Are there any additional benefits?

No excess for dependent children. RT Health hospital cover members will never have to pay an excess for their dependent children. Affordable cover. Sole parent cover is available to make health insurance more affordable for single parent families. Cover your kids up to the age of 25. If any of your kids are unmarried and full-time students, they can stay covered under your RT family policy until they reach 25 years of age. Optical and dental discounts. Fund members can access a range of discounted products and services at the fund's new optical practices in Surry Hills and Newcastle. A range of dental and eyewear discounts are also available. Free health management programs. RT Health members can take advantage of two free health management programs. Hospital at Home offers hospital-equivalent care to you at home, while health4life helps you make healthy lifestyle changes to prevent chronic disease.

Your RT Health claim will not be paid if: It is for a treatment excluded from your level of cover. For example, Smart Hospital excludes cover for joint replacement procedures It is for services received more than two years prior to submitting your claim It is for a service for which Medicare does not offer a benefit It is for cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary If you are admitted to a private hospital with which RT Health does not have a contract It is for hospital or medical costs incurred for outpatient treatment It is for private hospital emergency department fees It is for treatment received overseas It is for discharge pharmaceuticals It is for hospital costs not related to the reason for your admission, for example TV hire and phone calls You have Smart Hospital or Value Hospital cover and you receive treatment in a private hospital which you are only covered for in a public hospital It is for treatment provided in a non-hospital facility, for example a nursing home.

How do I make a claim?

If you receive treatment in a private hospital, in most cases the hospital's bills will be sent directly to your health fund. However, you may receive bills from the different doctors who treat you, and you'll need to take them to a Medicare office and fill out a two-way claim form. Medicare will then forward your claim on to RT Health to cover the 25% gap that Medicare does not pay. When you need to make an extras claim, many providers will offer on-the-spot electronic claiming that simply requires you to swipe your membership card. Where this option is not available you will have to download a claim form from the RT Health website, fill it out and submit it to the health fund. You can also submit a claim via the RT Health insurance app. You can download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store .

How do I know which hospitals I will be fully covered in?

RT Health has agreements in place with the vast majority of private hospitals and day surgeries in Australia. You can view a list of agreement hospitals on the RT website.

I want to transfer from another health fund to RT – will I need to serve waiting periods again?

No, Australian law makes it possible for you to switch health funds without having to re-serve any waiting periods. As long as you join RT less than two months after leaving your previous fund, any waiting periods you've already served will be recognised.

Does RT offer gap cover?

Yes, all of the hospital cover options from RT Health come with rt health Medicover, which allows you to reduce your out-of-pocket hospital expenses or even avoid them altogether.