New data from the Australian Tax Office shows that the number of people being charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) has almost quadrupled over 6 years. Data found 768,537 Aussies paid the MLS in the 2022-23 financial year, up from 196,807 in 2017. An article in The Australian says the increase is due to rising...
Australians treated with natural therapies may soon be able to claim rebates on Extras Cover. Following a review completed last year, the government has reinstated 7 of the 16 natural therapies that were removed from private health insurance cover in 2019. The health insurance industry is now developing framework to cover: Private Healthcare Australia, the...
Bupa members who had Hospital Cover claims rejected between 1 May 2018 and 31 August 2023 may be entitled to compensation. The health insurer has announced it incorrectly rejected “mixed coverage” claims – claims for 2 or more treatments at a time – and certain other types of claims during this period. Bupa has apologised...
Members of Teachers Health and TUH are about to become part of the sixth largest health insurer in Australia. The two not-for-profit insurers have announced they will merge next week on 1 July, forming a combined insurer that will cover 500,000 people, Teachers Health said. TUH said the merger will bring some small benefits to...
Australians uncertain about whether or not to get health insurance could find the decision a little easier next week, as of 1 July. Those who don’t have Hospital Cover and earn over a certain income threshold get charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge at tax time – a levy of between 1% and 1.5%. For some...
Australians are claiming on private health insurance more than ever, new data shows. The latest figures from APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority), which regulates the health insurance industry, show that insurers paid $18.9 billion in Hospital Cover claims for the 12 months ending 31 March 2025 – an increase of 6.9%. For Extras Cover claims,...
Healthscope private hospitals remain open for surgeries and treatments, despite the organisation going into receivership this week. Some Australians with Hospital Cover were concerned that private hospital treatment could be harder to access in the wake of the Healthscope collapse, but the organisation said its hospitals will remain open for treatments. Healthscope – which operates...
The government has announced it will investigate health insurers for using a loophole to raise their prices. In December last year, Minister of Health Mark Butler warned health insurers to stop ‘phoenixing’ policies after a Commonwealth Ombudsman report brought the practice to light. By law, health insurers can only raise prices once a year, but...
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Whatever amount you’re spending on health insurance, you naturally want to make sure you’re getting good value for your money. If you’re looking at the amount of money you’re claiming and wondering whether you’re getting enough back, here’s what you need to know. Like any form of insurance, health insurance is there to help you...
If you’re looking for the best health insurance policy that meets your specific health needs and budget, the healthslips.com.au Calculator is your new BFF. Not only is it one of the only health comparison tools in Australia that compares every single policy on the market without any bias, it has some unique features that can...
If you’re using Hospital Cover to pay for surgery or a hospital procedure as a private patient, you probably assume your insurer will pick up the bill. But unfortunately health insurance doesn’t always cover 100% of the private hospital costs – sometimes there will be out-of-pocket costs, also known as Gaps. So what is a...
If you’re looking for cheaper health cover, corporate health insurance policies are definitely worth considering. Depending on the policy and what’s on offer, taking out a corporate health insurance policy could save you money and get you benefits that might not be available to the general public. Here’s everything you need to know about corporate...
Private health insurance exists to help you access healthcare treatments or services that might otherwise be very expensive or out of reach. Even if you’re healthy now, you don’t know what’s ahead, and it can be reassuring to know that if you face a long waiting list in the public health system, you could be...
If you want Hospital Cover that provides the bare essentials, Basic Hospital Cover could be your best bet. You’ll need to do your homework, though, as some Basic health insurance policies don’t provide much in the way of value – and they aren’t necessarily cheap, either. Using the healthslips.com.au Calculator, we found a $2,772.72 difference...
If you want more health cover than a Basic policy, a Bronze Hospital Cover policy could be a good choice, providing cover on 21 of the 38 hospital clinical categories which can be claimed on private health insurance. But that doesn’t mean all Bronze health insurance policies give you the same level of value –...
If you’re looking for the best Silver health insurance in Australia, price will naturally be one of the big factors in your decision. But you also need to consider what you get for that policy – paying more for a policy doesn’t automatically mean better cover. Unlike most health-insurance comparison websites, here at healthslips.com.au we’re...