We usually compare 30+ health insurance funds. However, our comparison tool is currently being updated as a result of major health insurance reforms and legislative changes that impact the whole industry and we want you to have the right information to make a better decision.
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Health Insurance Finder™ is a 100% free, Australian-owned comparison service designed to help you find suitable cover for your needs.
What is private health insurance?
Health insurance helps you cover the cost of private hospital treatments as well as some out-of-hospital services, such as benefits for dental. When choosing your health insurance, you can pick hospital, extras cover or a combined policy with both.
How much does private health insurance cost?
Well, that depends on the level of cover you have - we checked the averages across 10 funds here in Australia. These are the average monthly prices from low to high in April 2019. Prices quoted are for a single policy in NSW.
Hospital Tier
Average
Basic
$79.86
Bronze
$90.87
Silver
$126.81
Gold
$170.90
Compare some health insurance options
Here are a few options from Finder partners that offer some value for money if you're looking for hospital and extras. All results are based on a single person living in NSW.
Fund
Policy
Summary of inclusions
Apply
Silver Everyday + Top Extras
This Silver hospital cover provides services including heart procedures. It has a high level of extras including Major Dental & Orthodontics.
This Bronze level hospital cover includes 18 clinical categories. Plus dental surgery. You also get a $800 flexi limit to spend on extras including dental & physiotherapy.
This silver hospital cover includes 26 treatment categories. Extras include a $650 dental limit, $350 back on therapies,$150 back on chiropractic and $200 for optical.
There have been some big changes to health insurance . Here are 5 things you need to know.
Find health cover that suits your life
Choose your own care
Have peace of mind, whether you want choice over your hospital or your surgeon, or you just want to feel safe in the knowledge that you’ve got protection.
Save on tax
Just want a basic policy that means you don’t get penalised? We got you. Health insurance means you can avoid fearing that claim form at tax time.
Don't wait
Don’t want to sit on a public waiting list for surgery? Private health insurance can help. You’ll be able to receive treatment quicker, in a private room and from a doctor that you choose.
Get cash back
If you get regular massages, physio treatments or you just like keeping your teeth in great condition, these out-of-hospital treatments are only covered by private health insurance.
Private health insurance options
It's up to you to decide what type of private health insurance you'd like cover for:
Hospital only
A hospital policy covers you for hospital procedures and accommodation, you can also choose your doctor. Hospital cover is also what you need to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).
A combined policy includes cover for both in and out of hospital services. They are often labelled as packages such as young couples - but you can also mix and match your own.
Private health insurance is community rated meaning that no matter how old you are or whether you have any pre-existing conditions, everyone pays the same amount for the same cover.
The cost of health insurance comes down to the choices you make. A basic hospital policy can start from $16 a week and an extras policy from just $3 a week with April 2018 pricing.
Prepay for your policy before 1 April each year. Every year on 1 April, health insurance premiums go up. If you prepay 12 months' worth of premiums before 1 April, you can postpone the rate rise's effect on your hip pocket.
Annual payment discounts. If you're planning on paying for your policy in advance for the next year, look for a fund that offers discounts for doing so. Some of these funds offer discounts of up to 4%.
Direct debit discounts. While we're on the topic of payment discounts, some funds offer a 4% discount for customers who pay for their premiums by direct debit.
Health discounts. Some funds, such as myOwn, are dipping their toes in the water and starting to reward their healthier members with discounted premiums.
What happens if you don't have private health insurance?
The Australian Government has introduced a number of schemes to encourage people who can afford private health insurance to take it out. Private health care takes the burden off the public health system so people who really need it can access it when they need to. There are a few schemes that may impact you.
Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading. This is designed to encourage Australians to maintain health insurance from a younger age. It does this by increasing premiums by 2% for every year after your 31st birthday that you don't have cover.
Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). This is an additional tax penalty ranging from 1% to 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.
Can you get cover if you're not an Australian citizen?
Yes, you can. Australian health funds offer a range of cover options for those moving to Australia. These policies are called Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) or Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). The type of cover you need will depend on your visa. However, people from countries that Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with can access a certain level of subsidised treatment from Medicare. Be aware that the benefits are very limited, with anything but the most vital medical services likely not covered.
Reciprocal Health Care Agreement countries
How to compare health insurance
Each health fund is different, policy prices, services covered, annual benefit limits, excess options and sign up offers can vary. Follow these key steps when comparing:
Think about your requirements.Tailor your search to your budget and lifestyle.
Find out what services you're paying for. Make sure you're not paying for things you won't use.
