COMBINED HOSPITALS & EXTRAS COVER
Taking out hospital and extras cover is called combined cover. You can mix and match between different levels of cover for each. So you might only want basic hospital cover but you think you’ll benefit from comprehensive extras. Or it could be you’d like a balance, so you might choose medium for both hospital and extras.
It all depends on what you think is important for you and what you think you’ll actually need. There’s no point in being covered for things like pregnancy, knee replacements, or heart replacements if these aren’t relevant to you.
While that all sounds like common sense, you’d be surprised how many Aussies are covered for things they’ll never use and don’t even know they’re paying for!
UNDERSTANDING HOW HOSPITAL WAITING PERIODS WORK
Waiting periods are designed to prevent people from claiming immediately after joining a health insurer and then cancelling their policy once they’ve received treatment.
This kind of “hit-and-run” behaviour would very quickly drive up health premiums and negatively affect customers across Australia.
It’s good to understand pre-existing conditions with hospital cover so you don’t waste time and money taking out a new policy, only to find you won’t be covered for a current condition.
A pre-existing condition is classified as any ailment, illness, or condition that you had signs or symptoms of during the 6 months before you took out hospital cover or upgraded to a higher hospital table.
If you decide to take out health insurance, your new fund will need time to advise you if your condition is pre-existing. Always check well before you go into hospital to ensure you’re covered.
Pre-existing conditions have a 12 month waiting period for health insurers. The Australian Government has published an overview of this which you can download.
WHY DO AUSTRALIANS TAKE OUT PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE?
Private health cover has the potential to give singles more choice, control, and peace of mind with their healthcare. This could be anything from an ambulance trip, to dental or optical benefits, to chiropractic or physiotherapy rehabilitation from an injury, to just having the security there in case you ever need it.
Roughly 14.42 million Australians (55 percent of the population) now have private health cover - a new record. On average, health insurance costs people between $1,000 and up to over $5,000 a year, so it’s natural to expect value in return.
There are also other factors that drive people to get a health insurance policy, such as coming off their parents’ health fund when they turn 31, avoiding Lifetime Health Cover Loading (LHC) before they turn 31, and also assisting with the government rebate when doing your taxes.
Or maybe you’re a little bit older or a single parent, so you’re taking out singles health insurance rather than another policy type, or you just want to have peace of mind for any future hospital treatments.
Don’t forget that even if you decide not to take out health insurance, all Australians have access to the public health system when they need it and the federal government’s Medicare system.
