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How we choose the best private health insurance
If you're looking for the best health insurance in Australia, it's basically impossible to get a single answer. Hospital vs extras, price, how much you're covered for, benefit limits, waiting periods and more – there's a lot to consider.
To give you a starting point, we use extensive research and data to back the top picks on this page. Our data sources include the Finder Health Insurance Awards, the Ombudsman and APRA, plus customer reviews from the Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards.
The Finder Awards for Health Insurance are run every year to find the best-value policies for hospital and extras cover. The winners are based on each product's Finder Score.
The Finder Score ranks every health policy in our database on value for money. The score factors in the 38 standard hospital treatment categories, covered extras treatments, total extras benefits and the monthly premium. Here's the breakdown of factors we consider for a combined product. For standalone extras or hospital cover, only the relevant half of the score is used.
Our product data for health insurance comes directly from the government. Specifically, the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman. Each month, the ombudsman releases raw data for all health insurance products on the market.
You can actually download this data yourself here. Unfortunately, unless you're a pro computer programmer, it's not going to be very useful! That's where we come in – our engineers turn this data into something you can actually understand. The tables of products on our site and our health insurance quiz all use this data.
The ombudsman also releases a yearly report called State of the Health Funds. We use this to understand how each fund deals with customers. The report tells us which funds receive the most complaints, which funds offer the most no-gap treatments, the percentage of revenue each fund returns as benefits and other useful info.
APRA, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, releases quarterly statistics about the private health insurance industry. These statistics include information like the number of people that have private health insurance in each state, how much they get back in premiums and what gap they're paying on medical treatment.
We don't always use the APRA statistics when picking a specific top pick, but they are invaluable to us when we need to understand the industry as a whole. They also help us to understand what kind of cover Australians are most likely to take out over time.
We run the Health Insurance Customer Satisfaction Awards every year to find out Australia's favourite health funds. This sees us do a massive survey asking Aussies which health funds they use, which funds they love and which funds they hate!
In 2023, we asked 765 customers about health insurance funds. We use this data to understand which funds have top customer satisfaction and customer service. We use this to justify some of our top picks.
Why you can trust our research
400+
policies assessed
46
health funds analysed
80+
hours of research
765
customers surveyed
Top pick for basic cover
Basic Plus Starter Hospital $750 Excess + Budget Extras 60
Bupa was highly commended for Best Health Fund in the 2023 Finder Awards, placing it in the top 3 funds. Its Basic Plus Starter Hospital was highly commended for Best Basic Hospital. Its Budget Extras 60 was also highly commended for Best Basic Extras.
Bupa's Basic Plus Starter Hospital policy covers 8 hospital treatments – more than other similarly priced funds in our database. Claimable benefits include joint reconstructions, dental surgery and lung and chest.
BUPA's policy is more generous than most of the 25 entry-level policies we analysed. For example, Bupa doesn't cap how often you can claim for emergency ambulance call-outs and you can add up to $5,000 worth of non-emergency cover per person annually. You can also get free dental check-ups at Bupa's selected dentists if you take out a combined policy.
Residents of Tasmania and Queensland won't benefit from private ambulance cover, as it's already offered by state governments.
Bupa was highly commended for its Basic Plus Starter Hospital at the 2023 Finder Awards. It also placed in the top 3 scores for Budget Extras 60 in the Basic Extras category and was highly commended for FLEXtras 4 Standard 50. Other factors also make it a great option if you want a basic policy covering in-hospital and out-of-hospital services and treatments.
According to the latest State of Health Funds report, it has a better complaint ratio than most of Australia's other large funds.
Additionally, Bupa was a runner-up in Roy Morgan's Most Trusted Private Health Insurance award for 2022.
Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
Hospital Treatments
Dental surgery Gastrointestinal endoscopy Gynaecology Hernia and appendix Joint reconstructions Lung and chest Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy Tonsils adenoids and grommets
Extras Treatments
General Dental Optical Non-PBS Pharmaceuticals Physiotherapy Chiropractic Acupuncture Remedial Massage
You can potentially avoid the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) and pay less tax with this policy. It costs less than $21 per week, covers ambulance and includes more options than most comparable policies.
This is within $2 of the cheapest policy available on Finder – a good choice if you're looking for a bare-minimum policy to avoid the MLS.
HBF was the winner of Health Fund of the Year at the 2023 Finder Awards, scoring more points than any other fund due to its high-value policies.
Unlike other entry-level policies, it comes with a feature called accident inclusion. If you have an accident, HBF will cover you in a private hospital for treatments that are excluded or restricted on your cover.
Keep in mind this policy does not cover you in a private hospital for most treatments. HBF's Basic Hospital Plus Elevate plan could suit those with more complex needs. It covers 15 treatments including gastro, miscarriages and cancer treatments. What's more, it won Best Basic Hospital at the 2023 Finder Awards.
The MLS means you'll be taxed up to 1.5% more if you don't have hospital insurance and earn over $93,000 as a single or $186,000 as a couple ($93K or $186K for FY23/24, respectively). The minimum impact of this would cost you an extra $75 a month (based on the tax year 2022/2023).
We selected HBF's Basic Hospital Plus because it has competitive pricing but still offers ambulance cover and accident inclusion, along with 5 in-hospital treatments. Pricing starts at around $81.16 per month. If you're earning over $100,000 a year, that would cost you less than paying the MLS.
Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
Hospital Treatments
Dental surgery Gynaecology Hernia and appendix Joint reconstructions Tonsils adenoids and grommets
It also ranked second for customer service – out of 8 health funds – in the most recent Finder Awards.
ahm's owner Medibank had a proportionally lower number of complaints than all other funds with more than 1% market share, according to the ombudsman's State of the Health Funds Report for 2022. Medibank holds 27.5% of the market, but just 19.30% of overall complaints.
It's worth keeping in mind that the most recent ombudsman report uses complaints figures that were compiled before Medibank/ahm's 2022 cyber attack. At the time of writing, ahm had a better rating score than Medibank on ProductReview.com.au.
We asked 765 Australian customers for their opinion about their health fund. ahm scored highly for ease of application and customer service. 86% of people said they would recommend it to a friend. No fund did better than this.
It's the only health insurer on the market that lets you earn Qantas Points.
You earn 1 Qantas Point for every $1 you spend on premiums and, in many cases, earn points when you sign up.
Qantas's underwriter is nib, which covers 91.8% of hospital services with no gap costs (out-of-pocket expenses). That makes it the fourth highest out of 22 other major Australian funds. Medibank and HCF cover 84.6% and 87.8%, respectively.
We've selected Qantas as our top pick for bonus points because it's the only policy on the market that lets you earn Qantas Points.
Unlike our other top picks, we haven't selected a specific Qantas product. This is because points are available with every policy and the best-value option comes down to your individual needs.
You get access to AIA Vitality, a science-backed digital health and wellbeing program. This includes money off gym memberships, cashback on eligible Virgin Australia Flights, hundreds of dollars in gift cards, up to 80% back on your dental when you visit smile.com.au and more. You can even earn an Apple Watch.
It's competitively priced. AIA Bronze Plus Hospital costs around $24 per week, that's only $3 more than the cheapest bronze option – but AIA covers a lot more. It includes 23 hospital services, 5 more than is required for a bronze policy.
You can get access to AIA Vitality with some other funds including GMHBA. However, we selected AIA because it received a lower percentage of complaints than GMHBA (1.2% vs 1.6%), according to the ombudsman, and you can get access to AIA Vitality with any of its policies. It's only available with a small number of GMHBA policies.
Customers don't tend to stay around for long. AIA has the lowest member retention rate (69%) of all major health funds. This is most likely because people join to take advantage of the benefits, then leave.