Shop around. Don't just go with the brand you know the most, you may end up paying more.
Consider all the costs. Remember to check excesses, limits and co-payments.
Know what the annual benefit limits are. Extras apply benefit limits to many included services.
Looking to save? Check out these health insurance deals
Yes. By law, in Australia you can transfer any wait periods you’ve already served for hospital cover. For your extras, there are no guarantees by law but many insurers will waive the waiting periods in a bid to sign you up.
No. The private Australian healthcare system is based on a system of “community rating”, meaning that insurers are not allowed to turn customers away based on their health status, claims history or age. This gives all Aussies the care they need and while also helping to take pressure off of the public system.
That’s affirmative! If you earn less than $140,000, your rebate could be as much as 34% of the amount you spent on insurance. You can choose to claim that back on your taxes or to apply it in your premiums to get a discount as you go.
If you want to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge (which is a surcharge on your taxes once you earn over $90k), you will need to have private hospital cover provided by a registered Australian health insurer. It must have an excess of $500 or less for singles or $1,000 or less for families.
Medicare is the Australian government's public-run health care system, funded by taxpayer dollars and providing free healthcare to all citizens and permanent residents.
Private health insurance is a privately-run system that works side-by-side with Medicare by taking some of the pressure off the public system and by offering patients more choice. People who buy private health insurance have the benefit of being treated by the doctor of their choice and in a private hospital, neither of which are possible with Medicare.
Because the two systems are designed to work together, Medicare will still pay a portion of the private patient’s costs.
If you don’t have private health insurance, you will still be covered by Medicare but you’ll have a little less choice about who treats you and you may run into some tax issues. Medicare by itself does not let you choose where you are treated or who treats you, and you could wait a while in the long public queue before you can get treated.
High earners without private cover have to pay a Medicare Levy Surcharge in addition to the Medicare Levy everyone pays. Anyone who waits until after they’re 31 to buy private cover will also be penalised with the Lifetime Health Cover loading if they ever decide to buy it. For most people, this increase is equal to 2% per year after the age of 31.
Your excess is the amount of money you agree to pay each time you’re admitted to the hospital or get treated as an outpatient. Generally speaking, the higher your excess is, the lower your premium will be if everything else about the policy is the same. Don’t get this confused with your co-payment, which is the amount of money you agree to pay for each night you spend in a hospital. Think of it this way: your excess is your share of the treatment costs and your co-payment is your share of the accommodation costs.
You health insurance will come with benefit limits, or the amount of money you can claim back for each treatment, and those reset once per year. It’s up to your insurer to decide when those reset, but it will most commonly be at the start of the financial year or the start of the calendar year. Your best bet is to check with your insurer or read up on your policy documents.
There are three main reasons health insurance prices go up every year. One, more and more people are downgrading their policies to the minimum required to avoid taxes. Two, year-on-year growth in the number of new policies is slowing industry-wide. Three, Australia’s population is ageing which means more and more people are making claims. Four, the cost of healthcare is rising. All of this together means the funds are receiving less money, yet paying out more. To make up the shortfall, they resort to price hikes.
As of March 2018, there were 11,316,775 Australians (or 45.5% of the population) covered by private health insurance, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
BUPA is Australia’s largest health insurance company, with 3.7 million members having some form of health insurance with the company as of December 2017 (APRA).
If you get medical treatment while you are uninsured, you can’t later buy insurance and backdate your policy to cover the original treatment. You need to be covered before the treatment, andsit out any waiting periods.
There is only one exception. If you are already insured under a singles or couples policy, most insurers will let you add your child as a dependent up to a certain amount of time post-birth (usually two months) before you have to let them know. Once you add the child, the child’s coverage will be backdated to their birthdate and everything from their birthdate forward will be covered.
The health insurance reforms are a set of reforms announced in October 2017 to make it easier for Australians to compare health insurance products side-by-side. It aims to create a simplified tiered structure that rates hospital policies on their comprehensiveness according to four levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic. Extras policies will be rated similarly, except without the Basic level. The government hopes to have the new system rolled out completely by April 2019. You can find out more about the reforms here.
Private health is changing. Here’s what we know, what we don’t know, and what you can do about it right now. Read more…
*The products compared on this page are chosen from a range of offers available to us and are not representative of all the products available in the market. There is no perfect order or perfect ranking system for the products we list on our Site, so we provide you with the functionality to self-select, re-order and compare products. The initial display order is influenced by a range of factors including conversion rates, product costs and commercial arrangements, so please don't interpret the listing order as an endorsement or recommendation from us. We're happy to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions, but we'd like you to make your own decisions and compare and assess products based on your own preferences, circumstances and needs.
