Guide to Australian Health Insurance
Over 40% per cent of Australian’s choose to be covered by Private Health Insurance and with many different Health Funds in the market the options are wide and filled with choices.
Private health insurance can cover you for treatment not covered by Medicare, such as dental, optical, physiotherapy, and a range of natural therapies. In addition, private health insurance can help you avoid public hospital waiting lists for elective treatment and provide a choice of Doctor and/or Hospital.
Australian Health Insurance is made up of the following types of cover
n Hospital Cover
n Extras Cover
n Or a combination of both Hospital and Extras cover
Each “life stage” is filled with its own health challenges and getting the right cover for you or your families particular situation can be difficult without getting the right advice. There are literally thousands of policy combinations on offer within Australia and the options, price and level of cover can vary greatly, so it’s important that you shop around and get quality advice. In addition, with prices varying between similar policies, the right decision can also mean more money in your pocket.
The Australian Government also pays 30% (more if you are over 65 years of age) of the insurance cost through a rebate system and this can be taken as either a reduction in your premium or claimed as a tax deduction.
Before you commit to a particular policy it is important to compare a range of funds and policy combinations. Getting the right advice and understanding the fine print can help put you in control of your purchase. There is a range of online and over the phone advice and policy comparison services available. Here are some of our top tips on buying private health insurance in Australia:
Top Tips on buying Private Health Insurance
n Getting the right advice can help take the mystery and complexity out of purchasing Private Health Insurance. Private health insurance brokers can help you compare policies from their participating funds and generally match the price that you can get directly from the funds. Plus you’re getting choices and advice for your individual circumstances.
n Many consumers opt for hospital cover as well as extras cover for things like dentistry, physiotherapy, optical, natural therapies and more. There is a wide variation between funds on what you’ll get back so it’s important to make sure that the cover you choose is competitive in price and rebates when you make a claim.
n Work out what "life stage" you're at. Generally we suggest that there are five broad life stages. If you're young you may not want things like hip replacement, if you're older you may want birth cover, or if your 40 plus then you may not want major dental. It’s a good idea to look at your family history and talk to your Doctor and choose your policy accordingly. Also by paying a higher excess you can generally cut the cost of your premium.
n Prior to settling in Australia, make sure to check your Medicare eligibility at www.medicare.com.au
Information provided by:
iSelect Pty Ltd
Level 4, 973 Nepean Hwy,
Moorabbin Vic 3189
Phone: 131920 (within Australia)
Website: www.iselect.com.au
Email: info@iselect.com.au | 
