*Prices are based on a single person living in Sydney earning less than $105,000 per year.
Basic hospital cover in Australia is the entry-level tier of private health insurance. It's affordable, but only has very restricted coverage. Mostly, it only exists to avoid the tax impacts of health insurance. That's technically a little simplistic, but it's very important to understand that basic hospital cover is very, very basic.
This is because basic cover isn't required to cover anything at all, other than restricted cover for palliative care, rehabilitation and psychiatric services. While it may help you avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge and LHC, 'Basic' often equates to 'barely any coverage'.
For this reason, it's often a better idea to start your health insurance comparisons at the Bronze tier. Bronze policies are only a little more expensive - like $10 to $20 a month for a single policy - but offer WAY more actual hospital coverage.
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HCF has claimed the Finder award for Basic Hospital Cover, thanks to offering excellent value at the lower end of the market. More than just a standard Basic policy HCF's Hospital Basic Plus offers cover for more treatments than required, helping it score the highest value score for its category.
HCF has claimed the Finder award for Basic Hospital Cover, thanks to offering excellent value at the lower end of the market. More than just a standard Basic policy HCF's Hospital Basic Plus offers cover for more treatments than required, helping it score the highest value score for its category.
Highly commended 
Frank Health Insurance has earned a Highly Commended award in the Basic Hospital category for its Frank Accident Boost Hospital (Basic) policy. Stepping up in the basic tier, this policy delivers solid cover specifically for accidents, offering real value when you need it most.
Frank Health Insurance has earned a Highly Commended award in the Basic Hospital category for its Frank Accident Boost Hospital (Basic) policy. Stepping up in the basic tier, this policy delivers solid cover specifically for accidents, offering real value when you need it most.
Bupa's Basic Accident Only Hospital policy is Highly Commended this year in the Basic Hospital Health Insurance category. Providing focused protection purely for accidents, it stands out as a valuable option for essential, targeted cover.
Bupa's Basic Accident Only Hospital policy is Highly Commended this year in the Basic Hospital Health Insurance category. Providing focused protection purely for accidents, it stands out as a valuable option for essential, targeted cover.
Gold-tier hospital insurance covers all 38 treatments outlined by the Australian government. This includes treatments like joint replacements, pregnancy and insulin pumps, as well as all services covered by Silver-tier policies.
Silver-tier hospital insurance covers at least 26 treatments outlined by the Australian government. This includes treatments like dental surgery, lung and chest, and podiatric surgery, as well as all services covered by Bronze-tier policies.
Basic-tier hospital insurance isn't required to fully cover any treatments outlined by the Australian government, but it does need to have restricted cover for rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services and palliative care. Generally, Basic cover is primarily used to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover loading.
*Average prices updated April 2026, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $105,000 income and living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
"I took out Frank Basic Cover (then Health.com.au) back in 2018 and have had no issues. I haven't had to claim on it, but having it has saved us on tax as we would have to pay the Medicare Surcharge Levy without it and it's good to know we have ambulance cover (although we also get this through our ahm extras). Overall, if you need basic cover, Frank is a good one."
One thing basic hospital cover isn't very good for is actually providing hospital cover. If you want a policy that actually provides some private hospital treatment options, bronze policies are probably a better place to start your comparison.
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