Single parent health insurance
Single parent health insurance is a type of private health policy that comes with equal cover for one or more of your kids. You pay the same rate regardless of how many dependants you have.
Key takeaways
- If you already have insurance, there will be a small bump in your premium for the first child and the rest are covered for free.
- The kids are covered for what you are covered for and they will not usually have to serve waiting periods if you have already served them.
- You can get single parent hospital cover, extras cover or both.
Single parent health insurance covers you and all your kids on the same convenient policy, helping you protect your children's health.
As your family grows, you can even add additional children onto your policy for free and it'll usually cover them up until the age of 21, or 25 if they're a full-time uni student.
What is single parent health insurance?
Single parent health insurance refers to a singles health insurance policy that also includes equal cover for one or more dependants. It can help pay the bills for:
Hospital treatment
As well as covering you for everything that Medicare includes, private hospital insurance can let you and your kids get treated for non-urgent conditions quicker, allow you to choose the doctor that treats them and give them access to a private room in a private hospital.
Extras treatment
Childhood is also the time for fixing crooked teeth and imperfect vision. Extras cover gives your kids a head start in both areas. Most extras policies will cover basic dental work, eye exams, glasses and even therapies like physio. Dreading the day your little one needs orthodontics? Higher level policies can help out there.
Ambulances
Unfortunately, ambulance services are not covered by Medicare in Australia (except in Queensland and Tasmania) so you'll need to take out health insurance if you want to avoid expensive fees for you or your child. Luckily, you can get covered for as little as $3 a week with a basic extras policy.
Finder survey: How many people worry about being able to pay for medical bills?
| Response | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| No | 53.96% | 38.31% |
| Yes | 30.63% | 43.3% |
| Somewhat | 15.42% | 18.39% |
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1006 Australians, December 2023
Does single parent health insurance cover pregnancy?
Yes, all gold tier policies are required to provide pregnancy cover. Keep in mind there's a 12-month waiting period before you can claim for pregnancy. That means you'll have to get pregnancy cover well before you start trying to conceiv, unless your previous policy also covered pregnancy.
If you don't plan to have more children, opt for a policy that excludes pregnancy cover since there's no point paying for a service you're unlikely to need.
What are the waiting periods on a single parent health insurance policy?
Waiting periods for single parent health insurance are generally as follows:
- 2 months for most hospital treatments (except pregnancy which is 12 months) and extras services e.g. general dental, physio and chiro.
- 12 months for pre-existing conditions and some more expensive extras treatments like major dental and orthodontics.
What does single parent health insurance not cover?
Even with comprehensive hospital and extras policies, there are a few services and treatments a single parent health policy will not cover. Some of these include:
- Outpatient blood work and testing. Private hospital cover piggybacks off Medicare, which covers mainly inpatient treatments. Outpatient services like bloodwork and testing aren't typically covered on extras policies either.
- GP and specialist visits. These are two types of outpatient services that Medicare will cover but your private health insurance won't.
- Non-emergency ambulance rides. Most private health insurance policies cover ambulance rides but only for emergency situations. If paramedics or doctors say it's not an emergency, your insurance won't cover you.
- Hospital treatments that Medicare doesn't cover. The Australian healthcare system is designed to get you the health care you really need but not necessarily services you merely want. So neither Medicare nor private health will cover you for many services that aren't medically necessary, like a face lift.
Tips for finding the right single parent health insurance policy for you
If you're a single parent searching for the right private health insurance policy, finding the right place to start can be tricky. To ensure you find the right policy for your circumstances, we’ve jotted down four tips below:
- Clarify your needs. Before choosing a policy, it’s helpful to know what kind of policy you’re looking for. Ask yourself: What’s your and your children’s current health status? What types of services do you expect needing in the next 1 to 5 years? What cost is the most realistic for your current financial situation?
- Determine what level of cover you need. Policies are tiered (Basic, Bronze, Silver or Gold) with increasing coverage and cost. For example, if your children are young and likely to need dental/orthodontics or you want good extras cover, you might lean Silver or Gold. If lower risk, maybe Bronze.
- Double check excess options. Review the excess for the policy you intend to purchase and whether children have the same or different excess. Some policies waive excess for kids.
- Shop around and compare quotes. Obtain multiple quotes from different insurers before signing up for a policy. It’s also important to look beyond the premium and consider the level of coverage the policy offers. The cheapest policy isn’t always the best option if coverage is sparse.
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