Cheap health insurance

HBF Basic Hospital Plus Elevate is good if you want a cheap policy that gives you more for your money, which is why it won the Finder Award.

• HBF won the Finder Health Insurer of the Year award because it offers better value than any other fund we researched. That means it's one of the cheapest providers on the market but you get more in return for your money. With Basic Hospital Plus for example, it covers 15 treatments including dental surgery, gynaecology, hernia and appendix, joint reconstructions and tonsils, adenoids and grommets. That's 15 more than is required for a basic policy. You're also covered for accidents, ambulances and you get your own private room.
• HBF Basic Plus Elevate is within $4 of the cheapest policy available on Finder and lets you avoid the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS).
• It's a not-for-profit, meaning money makes goes back to its members. This is one of the reasons it offers such cheap premiums compared to other insurers. Plus, you get access to discounts on movies, fitness, clothes and more.

• HBF Basic Plus Elevate isn't the cheapest HBF policy. That's HBF's Basic Hospital Plus plan which only covers 5 treatments but is around $2 less per week.

We selected HBF's Basic Hospital Plus Elevate because it won the 2023 Finder Award for Basic Hospital cover. These awards compared all eligible basic hospital policies on the market. HBF won based on value for money, meaning policies that covered more treatments in a private hospital for a lower premium scored higher.

To be eligible for Finder Awards, policies needed to be available to purchase in April 2023 from a non-restricted provider with at least a 0.5% national market share.

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.

Bupa's Basic Accident Only Hospital policy is good if you're looking for a very cheap policy that lets you avoid paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) – but it only covers accidents and ambulance fees.

• Out of 72 basic policies, it's the joint cheapest hospital policy on Finder.
• By buying this policy, you can avoid paying MLS if you earn over $93,000 a year as a single or $180,000 as a couple.
• It covers emergency ambulance and comes with an accident inclusion feature. If you have an accident, Bupa will cover you in a private hospital for treatments that are excluded or restricted on your cover.

• Frank Accident Only (Basic) and Entry Hospital (Basic+) also cost $19 per week. The latter covers more than Bupa. You get cover for joint reconstructions, dental surgery, hernia and appendix and gynaecology.
• This policy doesn't cover you in a private hospital for most treatments.

We looked at 72 basic policies on the Finder database (this includes almost every health insurance policy on the market.) We selected Bupa Basic Accident because it was the joint cheapest basic hospital policy.

Frank also offered cover for $19 per week. However, we selected Bupa because 91.6% of its hospital services have no gap services, according to the latest State of the Health Funds report. 84.7% of Frank's medical services have no gap.

Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

ahm starter bronze and black 50 saver is good if you want a cheap combined hospital and extras policy that covers than a basic policy. It covers 18 treatments more than a typical basic policy.

• At $25 per week, it's the cheapest bronze-level combined hospital and extras insurance policy in our database of 900+ options.
• It covers the essential extras services including dental, physio, chiro and emergency ambulance (which isn't free in all states except TAS and QLD). You can also get some free trips to the dentist. It comes with no gap dental check-ups at specific dentists.
• With this combined policy, you exempt yourself from the MLS, if you earn over $93,000 a year as a single or $186,000 as a couple.

• This is not the cheapest combined option. Some basic combined policies will cost you less. However, they typically cover very little. For example, Frank Freedom Starter Flexi-Bundle (Basic) costs $87 per month. The hospital portion covers accidents and emergency ambulance. That's it.
• If you need cover for different treatments, you may want to look at bronze+ or silver cover. A bronze policy is required to cover 18 treatments and no more.

We selected ahm starter bronze + black 50 saver because it was the joint cheapest combined policy in our database of 965 policies. The other similarly-priced combined option was also ahm – specifically, the starter bronze + choosable 50 teeth option. We selected this ahm policy because it covers more extras services.

Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

HCF’s Hospital Bronze Plus is a very good value hospital policy – which is why it won the 2023 Finder Award. It covers more than a typical bronze policy but it’s only $1 more per week than the cheapest bronze policy on Finder.

• At approximately $22 per week, it's one of the cheapest bronze hospital insurance policies in our database of 118 bronze plans.
• You get more for your money. It covers 25 hospital treatments. No other bronze policy for that price covers this much.
• HCF has 98.6% membership retention – the highest of all funds.

• Phoenix Health is also approximately $21 per week with a $750 excess. It only covers 18 treatments though.
• It has a higher percentage of complaints (18.1%) compared to other large funds.

We looked at 118 bronze plans on the Finder database (this includes almost every health insurance policy on the market.) We selected HCF because it provided the best value for money, covering more treatments for a lower price than any other policy. .

Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

nib Bronze Hospital and Dental Boost could be good for families that don't plan to have more kids – but want cover for common treatments families often need such as ears, tonsils and orthodontics. Keep in mind: this is the price for a single policy. A family policy will cost you more.

• At $32 per week, it's one of the cheapest hospital and extras insurance policies in our database to cover treatments families commonly need, such as ear, nose and throat, tonsils, adenoids and grommets, and orthodontics.
• Your kids can stay on the policy up to the age of 31. This limit applies to non-student dependants.
• It covers 18 hospital treatments and 9 extras services including dental, orthodontic and optical.

• Every family's needs are slightly different. If you don't need some of these treatments, it may be possible to find a cheaper policy.
• This policy isn't for families planning to have more children. For that, you will need pregnancy cover.

We selected nib's because it was one of the cheapest combined policies in our database to cover ear, nose and throat, tonsils, adenoids and grommets, and orthodontics.

There were other similarly-priced options from ahm and Frank. However, nib can cover non-student dependants up to 31 years of age. Frank does not. Its limit is 21.

We also selected nib over ahm because nib has a higher percentage of medical services with no gap: 91.8% vs 84.6%.

Prices are based on a single individual with less than $93,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.