84.2% of AIA hospital services have no gap, according to the latest government report. This is lower than lots of other funds including Bupa (91.6%), HBF (92.8%) and Medibank (84.6%).
We picked AIA Health Insurance because it gives you access to AIA Vitality with all of its policies. Our insurance experts feel AIA is worth calling out because you can't get access to the same quality of health benefits with any other fund. However, everyone's needs are different so it's worth doing some research yourself.
With GMHBA you can only get access to AIA Vitality with some policies. We selected the Bronze Plus option because it only costs marginally more than the cheapest bronze policies available on the market and it covers 5 more treatments than a standard bronze hospital policy. AIA also received a lower percentage of complaints compared to GMHBA.
You can also get AIA Vitality with CommBank. However, you need to be a CommBank customer, so we excluded it from eligibility.
Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
Hospital Treatments
Blood Bone joint and muscle Brain and nervous system Breast surgery Cancer Dental surgery Diabetes management Digestive system Ear nose and throat Eye excluding cataracts Gastrointestinal endoscopy Gynaecology Hernia and appendix Joint reconstructions Kidney and bladder Lung and chest Male reproductive system Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy Pain management Medically necessary plastic surgery Podiatric surgery Skin Tonsils adenoids and grommets
HCF's Standard Silver Plus policy won the 2023 Finder Award for Best Silver Hospital policy. The policy covers 30 treatments, which is 4 more than the government's minimum for silver policies. At around $28 per week it's the cheapest silver policy available on Finder.
HCF also won in the Bronze Hospital category of the Finder Awards. That makes it the only fund to win more than one hospital category.
87.8% of HCF services have no out-of-pocket expenses. That's not bad, but not the highest of the big funds. Bupa (91.6%), HBF (92.8%) and nib (91.8%) all offer more services with no gap.
HCF was the winner of our top Silver Hospital at the 2023 Finder Awards and won the top Bronze Hospital award as well. Put simply, it scored more points than any other fund in these 2 categories as it has the best-value policies.
For in-hospital treatments, we looked at 38 covers to measure the comprehensiveness of a policy. HCF couldn't be topped in the bronze or silver categories.
HCF has an excellent member retention rate of 98.6% – the highest of the 45 funds where this information is tracked.
Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
Hospital Treatments
Back neck and spine Blood Bone joint and muscle Brain and nervous system Breast surgery Cancer Dental surgery Diabetes management Digestive system Ear nose and throat Eye excluding cataracts Gastrointestinal endoscopy Gynaecology Heart and vascular system Hernia and appendix Implantation of hearing devices Joint reconstructions Kidney and bladder Lung and chest Male reproductive system Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy Pain management Palliative care Medically necessary plastic surgery Podiatric surgery Rehabilitation Skin Sleep studies Tonsils adenoids and grommets
ahm's extras policies are the only ones currently available with no waiting periods for general dental and optical as a standard feature. You can also skip waiting periods on physio, chiro, osteo, psychology, pharmacy and remedial massages. Emergency ambulance cover is included too.
You get up to 2 free dental check-ups per year and 100% back on optical. No other insurer beats this.
If you're a family or require regular treatment, ahm Family Extras or Super Extras may be better options – they cost more but offer higher benefit limits. Compare more ahm policies.
ahm's extras policies are the only extras policies on the market to permanently offer a no-waiting-period benefit for general dental and optical.
With all other policies, this option is sometimes available as a special offer and often has certain conditions – for example, you typically need to take out hospital cover as well.
While ahm (which is part of Medibank) was hit by a major cyber attack last year, exposing the data of millions of its customers, we still decided to select it as our top pick. There is simply no other fund that comes with a no-waiting-period option as good as ahm. It has also taken several steps to safeguard customers.
Hospital Treatments
Hospital treatments not covered
Extras Treatments
General Dental Major Dental Endodontic Orthodontic Optical Non-PBS Pharmaceuticals Physiotherapy Chiropractic Psychology Acupuncture Remedial Massage
Top pick for bronze cover
Bronze Hospital Plus $750/$1500 Excess & Ambulance Care + Flex 50
HBF won Best Health Fund of the Year at the 2023 Finder Awards, scoring more points than any other fund due to its high-value policies.
