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When you’re young and fit, taking out health insurance may seem less important. However, when you’re over 80 it can provide real peace of mind. Unlike travel insurance, where over 80s can find it difficult to get cover and must undergo medical exams, private health insurance is available to Australians regardless of age or pre-existing conditions. Keep reading to find out more about health insurance for people over 80 years of age.
Even if you’ve never had health insurance before, if you were born on or before 1 July 1934, the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading – which applies a 2% increase on premiums for every year without hospital cover – won’t apply to you. There is also a greater incentive to have health cover in later life, as those aged 70 and over receive a larger Private Health Insurance Rebate in their tax return than all other age groups (up to 35.7%).
If you’re over 80, chances are you will have more health problems than someone under 50 and make greater use of medical and hospital treatments and services. Health problems facing over 80s can include:
Tailoring your health cover to your individual needs is the best way to ensure you get value for money, and shopping around and comparing policies will allow you to see who’s offering the best health insurance options for over 80s.
Something else that can help to lighten the burden of health expenses in your later years is the Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card. This is a concession card that is available to Australian residents of Age Pension age, which is currently:
The card entitles you to a range of concessions such as:
While there’s no asset test for eligibility, to receive the card you must not be eligible for an Age Pension or Veterans’ Affairs pension and your adjusted taxable annual income must be below $51,500 for singles and $82,400 for couples.
Naturally, the best form of insurance to have when you’re older is good health and over 80s can help to keep a range of chronic health problems at bay by observing healthy eating habits. A balanced diet for over 80s should include foodstuffs such as :
You should try and eat three meals a day, drink lots of water, lower your salt, coffee and alcohol intake and maintain a healthy body weight by exercising regularly.
As well as healthy eating, lowering your blood pressure can also keep you healthier for longer when you’re over 80, as high blood pressure increases your chance of having a heart attack or stroke. Ways to reduce high blood pressure include:
Maintaining good eyesight is part of staying healthy in your 80s and ways to keep your eyes stronger for longer include:
After over 80s health insurance? Compare health insurance in just a few clicks
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