How to manage your health insurance after losing your job 

Losing your job is an incredibly difficult experience that can leave you reeling emotionally – especially if it was unexpected. On a practical level, it also means a lot of decisions and adjustments to make, particularly around your finances. You may need to reassess your expenses until you land a new job. When it comes to your health insurance premiums, you have a few options that don’t involve cancelling your policy entirely. Here’s your guide to health insurance after losing your job. 

What if I can’t pay for my health insurance?  

Firstly, if you were made redundant and you have redundancy insurance, contact your insurer to find out whether it covers your health insurance premiums. 

Next, regardless of the circumstances, if you’re struggling to pay premiums due to losing your job, you don’t have to cancel your health insurance policy – you can pause it. Insurers allow you to suspend your policy due to financial hardship or unemployment for 2 months or up to 2 years (the length of time will depend on your insurer and policy). To suspend your policy, contact your insurer to explain that you’ve lost your job and ask about the process for a policy suspension.  

Keep in mind that suspending your policy does affect your eligibility for the Medicare Levy Surcharge, but won’t affect your Lifetime Health Cover Loading. You can have a gap of up to 1,094 days (about 3 years) without Hospital Cover and your Lifetime Health Cover Loading will not be reset.  

Can I get help paying for health insurance?

Do I have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge?

What if I have a corporate health insurance policy?   

If you have a corporate health insurance policy, which means your cover is arranged through your employer, that particular policy, premium and benefits may no longer be available. With that said, insurers don’t like losing customers, so it’s a good idea to contact the insurer and ask what they can offer you – perhaps you’ll be offered a different type of cover at a similar rate.   

If you’ve been made redundant, it’s worth asking whether your health insurance can be incorporated into your redundancy package. Your employer might allow you to keep existing corporate health-insurance arrangements for a certain amount of time, such as for 6 months after severing employment, for example. 

What if I downgrade my policy?  

If it takes a while to find a new job, but you don’t want to cancel your health insurance, you could lower your costs by looking for a cheaper policy. To find a cheaper policy that still meets your needs, visit the healthslips.com.au calculator and search for a new policy or compare your policy to others. It provides unbiased comparisons of every insurer available, and helps you compare policies easily – including corporate policies. 

How can I get cheaper health insurance?

healthslips.com.au does not provide general or personalised advice. Your particular circumstances are likely to impact the accuracy, completeness and relevance of the information or results. Take this into account before making a decision and talk to an expert for financial advice. 

Trudie McConnochie

Writer and Researcher

Knowledge is power – that’s the guiding principle behind everything Trudie writes, and it’s a philosophy she brings to her work at healthslips.com.au. By breaking down complex information into easy-to-understand blogs and stories, she aims to empower Australians to make the best choices and an informed decision around private health insurance.

Trudie understands firsthand some of the complexity of private health insurance having moved to Australia from New Zealand and having to navigate a vastly different public healthcare system and health insurance structure.

Trudie holds a Bachelor of Communication Studies (journalism major) from the Auckland University of Technology.

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