Family health expenses can add up fast throughout the year, especially when something unexpected happens. Sports-related injuries for kids at school are quite common, then add on a pair of new reading glasses for yourself, and that dental implant your partner needs, and pretty soon you have raked up some very high bills! Because of life’s unforeseeable ups and downs, it’s vital that you always be prepared, and the best way to do that is to have good health insurance.
A solid family health insurance policy with hospital cover and extras like those available from Hunter Insurance can make all the difference, placing a firm financial safety net under your entire family for both minor mishaps and more serious accidents and illnesses. Below are some health insurance basics to assist you in making the best choices when taking out a policy that will suit your family’s unique needs.
Family health insurance policies in Australia provide cover for you, your partner and your children outside of what Medicare covers. In general, there are three different types of health insurance policies available for families, Family Hospital, Extras Only, and Combined Extras and Hospital cover.
Family Hospital Cover – This policy covers treatment as a private patient in both public or private hospitals for the following:
- Accommodation stay in a hospital ward bed
- In-hospital treatment with the doctor of your choice
- Operating theatre fees for necessary surgery
Extras Only Cover – This policy gives you and your family cover for all or part of the costs of health services that don’t take place in a hospital like optometrist or dentist appointments. These extras may include:
- Physiotherapy
- Dental and orthodontic treatments
- Podiatry
- Optical
- Dietitian
- Chiropractor
- Pharmaceutical prescriptions
- Speech therapy
Combined hospital and extras cover – This broader type of policy allows you to mix and match various extras policies and hospital cover depending on your family’s necessities.
There are a number of benefits that come with having a private family health insurance plan in place. It allows patients to be treated as a private patient in a public or a private hospital. It also gives you the ability to choose which doctor treats you, as well as an advantage when it comes to scheduling a time for treatment of your own choosing. Private family health insurance also provides cover for those services that Medicare doesn’t cover.
Eligibility for family health cover requires you to be a single or two-parent family that has children who are generally under the age of 21, or 25 if they are a dependant full-time student studying. Some funds now extend that age to 31. Carers or guardians with children under the age of 21, or 25 if a student, are also included. The federal government recently increased the maximum age of dependants for private health insurance policies from 24 to 31 years, while also removing the age limit completely for dependants who have a disability.
The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care has further information about choosing health insurance. We hope this makes your choice a bit clearer, stay safe and healthy by staying insured!