Its Bronze Hospital Plus was highly commended at the 2023 Finder Awards. The not-for-profit's policy covers 26 hospital treatments, well above the minimum legal requirement of 18. Flex 50, HBF's flexible extras cover, placed top in the Medium Extras category. Flex 50 lets you use the services relevant to you. For example, you might use the $800 limit on physiotherapy or $400 on dental implants and $400 on psychology.
HBF has the second highest member retention rate (92.3%) across the 5 major health funds, according to the latest State of the Health Funds report. HBF's rate was well above the industry average of 86.53%, suggesting members are happy with the services.
HBF was middle of the pack in the 2023 Finder Cusomter Satisfaction Awards. Of the 8 brands included in the awards HBF scored second lowest in overall satisfaction. It was ranked fifth for funds that customers would recommend. However, the margins were quite slim – HBF was just a few percentage points behind first place for both metrics.
We selected HBF's Bronze Hospital Plus policy because it was highly commended for Best Bronze Hospital at the 2023 Finder Awards, as well as winning our Basic Hospital award and also highly commended in Best Silver Hospital. No other health fund appeared 3 times across the 4 hospital categories, which underscores the quality of its core hospital policies.
Our experts noted that HBF performed well against competitors in the latest State of the Health Funds report. For example, HBF offers the most no-gap services (92.80%) of the 5 major health funds in Australia.
It scored comparatively highly in other categories including its member retention rate, which indicates the fund is good at looking after its customers.
Furthermore, HBF was also recognised as a winner of Roy Morgan's award for Most Trusted Private Health Insurance for 2022. It was the first time the awards had been run and HBF scored the highest in trust out of more than 20 funds.
Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
Hospital Treatments
Back neck and spine Blood Bone joint and muscle Brain and nervous system Breast surgery Cancer Dental surgery Diabetes management Digestive system Ear nose and throat Eye excluding cataracts Gastrointestinal endoscopy Gynaecology Hernia and appendix Joint reconstructions Kidney and bladder Lung and chest Male reproductive system Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy Pain management Pain management with device Palliative care Medically necessary plastic surgery Skin Sleep studies Tonsils adenoids and grommets
Extras Treatments
General Dental Major Dental Endodontic Optical Physiotherapy Psychology Acupuncture Chiropractic Remedial Massage Non-PBS Pharmaceuticals
Across all hospital policies, 92.8% of hospital services have no out-of-pocket costs, according to the latest ombudsman report. That's more than all 22 other open membership insurers, including the 4 major funds (Bupa, HCF, Medibank and nib).
No fund covers more hospital-related charges than HBF. HBF covers 94.4% of hospital-related charges, which includes accommodation and theatre costs. It was matched only by ACA Health Benefits, which is a smaller, restricted fund.
HBF won highly commended for Best Silver Hospital at the 2023 Finder Awards. The only comparable policy to score higher was HCF's Hospital Standard Silver Plus.
Its no-gap cover is beaten by the restricted health fund rt health cover, which recorded 93.5%. rt health is only open to transport workers.
We've chosen HBF's Silver Hospital policy as our top pick for no-gap services as, according to the latest State of the Health Funds Report, it has the highest percentage of no-gap services (92.8%) out of 23 open membership insurers. Furthermore, no other fund than HBF covers more hospital-related charges.
The Silver Hospital plan was selected because it was HBF's highest-scoring silver-tier hospital policy in the 2023 Finder Awards. The policies that scored the highest in the awards represent the greatest value to consumers.
Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
Hospital Treatments
Back neck and spine Blood Bone joint and muscle Brain and nervous system Breast surgery Cancer Dental surgery Diabetes management Digestive system Ear nose and throat Eye excluding cataracts Gastrointestinal endoscopy Gynaecology Heart and vascular system Hernia and appendix Implantation of hearing devices Insulin pumps Joint reconstructions Kidney and bladder Lung and chest Male reproductive system Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy Pain management Pain management with device Palliative care Medically necessary plastic surgery Podiatric surgery Skin Sleep studies Tonsils adenoids and grommets
Extras Treatments
Extra treatments not covered
Best health insurance funds: By the numbers
Sure, there's no best health insurance for everyone. Your situation is different to your sister, your uncle or your next door neighbour. You'll all need to find the best health cover for you. That said, some statistics help us work out which Aussie health funds perform best in a few ways.
Best health funds by Ombudsman data
The data below comes from the Commonwealth Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO). This is a government department that processes formal complaints, investigates and audits the private health insurance industry. It's a really important job, and the team there provide great data each year in the annual state of the health funds report. The latest report came out in March 2023, giving us details about the best performing health insurance funds during 2022. We've summarised that info below.
The most popular health fund isn't always the best health fund. That said, big health funds tend to have more locations, bigger support teams and a larger network of medical providers. That can be really valuable. Here are the top 10 biggest health funds by national market share (funds with combined statistics are noted).
Fund name
Market share
Restricted/Open
Medibank (includes ahm)
27.5%
Open
Bupa
24.7%
Open
HCF
12.4%
Open
nib (includes all nib funds*)
9.4%
Open
HBF
7.3%
Open
Teachers (includes UniHealth)
2.6%
Restricted
Australian Unity
2.4%
Open
GMHBA (includes Frank)
2.3%
Open
Defence Health
2.0%
Restricted
CBHS
1.5%
Restricted
*nib underwrites many other health funds, including Qantas, APIA, Suncorp, AAMI and Priceline.
Member retention refers to the number of people that stay with a fund at the end of the year. It's not a perfect indicator of customer service, but funds that have high member retention must be doing something right. You'll notice a lot of regional, restricted and not-for-profits on this list though. It might just be that people in those funds feel a specific loyalty, which might have nothing to do with customer service. Still, check out the top 10 below.
Fund name
Member retention
Restricted/Open
HCF
98.6%
Open
onemedifund
93.6%
Open
CBHS
93.0%
Restricted
Teachers (includes UniHealth)
92.4%
Restricted
HBF
92.3%
Open
Emergency Services (includes Police)
92.2%
Restricted
ACA
91.9%
Restricted
Mildura
91.8%
Open
Reserve Bank Health
91.4%
Restricted
Health Partners
90.9%
Open
Okay this is an interesting stat - forgive me for nerding out on it! The table below shows the top 10 health funds based on the percentage of their premiums they returned as benefits. A higher number means they kept less of the premiums themselves, which means more for the average member. This is important - the Australian Medical Association has repeatedly called for it to be enforced. As for the best performers this year, Nurses & Midwives lead the pack by over 10%!
Tricky thing is that companies don't always balance the books each year. Some years will pay out more, some less. This is often for good reasons, like a global pandemic. That said, most of the top 10 this year were in a similar place last year, so it's still useful.
Fund name
Benefits as % of premiums
Restricted/Open
Nurses & Midwives
98.5%
Restricted
HBF
88.1%
Open
CBHS
87.8%
Restricted
Teachers (includes UniHealth)
86.4%
Restricted
CBHS Corporate
87.2%
Open
Emergency Services (includes Police)
86.9%
Restricted
Defence Health
86.8%
Restricted
HCF
86.7%
Open
Health Partners
86.7%
Open
Navy Health
86.1%
Restricted
When you go to hospital as a private patient, your health fund often won't pay the entire bill. There's often an out-of-pocket cost you'll need to pay on top, known as the 'gap'. Luckily, health funds have big networks of hospitals and medical providers that have no-gap agreements. If you check with your health fund before a procedure and use someone in the network, you may be able ot get treatment with no gap to pay.
