What's the best health insurance for people in their 30s?

The main reason people buy health insurance in their 30s is to avoid the Lifetime Health Cover loading, or to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge. Most hospital policies will let you avoid these. After that, the best health insurance for you is a policy that covers the treatments that are important to you.

Should you still get hospital cover if you're older than 31?

Even if you've missed dodging the fee, but plan to take out private health insurance at some point in your life, it's still worth getting a policy. That way you'll avoid the increasingly expensive loading fees.

Do I need private health insurance?

A lot of common health conditions are covered under Medicare in Australia, so you don't technically need private health insurance. However, there are a lot of benefits to private health insurance. These include the ability to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover loading, as well as getting coverage for a range of additional health treatments.

Health insurance in your 30s

After 31, not having hospital cover will make health insurance more expensive for you in the future.
If you earn over $101k, you will be charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge if you do not have hospital cover.
Beyond tax, there are lots of benefits to health insurance for 30-40 year olds, especially extras cover.

Why you should consider health insurance when you turn 30

Prices will rise after you turn 31

A 2% lifetime Health Cover loading (LHC) is added to your health insurance premium for every year you don't have hospital cover over the age of 30. That fee accumulates, so if you go without hospital insurance until you're 40, you'll be hit with a 20% fee. It also stays in place until you've held hospital insurance for 10 years.

There's a tax surcharge if you earn over $101k

The Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) is an additional tax that you have to pay if you earn over $101,000 as a single or $202,000 as a family. Depending on how much you make, you'll pay a levy of between 1% and 1.5% of your annual income — that's between $84 and $198 more tax a month.

Finder survey: How many Australians of different ages understand how health insurance works?

Response	75+ yrs	65-74 yrs	55-64 yrs	45-54 yrs	35-44 yrs	25-34 yrs	18-24 yrs
Yes	65.91%	62.21%	56.52%	54.44%	59.46%	60%	47.06%
Somewhat	34.09%	35.47%	39.13%	41.42%	37.84%	36.32%	44.71%
No		2.33%	4.35%	4.14%	2.7%	3.68%	8.24%

Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1006 Australians, December 2023

Compare cheap policies to avoid the LHC and MLS

You only need a basic or bronze health insurance policy to avoid both of these surcharges. That's great news, because these policies tend to be very affordable. Here are a few basic and bronze policies available from Finder partners. All prices are based on a single individual with less than $101,000 income and living in Sydney.

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Treatments	Rewards	Price
Starter Hospital $750 Excess with Daily Co-Pay (Basic) Basic$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$103.39 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Frank Basic Accident Boost Hospital Basic$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$104.05 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Starter Hospital $750 Excess (Basic) Basic$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$104.07 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Medibank Basic Accident and Ambulance Basic$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$105.50 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Basic Accident Only Hospital $750 Excess Basic$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$107.50 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
HCF Hospital Basic Plus $750 Excess Basic Plus$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest +4 other treatments covered	$109.30 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Frank Basic Plus Hospital Basic Plus$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest +1 other treatments covered	$111.60 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
GMHBA Accident Only Hospital (Basic) Basic$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$112.45 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Basic Accident Only Hospital $500 Excess Basic$500 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest	$114.20 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
GMHBA Basic Plus Starter Hospital Basic Plus$750 excess	Rehabilitation Joint reconstructions Dental surgery Hernia and appendix Eye excluding cataracts Pain management Gynaecology Lung and chest +1 other treatments covered	$114.20 per month	Go to Site More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading

Showing 10 of 19 results

How much you can save by getting hospital cover before 31

You can avoid the lifetime health cover loading penalty by taking out basic hospital insurance with an excess of $750 or less for singles before 1 July following your 31st birthday.

Let's put that in real terms. Say a health insurance policy is available for $600 per year. If you wait to take out your first policy at 40 it's going to cost you 20% more than that – $720 per year.

Here are a few more examples:

Age	Loading	Cost of cover	You've had cover since 31	If this is your first hospital cover
35	10%	$600	$600	$660
40	20%	$650	$650	$780
50	40%	$700	$700	$980
60	60%	$800	$800	$1280

"I ignored health insurance when I turned 31, believing it was unnecessary. My perspective changed when I realised how much I was being charged on my tax returns due to the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) for not having health insurance. I decided to get hospital cover with extras. By getting insurance, I am now saving $230 per year and also gaining the benefits of private health coverage. However, because I delayed getting my first policy by three years, I'm now stuck with a 6% Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading penalty for the next 10 years. My advice: Make sure you're informed about the true cost of not having private health insurance in your 30s."

