Health Insurance For Kids

There are two different types of health insurance in Australia. Hospital cover can provide benefits for expenses incurred whilst admitted to hospital, while extras cover can help pay for healthcare treatments and services outside of hospital which aren’t covered by Medicare, such as dental and physio services. It’s also possible to get a combined hospital and extras policy which includes kids and combines both types of insurance into one policy.  

How to compare hospital cover 

Areas to look at and compare when you’re considering hospital cover include: 

• Level of cover – choose from basic, bronze, silver and gold policies. Each of these tiers of cover provides benefits for specific medical conditions. The conditions which must be covered at each tier level are regulated by the government. Therefore, two silver policies must offer cover for identical conditions as a minimum legal requirement (though insurers can opt to add covered areas above the minimum). A basic policy will be the cheapest one on offer but will provide the least cover, with the reverse being true of a gold policy. 
• Cost of policy – we all want to find the best deal as far as our health insurance is concerned. However, the cheapest policy available may not always offer the most suitable coverage, so it pays to compare policies carefully. You can do this right here with Savvy. 
• Inclusions and exclusions – compare what's included in your policy and what’s excluded so you know exactly what you’re paying for. 
• Excesses and co-payments – find out if you'll be required to pay an excess for your children if they're admitted to hospital and/or a co-payment to contribute to the cost of their stay. Many health funds do not charge an excess for children’s hospital admissions, but this is an area you should look at closely when comparing hospital cover policies. 

How to compare extras cover

Extras cover is less highly-regulated by the Australian Government, so there may be greater differences between health funds. These are some of the areas to compare when looking at extras cover: 

• Benefit limits – these apply to different areas of treatment. There may be an overall policy limit, a per-person limit and a per-treatment limit which applies. For example, a family extras cover policy may offer a total of $5,000 cover for dental treatment in one year, with $3,000 allowed for major dental and $2,000 for minor dental treatment, and an $800 limit to be used per person in one year. Compare these different benefit limits to help decide which one may fit your family and kids’ needs.  
• What treatment areas are covered – this is important when considering your family’s current health needs and pre-existing conditions. For example, if your kids are sports-active, and experience regular sports injuries requiring physio, you may want to look at an extras policy that allows flexibility in how you can spend your overall benefit limit to allow more to be spent on areas you may need for.  
• Waiting periods – these also vary between health insurance providers, as they aren’t regulated by the Australian Government, so find out what waiting periods may apply once you’ve purchased your policy. 
• Special offers and additional benefits – many health funds offer additional extras and benefits to attract new customers. These can range from subsidised weight loss programs to a free phone helpline where you can speak to a nurse 24/7. Decide which of these health and wellness benefits your family and children may find useful when comparing funds.