Where Can I Find Information About Health Funds?

Health funds are organizations that provide health insurance, which Australian citizens have the option of purchasing if they want the advantages of private health insurance. All Australian citizens, and some foreign visitors, are covered under Medicare, which is Australia’s universal health insurance. Medicare health care coverage includes services from general practitioners, hospital treatments, and some prescription medications for free or at reduced costs. Any emergency treatment at a public hospital is free, although depending on the state, some Australians may have to pay for ambulance coverage.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been brutal on Australia, as it has all over the world, and lockdowns are still being extended due to rising counts of COVID-19 cases. It is possible, however, for people in Australia to receive a COVID-19 vaccine regardless of whether they’re eligible for Medicare. Even with the advantages of Medicare, however, it’s not always easy for Australians to decide between relying on the public system and opting for private insurance from healthcare providers. You can check out a list of health funds to review each provider and see if extra coverage is right for you. Here are some of the advantages applicants can expect to gain from private health funds.

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You can avoid the Medicare levy surcharge.

The Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) is meant to encourage Australians to take out private insurance in order to take part of the strain off the public system. Essentially, if you make above a certain income and don’t have private health coverage, you can face an additional charge of 1% to 1.5% against your taxable income each tax season.

The income threshold to avoid the MLS is $90,000 for singles and $180,000 for families. Your income threshold goes up an additional $1,500 for each dependent child you have following your first. You’ll need to maintain the appropriate amount of private hospital coverage for your income in order to avoid the charge.

You can save money in the long-term with lifetime health cover.

Lifetime health cover (LHC) is a way to avoid paying higher premiums for private hospital cover if you take it out earlier in life. Basically, if you take out private coverage from a health fund before July 1st of your 31st birthday, you can avoid paying LCH loading later in life. LCH loading will charge you an extra 2% loading on top of your hospital premiums for every year you age over 31. This can continue up to a maximum of 70% in additional premiums or until you’ve had LHC for ten consecutive years.

You can select your hospital and doctor.

You’ll receive emergency treatment for free through Medicare, but it will be in a public hospital, and you’ll have no control over which doctor you see. Public hospitals also can’t guarantee private rooms for each patient.

With private coverage from a health fund, you’ll be treated in a private hospital with your own room, and you can see a doctor of your own choosing. It’s important to keep in mind that these additional freedoms will be pending on the availability within the private system, however.

You’ll have additional coverage.

While Medicare is good for seeing a general practitioner, and you may be able to get reduced rates from a specialist, there are some things that it simply doesn’t cover. Adult dental visits are a great example. Even something as simple as a routine checkup or cleaning won’t usually be covered under Medicare, so you’ll need private coverage for dental treatments. This is also generally the case for adult vision and for certain medical devices like hearing aids.

It’s a great idea for people of all ages to look into health funds more. You may find that you can set yourself up to save a great deal of money in the future, and you’ll be covered for the gaps that traditional Medicare won’t cover.