28% of women skip healthcare over cost – are you one of them?
Key takeaways
- Women are going without healthcare at a much higher rate than men. 28% skipped care due to cost in the past year, compared with 17% of men.
- Even when covered, women are using their policy less. 45% rarely claim, versus 33% of men, and women are more likely to have no cover at all (33% vs. 24%).
- What's next: Just 31% of women are happy with their current policy, compared with 46% of men, a satisfaction gap worth checking your own cover against.
Australia's community rating system means insurers can't charge women more for the same policy purely because of their gender.
But new data from Finder's 2026 Health Report shows a real gap has opened up anyway, not in what women pay, but in what they get out of the system.
Women are going without care more than men
28% of women say they've gone without healthcare in the past year because of cost, compared with 17% of men, an 11-point gap. Women are also more likely to have no private health cover at all (33%), versus 24% of men.
Among women who do hold a policy, 45% say they rarely claim, compared with 33% of men. Whether that's because women hold policies that don't suit their needs, or because they're less likely to use the cover they're paying for, the practical result is the same: less value for money.
Confusion and dissatisfaction run higher for women
Women are more than twice as likely as men to say they don't know what tier of cover they have (8% vs. 3%). They're also 14% more likely to say they never review their policy at all (26% vs. 12%). When we look at how women feel about their cover, only 31% of women are happy, compared to 46% of men.
Gender aside, if you feel less than satisfactory with your cover, it's worth pulling out your policy and reviewing what kind of cover you've got, compared to how much you claim back each year.
You can also use Finder's health insurance quiz to find out if you could be getting a better deal on your cover.
Not happy with your health cover?
Compare policies and find better value.
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