So yeah, this is a really important statistic for most people. Below are the top 10 health insurance companies based on their number of procedures available with no out-of-pocket costs.
Fund name
% of no-gap procedures
Restricted/Open
rt health
93.5%
Restricted
HBF
92.8%
Open
ACA
92.8%
Restricted
CUA
92.5%
Open
Doctors' Health
92.4%
Restricted
Phoenix
92.2%
Open
iSelf
92.2%
Open
TUH (includes Union Health)
91.9%
Restricted
HCi
91.8%
Open
nib (includes all nib funds*)
91.8%
Open
*nib underwrites many other health funds, including Qantas, APIA, Suncorp, AAMI and Priceline.
Below are the results of the Finder 2023 Customer Satisfaction awards. These tell us which health funds Aussies think is the greatest for customer services and overall experience. We got responses from over 1000 Australians to get these results. Funds without a score didn't get enough reviews for us to be confident of the results.
Hospital only insurance can be good if you want cover in a private hospital. Private surgery waiting times are shorter and there are tax benefits if you earn $93,000+ a year.
Extras only
Extras cover can be worth it if you use lots of out-of-hospital services like dental. However, it does not save you from the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) or Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading.
Combined
Combined cover includes hospital and extras. It can be good if you want total coverage for you and your family.
Pro tip: You'll need to serve a waiting period before you can claim. If you're switching funds, you can skip hospital waiting periods you've already served. Some extras policies let you skip waiting periods on things like dental, even for brand new policies.
Is private health insurance worth it?
Australia has public healthcare, but there are times when private health insurance is worth it.
If you think you might need an elective procedure such as a knee replacement or cataract operation in the next few years, health insurance is worthwhile as public hospital waiting lists can be very long.
It's less beneficial if you're young and healthy. Even once the LHC loading that applies once you turn 31, the AMA says it's still not enough incentive to get cover early in life.
If you don't take out hospital insurance and earn over $93,000 a year ($186,000 for couples), you'll have to pay the MLS. This is a 1–1.5% tax depending on your income.
What level of cover is right for you?
Every tier of hospital insurance has to cover a specific set of treatments in Australia: basic (0), bronze (18), silver (26) and gold (38).
Gold hospital cover
Gold covers everything, including pregnancy, so is also the most expensive tier. Prices start from
$162.44
a month.
Silver hospital cover
Silver still covers a lot. All policies cover at least 26 hospital treatments including heart and vascular system and lung and chest.
Bronze hospital cover
Bronze covers at least 18 hospital treatments including joint reconstructions and ear, nose and throat.
Basic hospital cover
Basic doesn't have to fully cover anything, but helps you avoid the MLS and LHC loading. Bronze policies cost just a few dollars more, so it might be worth skipping basic altogether.
Pro tip: Consider looking at plus policies. They cover more treatments than their base tier and can be better value.
What else should you consider?
Look at restricted funds. These offer cover to a specific industry and their families, such as teachers or union members. They often provide better services than a normal insurer.
Consider a not-for-profit. HCF, HBF and GMHBA are among the many not-for-profit funds in Australia. You often get more for your money. Profits go towards members, not shareholders.
Don't get couples cover. Couples health insurance is convenient, but isn't always good value. If you and your partner have different needs, 2 single policies can be cheaper.
Don't stress about the LHC loading. Lots of people get confused by the LHC loading. It's not a tax. AMA data actually shows people can be better off delaying hospital insurance and just paying the loading later in life. Learn more here.
Avoid the MLS. This extra tax applies to anyone earning over $93,000 ($186,000 for couples), but you won't pay it if you have private hospital insurance.
Read your extras policy. It's worth the effort. You might find some benefits you didn't realise you had. Finder author Nicola Middlemiss was able to get way more value for money this way: "I have hypermobility that's improved with regular exercise," she told us. "I spoke to my doctor, they signed the health improvement form provided by my insurer, and now I can claim $400 back every year."
