Health Insurance Finder™ is a 100% free, Australian-owned comparison service designed to help you find suitable cover for your needs.
Why compare private health insurance?
Health insurance can be confusing. Whether you’re thinking about starting a family, crossing tax thresholds or just wanting the best level of healthcare possible, we're here to help.
At finder.com.au, we aim to clear up the confusion. Get a quote and compare health insurance from 30+ companies in Australia.
How does it work?
Options and quotes from 30+ funds.
No inflated quotes, fees or phone calls.
Compare and apply directly.
What is private health insurance?
Health insurance helps you cover the cost of hospital treatments as well as some out-of-hospital services. These two services are broken into two groups: hospital treatments and general treatments (also known as ancillary services or extras).
While we're lucky as Australians to have access to hospital treatment through our public healthcare system Medicare, private health insurance provides you with more options.
Medicare
Private health insurance
Public hospital services
Yes
Yes
Ambulance
No
Yes
Private room or hospital
No
Yes
Everyday health (dentist, physio, etc)
No
Yes
Find health cover that suits your life
Choose your own health 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.
Avoid tax penalties
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 come June 30.
Don't sit around waiting
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 a little extra back for everyday needs
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.
You have 5 options
When you're looking for private health insurance, it's up to you to decide whether you want hospital or extras or a package with both.
Option 1: Hospital cover
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.
If you're visiting Australia to work or study, you may need overseas visitor health cover. Whether you want basic visa requirements or comprehensive cover - there are options available.
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.
What's new in health insurance?
Health insurance in Australia is changing. For more details on the upcoming healthcare reforms and what they mean for you, check out our detailed analysis or watch the 2-minute video below.
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.
Australians increasingly relying on private health insurance for dental services. Read more…
*Disclaimer: The offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of products finder.com.au has access to track details from and is not representative of all the products available in the market. Products are displayed in no particular order or ranking. The use of terms 'Best', 'Top', 'Cheap' and 'Cheapest' are not product ratings and are subject to our disclaimer. You should consider seeking independent financial advice and consider your personal financial circumstances when comparing products. Pictures: Shutterstock. Icons: Icon made by Smashicons from www.flaticon.com
Cardiovascular disease was responsible for 30% of all deaths in Australia in 2013 and is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation around the country. If you want private health insurance cover for cardiac treatments and services, you’ll need to select a high-level hospital cover policy. Here’s how to find a policy that offers adequate cover for cardiac and cardiac-related services.
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 prefered 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.
Medicare does not provide cover for the following:
– most dental examinations and treatment,
– most physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry or psychology services,
– acupuncture (unless part of a doctor’s consultation),
– glasses and contact lenses,
– hearing aids and other appliances
You may, however, arrange private health insurance to cover many of these services. You may compare health insurance for seniors over 70 on this page. Please make sure to click the “More Options” button to select the correct age range, before clicking the “Search Policies”.
Thanks for reaching out. You can definitely do that by using our policy search engine above. Simply enter your details and type of cover you want. Once you click the “Search Policies” quotations from different brands will be generated. You may then click the “Go to Site” button to get the quote and for more details.
Thanks for the question! You are actually on the right page! :)
Scroll a bit below, you would see different health insurance available in finder, such as health funds, EoFY deals, hospital and extra covers, and overseas. You may select which one is applicable for you.
Once redirected to another page, use our form and click “Search Policies” orange button.
If you need further help on this matter, you can talk to an insurance advisor or financial adviser.
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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.
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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 come June 30.
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.
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 prefered 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
I am 76 years old. What do I need to cover with private health insurance that I am not covered for as a pensioner? Thank you.
Hi Aleisha,
Thanks for reaching out.
Medicare does not provide cover for the following:
– most dental examinations and treatment,
– most physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry or psychology services,
– acupuncture (unless part of a doctor’s consultation),
– glasses and contact lenses,
– hearing aids and other appliances
You may, however, arrange private health insurance to cover many of these services. You may compare health insurance for seniors over 70 on this page. Please make sure to click the “More Options” button to select the correct age range, before clicking the “Search Policies”.
I hope this has helped.
Cheers,
Liezl
I want to find a better cover at a better price than what I already have.
Hi Anita,
Thanks for reaching out. You can definitely do that by using our policy search engine above. Simply enter your details and type of cover you want. Once you click the “Search Policies” quotations from different brands will be generated. You may then click the “Go to Site” button to get the quote and for more details.
Cheers,
Liezl
Hi, just want to check our current policy with other providers to ensure we are adequately covered and what we currently require.
Hello Dionne!
Thanks for the question! You are actually on the right page! :)
Scroll a bit below, you would see different health insurance available in finder, such as health funds, EoFY deals, hospital and extra covers, and overseas. You may select which one is applicable for you.
Once redirected to another page, use our form and click “Search Policies” orange button.
If you need further help on this matter, you can talk to an insurance advisor or financial adviser.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan