Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.

Lifetime Health Cover Loading

The Lifetime Health Cover loading kicks in after you turn 31, but it’s avoidable with an $18 per week hospital policy.

Cheap Health Insurance

Lifetime Health Cover loading is a penalty that applies to anyone who takes out private health insurance after their 31st birthday. The loading increases your premium by 2% for every year you don't have private health insurance over the age of 30. But it's completely avoidable – just take out a hospital policy before you turn 31.

How to avoid Lifetime Health Cover loading

Avoiding the Lifetime Health Cover loading is pretty straightforward – you just need to take out hospital cover by 1 July following your 31st birthday. We've listed some for you below. All prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney.

1 - 10 of 16
Name Product AUFHI-NEW Treatments Price Apply
Frank Health Insurance logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
$77.65
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Bupa HI Pty Ltd logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
$77.92
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
HCF logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
  • +9 other treatments covered
$78.78
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Frank Entry Hospital (Basic+)
Basic Plus$750 excess
Frank Health Insurance logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
  • +5 other treatments covered
$82.48
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
starter basic
Basic$750 excess
ahm health insurance logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
$82.71
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Bupa HI Pty Ltd logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
$82.78
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
HCF logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
  • +9 other treatments covered
$83.60
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
GMHBA Limited logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
$83.95
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
Bupa HI Pty Ltd logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
  • +8 other treatments covered
$84.51
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
GMHBA Limited logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
  • +5 other treatments covered
$85.23
per month
Go to Site
All treatments
loading

What is Lifetime Health Cover loading?

The Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading adds a 2% fee for every year you don't have hospital cover over the age of 30. It's a government initiative designed to encourage Aussies to buy private health insurance sooner rather than later. Basically, it means you're charged a penalty if you only buy health insurance when you're older.

The LHC loading kicks in shortly after your 31st birthday. So if you wait until you're 40, you'll be charged an extra 20% on top of your premium; if you wait until you're 50, it'll be 40% extra, and so on. The maximum penalty anyone can be charged is an additional 70% on top of their premium. That penalty stays in place until you've held private health insurance for 10 continuous years.

If you never get private health insurance, you'll never have to pay LHC loading. But remember, almost half of all Australians have health insurance and many of them only decide to buy it later in life, so you might end up changing your mind further down the line.

Will the LHC actually save me money in the long run?

The LHC may seem like a big additional expense but Australian Medical Association (AMA) data suggests Australians who take it out earlier in life don't actually save money in the long run. You're still better off taking it out until later in life.

Nicole Kelly's headshot
Expert insight

"If you're considering private health insurance, it's important to know how it impacts your taxes. The Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) is an additional tax for higher-income earners without private health cover. If you get insurance part way through the year, the MLS is only charged for the days you were without coverage. For example, if you're uninsured for half the year, you'll pay only half the MLS. This apportioning can significantly reduce your surcharge, making it a smart move to get covered sooner rather than later."

CEO & founder, TaxTank

Lifetime Health Cover loading deadline

For most people, the Lifetime Health Cover loading deadline is 1 July, immediately following your 31st birthday. This is known as your "base day". However, your base day may be different if you were overseas on this day, you were born before 1 July 1934 or if you're a recent migrant to Australia.

If you are a new migrant and are over the age of 31, you will have to get hospital cover within 12 months of being registered for full Medicare benefits in order to avoid LHC loading.

How much does Lifetime Health Cover loading cost?

The cost of Lifetime Health Cover loading depends on how long you've gone without private health insurance and what level of cover you choose.

The table below uses the current base price of various policies offered by a major Australian health fund. Without taking annual price hikes into account, it shows how much your premiums could increase if you wait to buy health insurance.

Bought at 30Bought at 40Bought at 50Bought at 60
Basic$68$81.60$95.19$108.80
Bronze$80$96$112$128
Silver$99$118.80$138.60$158.40
Gold$168$201.60$235.20$268

Exemptions for the Lifetime Health Cover loading

Exemptions for the LHC loading include:

  • If you were born before 1 July 1934
  • If you are overseas on 1 July following your 31st birthday
  • If you are over 30 and were overseas on 1 July 2000
  • If you are a member of the Australian Defence Force
  • If you are a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold Card holder

Lifetime Health Cover loading calculator

You can use the Australian government's Lifetime Health Cover loading calculator to work out how much you'll pay. It also has a Ten Year Continuous Cover calculator if you want to work out when you'll stop paying the charge.

How much does health insurance cost?

We ask hundreds of Australians what they're paying for health insurance every month. Here's what their bill looked like in October 2024.
  • Extras only: $60
  • Basic: $97
  • Bronze: $145
  • Silver: $176
  • Gold: $210
Price based on 500+ responses for single hospital or extras insurance.

Frequently asked questions

Gary Ross Hunter's headshot
Editor, Insurance

Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 651 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
  • Managing the cost of living
Nicola Middlemiss's headshot
Co-written by

Senior writer

Nicola Middlemiss is a contributing writer at Finder, with a special interest in personal finance and insurance. Formerly a business and finance journalist, Nicola has written thousands of articles helping Australians better understand insurance and grow their personal wealth. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including Domain, the Educator, Financy, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Insurance Business, MoneyMag, Mortgage Professional, Yahoo Finance, Your Investment Property, and Wealth Professional. Nicola has a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Leeds. See full bio

Nicola's expertise
Nicola has written 237 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Personal insurance, including car, health, home, life, pet and travel insurance
  • Commercial business insurance

More guides on Finder

Go to site
Compare 40+ health funds in under a minute
Close