Author: Trudie McConnochie

If you’re a young and healthy Australian, do you really need health insurance, since you can get public hospital treatment for free under Medicare? And if you’re an older Australian, is it worth getting health insurance, even though it might cost you more? There’s no best age to get health insurance, but there are lots...

For the 440,000+ Australians living with the impact of stroke, recovery can be a long journey. Rehabilitation after stroke is different for everyone, depending on how your brain is affected and how severe the stroke was. Here’s how private health insurance can help with the costs of recovery after a stroke. Your initial treatment will mostly...

If you need to lose a lot of weight for your health, and eating well and exercise haven’t worked, you might be considering surgery. In 2014-15 (the latest statistics available) there were around 22,700 hospitalisations for weight loss surgery procedures in Australia – a number that’s more than doubled since 2005-06 – with 7 out...

If you’re a new migrant, we hope you’re enjoying life in Australia.  One of the things you’ll need to think about as you adjust to life as an Aussie is our healthcare system. While many treatments and services are covered by Medicare, there are some advantages to taking out private health insurance. In some cases, getting...

If you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease, your doctors have probably given you lots of information about how to manage your condition. The good news is that some of the lifestyle changes to manage heart disease, and many heart disease treatments, are covered by private health insurance. There are 2 main types of health insurance –...

When you compare Extras Cover with Hospital Cover, you might ask yourself whether you need both. After all, Hospital Cover is there for health events that might involve hospital treatment, while Extras Cover (also known as general or ancillary cover) is often considered more for ‘health maintenance’. So if you want to save money on...

It’s the most common elective procedure performed in Australia, but cataract surgery has a long waiting list in public hospitals. According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, more than 90% of people who had their cataracts done in 2022-23 had to wait more than a year. If you have Private Health Insurance, you...

Taking out a health insurance policy is a great way to cover yourself in the event of illness or an injury. But to claim on that policy, you have to take it out well before you need or get treatment, due to health insurance waiting periods.  A waiting period is the amount of time you have...