Latrobe Health Insurance

Providing protection to more than 80,000 people Australia-wide, Latrobe offers you a wide choice of cover.

Latrobe Health Services are part of a network of Members Own Health Funds that focus on giving good prices and choices to their members. With several hospital cover options and nine different extras policies, you can find benefits to suit your needs.

Who is Latrobe

Latrobe Health Services were founded in 1951 to provide quality health care to their members. As a Members Own Health Fund, Latrobe is part of a network of nineteen health insurers providing member-focused benefits to over 2.5 million Australians.

Latrobe is a not-for-profit organisation, and by taking out cover with them you'll enjoy a reduced Medicare Levy Surcharge as well as government rebates on your private health insurance premiums.

What health insurance options are available?

Hospital cover

• Gold top hospital. This is standard top-level hospital cover, covering most standard treatments in hospitals and accomodation cover, theatre fees, surgically implanted prosthetics, TV hire and more. It has no excess associated with it.
• Gold family care hospital. Same as the Gold top hospital, but includes a $40-70 co-payment per day in hospital and covers single dependants until their 25th birthday. It has no excess associated with it.
• Gold co-payment and special excess hospital. Same as Gold top hospital, but include either a $40-70 co-payment per day in hospital, a flexible excess, or an excess that decreases every year for the first four years.
• Healthy start basic hospital. A combined extras and hospital package that provides limited cover for private hospitals and restricted benefits for treatments.
• Basic public hospital. Provides limited cover for private hospitals and restricted benefits for treatments.

Extras cover

Latrobe Health Services offers nine different extras packages, which fall into the categories below:

• Top extras cover. These provide a wide range of cover for non-hospital-based services like general dental, remedial massage, myotherapy, osteopathy and more. This category offers the largest yearly benefits on services.
• Intermediate extras cover. These cover largely the same services that the top extras cover, though they do exclude a few of the less critical services like remedial massage. The main difference between intermediate and top extras are that their yearly benefit limits are lower or significantly lower, and more sub-limits apply on certain categories of treatment, e.g. chiropractic, physiotherapy and other therapies.
• Basic extras cover. These cover only a few basic extras, as the name implies. In addition to restricted options, benefits may be reduced compared to the higher levels. There is a dental extras option that exclusively basic dental costs and procedures.

Member offers

Besides the benefits of your health insurance, you receive the following for signing up with Latrobe Health Services:

• Government rebate. You can receive a significant rebate on your private insurance premiums depending on your income levels. The lower your income and greater your age, the higher the percentage you'll receive back.
• Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). If your income is more than $90,000 and you don't have private health insurance, you'll have a levy raised of 1-1.5% of your income. Depending on your income, it may be cheaper to pay premiums than the MLS.
• LHC loading. Taking a private insurance prevents loading fees (which kick in after 30 if you haven't had private health insurance) which can be as high as 70% of the original premium cost.

How to make a claim

There are two ways to claim on your extras. You can either:

• Claim electronically. Some extras, including chiropractic, dental, osteopathy, physiotherapy and more, can be claimed via HICAPS or Health Point using your member card.
• Claim by mail. All extras can be claimed in person or by mail by either filling out a claim form and mailing it to Latrobe or by visiting a Latrobe branch.