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Extras allow you to claim benefits for non-hospital related medical services that are not covered by Medicare. These can include general dental, major dental, physiotherapy, optical, endodontic, orthodontic, remedial massage, ambulance cover and even gym membership discounts.
One of the great things about health insurance is you can take out 'extras only' policies. These can often be super cost-effective, and if you don't need hospital cover, can save you lots of cash.
Below we've pulled together some basic options from Finder partners. You can see they all offer ambulance cover, and offer an annual limit in the form of a rebate towards general dental and more.
Simply enter your details below to see side by side costs and inclusions from more Australian health funds.
*The services listed here are a selection of example to give you an idea of what you can get cover for and is not a complete list. Depending on the fund and the policy you can find many other cover options to match your needs.
In other words, this "real cost" is the amount you're paying for all the other less certain, but still useful benefits, like emergency ambulance cover, physiotherapy, major dental and anything else that's included.
Remember to consider the waiting periods as well. To make it easier to calculate the cost, it may help to think of the period where you can't claim and have to pay out of your own pocket as a "one off fee" that you won't need to pay again afterwards.
As you get older you are more likely to develop health conditions, and it's good not to have to contend with waiting periods again. This peace of mind is one of the less tangible benefits of health cover, and it can be difficult to put a price on.
If you're breaking even in cost, but are going to the dentist and using more health services than before, you're coming out ahead in both health and cost. This is because preventative measures, such as dental cleaning, which is included in many extras policies mean you're less likely to need more expensive treatments later.
General dental cover, in particular, is one of the stars of any extras policy and shouldn't be underestimated. It's available with even the most inexpensive and basic plans, and some extras policies even cover 100% of the cost of up to three dental checks per year.
Children who have regular dental check-ups before the age of three tend to be at lower risk of oral disease by age six, and adults can also take advantage of regular checks and professional dental cleaning to help stave off more complex and expensive conditions. Health extras can start delivering benefits almost immediately, but much like other forms of insurance some of the advantages only pay off years later.
There are very few people who are simply unable to get value for money from any extras cover. This is because even the cheapest plans can have outstanding benefits, like covering 100% of all dental cleaning and check-up costs, even if other benefits are only 50% reimbursed.
With extras cover, you may also be more likely to go to the doctor and dentist, preventing much more expensive conditions from developing later. If this sounds like you, "value for money" might be breaking even or spending slightly more on health insurance than you typically do on check-ups.
Families with children can benefit from the "bulk discount" of family health cover. Medicare's dental benefits are strictly limited and will only cover preventative children's dentistry for families that are receiving other forms of government financial support.
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Just like hospital cover, you'll need to serve a waiting period before you are able to lodge a claim for extras services. While each fund is different, some typical waiting periods include:
One important point to keep in mind about extras health insurance is that each fund is free to set waiting periods of its choice. Therefore, keep an eye out for promotions which may waive waiting periods to attract new members, but also be more vigilant about checking the fine print before purchasing an extras policy.
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