Zoe Sharry

Finder crew member

Other benefits for health insurance in your 30s

Health insurance offers a lot more than just the ability to avoid additional taxes and surcharges. For people in their 30s, there arelots of ways you can benefit from the right health insurance policy. You can roughly divide those benefits into extras and hospital cover.

extras cover

Extras cover

Dental Coverage: Dental services aren't covered under Medicare for most people, but are super important for 30-somethings. An extras policy with general dental coverage will cover post preventative treatments, while major dental is what you'll need for coverage for things like major surgery and braces.

Optical: Have glasses? If so, optical coverage is going to be super useful for you, and can cover the cost of prescription and contact lenses.

Physiotherapy: As we get older, things start to go wrong with our bodies, especially if we exercise regularly! Extras coverage can chip in on the cost of regular physio sessions.

Healthy lifestyle: Lots of extras policies are increasingly offering benefits for the costs involved in staying healthy through your life, which can prevent health problems down the line. This can include benefits for gym memberships, pilates, quit smoking aids and more.

hospital cover

Hosptial cover

Bone, joint and muscle treatment: In your 30's you're probably still staying active, and issues with your bones, joints and muscles are likely to start cropping up. All bronze policies include cover for private bone, joint and muscle treatments, including joint reconstructions.

Gynaecology, miscarriage and pregnancy termination: If they are relevant to you, these services are covered under all bronze hospital policies. These can be more and more important for people in their 30s, so may be worth considering cover for.

Pregnancy: If you're thinking of having a baby and you'd like to access the benefits of the private system, you'it's worth considering a silver or gold hospital policy that covers pregnancy and childbirth.

Ambulance: Most hosptial, extras and combined policies include cover for emergency Ambulance transport, which is not covered under Medicare in most states.

If you're ready to jump into a new health insurance policy, one of the best ways to start is with a sign-up deal. Here are a few of the best sign-up deals that are currently live from Finder partners.

8 of 8 results

Name
Get up to 12 weeks FREE, plus up to $200 gift card Ends 09 December 2025 Available to new members who join by 9 December and maintain hospital and extras cover. Stacks with Finder Rewards on eligible plans. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Earn up to 120,000 Qantas Points Ends 05 February 2026 Points will be awarded based on your level of cover over 6 months. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Want up to 8 weeks free and $500 in gift cards (couples/families) or $250 in gift cards (singles/single parents) when you join and maintain eligible Bronze Hospital+Extras cover or above? Ends 15 December 2025 Offer ends 15 December 2025. New members only. T&Cs apply. Excludes Basic covers. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Want 4 weeks free + a $50 gift card when you join & maintain eligible Extras? Plus, get 2&6 month waits waived. New members only. T&Cs apply. Excludes Healthy Living Extras. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Want 6 weeks free plus up to $200 in gift cards? New members only. Excludes Basic covers. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Join directly on eligible cover & get up to 6 weeks free Ends 07 January 2026 New members only. Ends 07 Jan 2026. 6 weeks free applied over 2 years (3 years for annual payers). T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
HCF members can get loyalty rewards and discounts across Australian stores Health fund members can get discounted e-Gift cards from Apple & more. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...
Get up to 6 weeks free Ends 08 December 2025 Plus, 2 & 6 month waits waived on extras when you join on combined cover. For new members only. T&Cs apply. Get deal		loading Fetching your data...

Showing 8 of 8 results

Frequently asked questions

A lot of common health conditions are covered under Medicare in Australia, so you don't technically need private health insurance. However, there are a lot of benefits to private health insurance. These include the ability to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover loading, as well as getting coverage for a range of additional health treatments.

Thank you for your feedback!

Written by

Alex Holderness

Head of publishing

As Finder's insurance group publisher, Alex Holderness aims to make confusing topics easy to understand. She's been published in Money Mag, Yahoo Finance, Hospital Health, and is a contributing author for Google's Startup Grind. She has a keen passion for running and is currently studying for her General Insurance certification. See full bio

Co-written by

Tim Bennett

Insurance expert

A seasoned journalist with over 10 years of experience in news, politics and finance reporting, Tim has previously held roles at the ABC, SBS and Fairfax Media. Tim’s expert insights have been quoted in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. He regularly appears on TV and radio, and has been interviewed on 7 News, Sunrise, SBS News, ABC Local, 3AW and 5AA. Tim is passionate about simplifying complex insurance topics for Australian consumers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) from Macquarie University and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). If you’re interested in a media interview with Tim, please reach out to our PR team at aupr@finder.com. See full bio

Tim's expertise

Tim has written 158 Finder guides across topics including:

Personal finance
Financial comparison
Health insurance
General insurance
Life insurance

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Health insurance in your 30s

When you turn 31, you’ll be hit with a government penalty adding 2% on your health premium for every year you don’t have hospital cover.

Key takeaways