Private Health Insurance

The main benefit of taking out Extras Cover is that it helps you pay for health care services that Medicare does not cover. The easiest way to work out whether you want to take out Extras Cover is to look through the list of treatments offered and decide whether you are likely to use them....

If you are considering taking out private health insurance, you should consider Hospital Cover. In this overview, we explain everything you need to know about the Hospital Cover tiers – Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold. We also provide a summary of each of the 38 clinical categories so you know, depending on which tier you...

In Australia, there are 2 main types of private health insurance – Hospital Cover and Extras Cover.  Hospital Cover Hospital Cover helps you pay for the cost of treatment as a private patient in hospital.  It helps you cover the cost of being treated as a private patient in a public hospital, private hospital or...

The Australian government has designated 38 clinical categories for Hospital Cover: The government also decides which treatments must be included under each clinical category. Insurers are not allowed to vary or exclude those treatments from their cover. When you get a quote for Hospital Cover, you cannot choose the clinical categories you want cover for....

Whether or not you take out Hospital Cover is a question to consider carefully. You may prefer to rely on the public healthcare system. As an Australian citizen or permanent resident with a Medicare Card, you are entitled to receive free healthcare in a public hospital. If you go into a public hospital as a...

How the Hospital Cover tiers work The difference between Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold Hospital Cover lies in the number of clinical categories each product tier offers: Clinical category Basic Bronze Silver Gold Rehabilitation ✓ (R) ✓ (R)  ✓ (R) ✓  Hospital Psychiatric Services ✓ (R) ✓ (R) ✓ (R) ✓  Palliative Care ✓ (R)...

Sometimes, insurers include additional clinical categories in a Basic, Bronze and Silver Hospital Cover policy. When they do this, they are allowed to market it as a ‘Plus’ policy.  It is worth considering Basic Plus, Bronze Plus and Silver Plus Cover because they may offer clinical categories on an unrestricted basis or additional clinical categories....

The following steps can help you decide which Hospital Cover tier is best: