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Health insurance for young adults

Take advantage of a youth discount with health insurance for young people.

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By

Gary Ross Hunter

&

Tim Bennett

Updated

Fact checked

What you need to know

  • People in their late teens and 20s can benefit from both private hospital and extras cover.
  • Once you hit 30, or earn over $90k, there are tax implications for not having hospital cover.
  • Young people can get up to a 10% discount on their health insurance premiums.

Pros and cons of health insurance for young people

Pros

  • Hospital insurance is usually cheap for young people and you get a government discount.
  • Extras insurance can help you access services like optical, dental and physiotherapy for less.
  • It's peace of mind knowing that if something unexpected does happen, you'll be able to access care in a private hospital at a lower cost.
  • If you earn over $90k or are over 30 years old,hospital health insurance will help you avoid the MLS and LHC.

Cons

  • Medicare will cover the cost of most medically necessary hospital care.
  • If you don't need coverage in a private hospital then it's an added expense..
  • Treatments like optical, dental and physio can be paid for our-of-pocket - depending on your needs, this may be more affordable.
  • Your parents' family health insurance may be able to cover you until you turn 25, for less than the cost of your own policy.

Hospital, Extras and Ambulance cover for young adults

Hospital cover
Extras cover
Ambulance cover

Hospital cover icon

Hospital cover

Hospital cover can help pay for treatments that require you to go to hospital, like knee surgery or cancer treatment. Here are some of the key benefits of hospital cover:

  • Hospital trips are more common than you think. 25 to 34 years olds are the most common 10-year age group to need to go to the emergency department, according to the Emergency Department Care Report 2015-2016.
  • Avoid Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading. By taking out hospital cover before your 31st birthday, you can avoid paying extra for cover thanks to the LHC.
  • More freedom. You get to choose your own doctor and you can get a private bed in a private room.
  • Get treatment quickly. Waiting times for treatments are usually much shorter.
  • Care beyond the basics provided by Medicare. It can get you cover for specialist treatment like rehabilitation.

Extras cover icon

Extras cover

Extras cover takes care of all the services that can be done out of hospital, like dental, physio and prescription glasses. Here are some of the key benefits of extras cover:

  • Out of hospital care. It can pay for dental treatment, glasses, physiotherapy, chiro and much more.
  • There's usually no lock-in contract. The beauty of extras cover is that you can usually cancel and you won't be charged a cancellation fee.
  • Access to care Medicare doesn't cover. Medicare doesn't cover extras services so unless you want to pay hundreds of dollars for treatment, you need extras health insurance.
  • Mental health support. It can also cover you for counselling sessions with a psychologist if you need to talk to someone.
  • Access to member discounts. Most policies come with perks, like gym membership subsidies, to help you keep fit and healthy, and save both you and your provider money.

Ambulance cover icon

Ambulance cover

If you don't want or need hospital or extras health insurance, it might still be worth taking out ambulance-only health insurance. Outside of Queensland and Tasmania, Ambulance services aren't covered by Medicare or state governments. Ambulance cover is available from around $1.50 a week, and will cover you for unexpected emergency trips.

Cheap hospital cover

If you're looking for cheap hospital cover for tax, you might want to avoid Basic tier policies and start with at least Bronze cover. It's just a few dollars more per month, and actually offers some coverage. Basic cover isn't required to fully cover any treatments, so it's generally not going to be very useful.

Here are some Bronze tier policies from Finder partners. All of these will exempt you from the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) and the Lifetime Health Cover loading (LHC). All prices are based on a single individual with less than $90,000 income and living in Sydney.

1 - 5 of 9
Updated regularly
Name Product Treatments Price Apply
Bronze Hospital 750
Bronze$750 excess
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Ear nose and throat
  • Blood
  • Back neck and spine
  • Dental surgery
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Cancer
  • Lung and chest
    • +14 other treatments covered
$88.60
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
starter bronze
Bronze$750 excess
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Ear nose and throat
  • Blood
  • Back neck and spine
  • Dental surgery
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Cancer
  • Lung and chest
    • +14 other treatments covered
$88.70
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
GMHBA Bronze Essential Hospital
Bronze$750 excess
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Ear nose and throat
  • Blood
  • Back neck and spine
  • Dental surgery
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Cancer
  • Lung and chest
    • +14 other treatments covered
$89.19
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Frank Private Hospital (Bronze)
Bronze$750 excess
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Ear nose and throat
  • Blood
  • Back neck and spine
  • Dental surgery
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Cancer
  • Lung and chest
    • +14 other treatments covered
$91.00
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Bronze Hospital 500
Bronze$500 excess
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Ear nose and throat
  • Blood
  • Back neck and spine
  • Dental surgery
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Cancer
  • Lung and chest
    • +14 other treatments covered
$93.24
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
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Good value extras cover

