare which of these two insurers would best cover the two of us as a couple whilst neither one loses benefits or has a waiting period. We both have been with our respective health providers for over ten years continuously.
Hi Nikko,
Thank you for getting in touch.
If you’re currently on separate policies, the first step would be to see if you can save any cash by combining your policies – we’ve added a bit of info on that here https://www.finder.com.au/health-insurance/couples – it doesn’t always work out cheaper and it’s probably worth a closer look.
With your waiting periods, they are different for hospital cover and general treatment (extras) cover. All of your hospital waiting periods that you’ve already served travel with you to the new policy – so if you do decide to combine your policies, you should be covered.
Keep in mind, you’ll still have to serve waiting periods for any new benefits that you didn’t have before (such as pregnancy cover and also extras).
If you already have a preferred health fund from your two options – it may be worth giving them a call as they can move you onto one package.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any other enquiries.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Jeni
As a couple over 50 we would like private hospital cover with general dental, optical, physio and chiro.. what is the best option?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder.
You may view this page to check on health insurance for over 50s.
Hope this was helpful.
Cheers,
Nikki
Hi there. My wife is already pregnant and the pregnancy insurance waiting period is 12 months!! So how does PHI work to cover her when she is giving birth? What is the solution around this?
Hello Kevin,
Thank you for your comment.
To be qualified for the private health insurance you’re advised to take out the policy in advance before attempting to conceive. Most Australian private health funds have a 12 month waiting period for obstetric services.
This is explained on these pages:
– https://www.finder.com.au/health-insurance/pregnancy-health-insurance
– https://www.finder.com.au/health-insurance/waiting-periods
I am afraid that no PHI will consider your wife’s condition as she is already pregnant, however, you can still contact the insurer directly and see what options they can offer you. I hope this helps.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
How does Defence Health compare to other health funds in terms of value for money – cost of premium to rebate received. The mo they premium certainly appears a lot higher than other funds but do the rebates reflect that?
Hi Jo,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
Defence Health offers a range of health insurance options to more than 235,000 Australians with Defence connections. With hospital and extras cover to suit everyone from the young and healthy to those who need comprehensive protection, it provides affordable cover and peace of mind.
You may want to know more by clicking on this link.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
Hi, are quoted premiums before or after any Govt rebates?
Hi Marco!
Thanks for your question and for visiting finder.
Quoted premiums are before government rebates. Rebate rates are subject to change based on the cost of living and the average health insurance premium amount. It would be helpful to check with your health insurance provider on their ongoing rates as well.
Hope this helps!
Thanks and best regards,
Nikki
What does the question “Do you qualify for a restricted fund?” mean.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your inquiry. Restricted health funds are funds where membership is restricted to certain people. They are usually operated by industry or employment groups and are not-for-profit, being run solely for the benefit of their members. You can know more information on this page.
Best regards,
Rench