Pro tip: Basic hospital policies let you avoid the MLS but they're often poor value. Basic plus or bronze policies give you more value for money.
Tips for families
Get no excess for children. Lots of funds don't charge an excess for children who need to go to hospital.
Get cover for older children. Funds can now cover adult children on their parents' cover until 31 years – be sure to check when your fund will cut them off.
Looking for pregnancy? All gold-tier policies cover pregnancy, as do some silver plus policies. If you don't want more kids, you could save by downgrading.
How to find the best health insurance for you
Our health insurance engine makes it easy to compare policies from all of Australia's biggest funds – Medibank, Bupa, HCF, HBF and more.
1. Tell us who needs cover. You, you and your partner or the whole family?
2. Tell us what type of cover you want. Hospital, extras or combined.
3. Pop in the state you live in. This will help us show you prices.
4. Use the filters to narrow your options. Select what matters to you.
5. Compare multiple quotes. Get prices from the biggest funds and more.
Pro tip: Rather than spend ages trawling through different health insurers' websites, you can compare them here, for free.
Why compare health insurance with Finder?
We don't ask for your phone or email to see prices.
With 1 click, you can open your results to nearly every fund in Australia.
You pay the same price as going direct – we charge no fees.
Compare prices from 30+ Aussie funds in under 30 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Private health cover is a type of insurance available in Australia as an alternative to Medicare, which is Australia's public health care system. Even though all Australian citizens and permanent residents are eligible for Medicare, private health insurance will cover you for care in the private hospital system. This has a few benefits, including shorter waiting times for surgery, a private room, and the ability to choose your own surgeon in many cases. Private health insurance comes in 2 flavours in Australia, extras cover and hospital cover.
Not everyone needs private health insurance, but it has a lot of benefits that might make sense to you. If you're eligible for Medicare, then you'll always have access to emergency and medically necessary treatment for free in a public hospital. However, private health insurance gives you access to benefits including your choice of doctor, your own room, better amenities and shorter wait times for elective surgery. There's also extras and ambulance cover to think about, which can be worth it even if you're young and healthy. Find out if private health insurance might be worth it for you with this 1-minute quiz.
Medicare is Australia's public healthcare system, which entitles citizens and permanent residents access to life-saving care for free in a public hospital. Unfortunately, Medicare isn't perfect! for hospital care, there can be long waiting periods for elective surgery, you probably won't get to choose your own doctor, and you may have to share a hospital room. With private hospital cover, you can get these benefits in a private hospital. Additionally, Medicare doesn't cover many out of hospital services, such as dental, optical and ambulance. Private health insurance has options to cover these as well. Learn more about Medicare vs private health insurance.
The best hospital cover is the one that suits your needs and circumstances, so it may be different for everyone. However, the 2023 Finder Health Insurance Awards awarded HCF the award for best silver and bronze cover, winning 2 of the 4 total hospital categories. So HCF hospital cover might be a good place to start comparing.
The best health insurance fund depends on what you're looking for. For some, that could be a not-for-profit and for others it could be the most popular health insurer. It might help you to know that HBF was awarded Finder's Best Health Fund award for 2023.
Since every family has different health needs, the easiest way to find a policy is to compare family options using our health insurance engine. For example, depending on your circumstances, you may want to get pregnancy cover if you plan to have kids or look for a policy that covers your teenager for free.
Most visitors and temporary workers aren't eligible for the same health insurance policies as Australians. Instead, you will need overseas visitor health cover (OVHC). This is a type of health insurance designed specifically for non-Australian residents. These policies start from around $64.50 a month and at the very least should cover hospital care and repatriation. Some can also help pay for doctor's appointments, prescription medicine and out-of-hospital treatment such as dental.
There are lots of ways to get cheaper health insurance including paying annually, joining a restricted fund if you're eligible and mixing and matching your hospital and extras cover because it often costs less to get a policy with 2 different funds.
Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more.
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