If you're after cheap extras cover, you could do worse than to start with these policies from Finder partners. It's sorted by value using the Finder score algorithm our experts use for the Finder health insurance awards. Prices are for a single person earning less than $93,000 living in Sydney, with a $750 excess - learn why this matters here.
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How we calculate our Finder Score

The Finder Score ranks every health policy in our database on value for money. We updated this monthly with data provided by Ombudsman.

We consider the 38 hospital treatment categories, plus the covered extras categories and the total extras benefit. We also use the average price for each product. Here's the breakdown of factors we consider.

How we calculate Health Insurance Finder ScoresHospitaltreatmentscovered25%Hospital price25%Total extrasbenefits12.5%Extras treatments12.5%Extras price25%Chart:Finder
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Factors that affect your health insurance premiums

There are several factors that will change the price of your health insurance premiums, whether you get hospital or extras cover. Here are the main ones to consider.
  • Private Health Insurance Rebate: The price of your policy can vary by over 25% due to rebate. It's mainly based on your age and income.
  • Lifetime Health Cover Loading: If you don't have hospital cover after age 31, a 2% loading will be added to the price each year you don't have it.
  • State: The cost of medical care is different in every state, and that's reflected in your premiums.
  • Policy Excess: A policy with a larger excess will have lower premiums, but you will have more out of pocket costs when you claim.
1 - 5 of 43
Updated regularly
Name Product Treatments Price Apply
Flex 50
Extras cover
  • General Dental
  • Major Dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial Massage
  • Hearing aids
    • +3 other treatments covered
$34.27
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Flex 60
Extras cover
  • General Dental
  • Major Dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial Massage
  • Hearing aids
    • +3 other treatments covered
$48.18
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Simple Extras
Extras cover
  • General Dental
  • Major Dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial Massage
  • Hearing aids
    • +1 other treatments covered
$27.69
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Basic Extras
Extras cover
  • General Dental
  • Major Dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial Massage
  • Hearing aids
$18.77
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
choosable 50 – teeth
Extras cover
  • General Dental
  • Major Dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial Massage
  • Hearing aids
    • +1 other treatments covered
$12.48
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
loading

Why compare health insurance with Finder?

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  • With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.

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Best sign up deals for December 2023 from Finder Partners

Check the deals below before buying health insurance and you could save money on your premium - or get a reward for signing up.

1 - 8 of 8
Updated regularly
Name Product

Get 6 weeks free on eligible combined Hospital and Extras cover

Domestic policies only. Terms and Conditions apply.

Get deal
Go to site

Get up to $200 cash card. PLUS 2-month waits on extras waived

Ends 31 January 2024

Offer applies for new joins on hospital and extras by 31 January. T&Cs apply.

Get deal
Go to site

Join and earn up to 100,000 Qantas Points

Ends 29 January 2024

Plus, get 60-75% back on Extras (up to your annual limit) for things like dental, physio and glasses costs. Eligibility criteria and T&Cs apply.

Get deal
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Get 6 weeks free after 60 days plus, 2 weeks free after 12 months

Ends 13 December 2023

For new joins on eligible hospital & extras by Dec 13. Find out how

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Get 6 weeks free extras cover

Ends 13 December 2023

For new joins by Dec 13. Offer applied after 60 days on extras-only cover. Find out how.

Get deal
Go to site

Get up to $600 e-gift card

Ends 14 December 2023

Join AIA combined Hospital and Extras policy by 14 December. On eligible products. T&Cs apply.

Get deal
Go to site

Get up to $300 e-gift card

Ends 14 December 2023

Join AIA Hospital only policy by 14 December. On eligible products. T&Cs apply.

Get deal
Go to site

Get 6 weeks free + Waive 2&6 months waiting periods

Ends 31 December 2023

Join combined hospital & extras cover by 31 December 2023 for new members. T&Cs apply.

Get deal
Go to site
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Frequently asked questions

  1. AIHW: Emergency department care 2015–16 - Australian hospital statistics

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