Looking for combined cover for hospital and extras health insurance? Health.com.au have over 40 options to choose from, with prices starting from $21 a week.
Though there currently is no health insurance provider that gives the user the ability to use their total benefits where they like to spend, you may want to check on the policies available on the page that provides anything close to what you are asking. You may also want to check the terms and conditions provided by each insurer to ensure you get the policy you wish to have covered. Hope this helps!
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.
The page we are on provides you a search box where you could check what cover you would need. As per the cover you want added to your policy, you may want to direct that over to the insurance provider if this is a cover that they could provide as well as how much it would cost to add this up to the policy you would want to purchase. Hope this helps!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
With premiums that keep increasing, I am now paying around $94 a month ($1128 per year) on something that I have never actually used over the last 6 years!
What is the actual consequence if I walked out of heath insurance (don’t mention hypothetical scenarios such as me getting into an accident)?
How much am I actually penalized on my tax?
If you would decide not to take on private health insurance, please be ready to face out-of-pocket costs if you do get hospitalised or need medical care and services. Out-of-pocket costs will vary greatly depending on the hospital you go to and the doctor or specialist they see.
As per being penalised for not taking out health insurance, yes would. Another reason Australians commonly take out private health insurance is to avoid financial penalties. Australia’s tax system encourages high-income earners to take out private health insurance as well as paying the 2% levy to help fund Medicare and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
If you do not take out private health insurance, you will pay a 2% tax penalty called the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
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Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We compare from a wide set of major banks, insurers and product issuers.
finder.com.au has access to track details from the product issuers listed on our sites. Although we provide information on the products offered by a wide range of issuers, we don't cover every available product. You should consider whether the products featured on our site are appropriate for your needs and seek independent advice if you have any questions.
Products marked as 'Promoted' or "Advertisement" are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options and find the best option for you.
The identification of a group of products, as 'Top' or 'Best' is a reflection of user preferences based on current website data. On a regular basis, analytics drive the creation of a list of popular products. Where these products are grouped, they appear in no particular order.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labelling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
Providing or obtaining an estimated insurance quote through us does not guarantee you can get the insurance. Acceptance by insurance companies is based on things like occupation, health and lifestyle. By providing you with the ability to apply for a credit card or loan we are not guaranteeing that your application will be approved. Your application for credit products is subject to the Provider's terms and conditions as well as their application and lending criteria.
Please read our website terms of use for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
Have peace of mind, whether you want choice over your hospital or your surgeon, or you just want to feel safe in the knowledge that you’ve got protection.
Just want a basic policy that means you don’t get penalised? We got you. Health insurance means you can avoid fearing that claim form at tax time.
Don’t want to sit on a public waiting list for surgery? Private health insurance can help. You’ll be able to receive treatment quicker, in a private room and from a doctor that you choose.
If you get regular massages, physio treatments or you just like keeping your teeth in great condition, these out-of-hospital treatments are only covered by private health insurance.
ahm Deals
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,
Thank you for reaching out to Finder.
Though there currently is no health insurance provider that gives the user the ability to use their total benefits where they like to spend, you may want to check on the policies available on the page that provides anything close to what you are asking. You may also want to check the terms and conditions provided by each insurer to ensure you get the policy you wish to have covered. 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.
The page we are on provides you a search box where you could check what cover you would need. As per the cover you want added to your policy, you may want to direct that over to the insurance provider if this is a cover that they could provide as well as how much it would cost to add this up to the policy you would want to purchase. Hope this helps!
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/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
With premiums that keep increasing, I am now paying around $94 a month ($1128 per year) on something that I have never actually used over the last 6 years!
What is the actual consequence if I walked out of heath insurance (don’t mention hypothetical scenarios such as me getting into an accident)?
How much am I actually penalized on my tax?
Hello Shaun,
Thank you for your question.
If you would decide not to take on private health insurance, please be ready to face out-of-pocket costs if you do get hospitalised or need medical care and services. Out-of-pocket costs will vary greatly depending on the hospital you go to and the doctor or specialist they see.
As per being penalised for not taking out health insurance, yes would. Another reason Australians commonly take out private health insurance is to avoid financial penalties. Australia’s tax system encourages high-income earners to take out private health insurance as well as paying the 2% levy to help fund Medicare and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
If you do not take out private health insurance, you will pay a 2% tax penalty called the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
Hope this helped.
Cheers,
Gru