Cheap Health Insurance for Families
Consider the benefits of health cover
Every parent wants the best for their children, and that includes the best health care and the best health cover they can afford. However, finding cheap health insurance for families can be a real pain. We should know; we are a health fund. Health cover can be more expensive for families than for single people, which means it can be even more important to match the right one to your family’s needs.
* The price shown is per week and applies to a {LIFESTAGE} living in VIC. It excludes LHC loading and includes a Base Tier Government Rebate
| Extras services (when included on cover) |
|---|
| All extras benefits except as specified below. Waiting Period: 2 Months |
| Optical, home and domestic aids and medical aids. Waiting Period: 6 months |
| Major dental services (including full & partial dentures, orthodontics, crown & bridgework, endodontic services such as root canal, gold fillings, indirect restorations, surgical extractions of a tooth/teeth including wisdom teeth). Waiting Period: 12 Months |
| Health appliances including nebuliser pump, blood glucose monitor, pressure garments, sleep apnoea monitor, extremity pump, hearing aids, orthopaedic appliances (GMHBA approved), prostheses (GMHBA approved non-surgical), tens monitor, podiatry surgical procedures and orthotic appliances (foot). Waiting Period: 12 Months |
| Hospital services (when included on cover) |
|---|
| Accidents - bodily injuries resulting from accidents which occur after the date of joining GMHBA or upgrading to a higher cover. Waiting Period: No |
| Obstetrics and maternity. Waiting Period: 12 months |
| Pre-existing ailment, illness or condition (other than psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care). Waiting Period: 12 months |
| Any other benefit for hospital (or hospital substitution) treatment. Waiting Period: 2 months |
A pre-existing condition is one where signs or symptoms of your ailment, illness or condition, in the opinion of a medical practitioner appointed by GMHBA (not your own doctor), existed at any time during the six months preceding the day on which you purchased your hospital insurance or upgraded to a higher level of hospital cover and/or benefit entitlement.
A special waiting period applies to obtain benefits for hospital treatment for new members who have pre-existing conditions. The waiting period also applies to existing members who have recently upgraded their level of hospital cover. If the ailment, illness or condition is considered pre-existing:
New members
New members must wait 12 months for any hospital benefits (other than psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care).
Existing members (transferring or upgrading)
Members transferring/upgrading to a higher hospital cover must wait 12 months to get the higher hospital benefits (other than psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care).
Existing members (with at least 12 months membership)
Existing members with at least 12 months membership in total across their old and new cover are entitled to the lower benefits on their old cover.
Silver Hospital cover provides the same single room coverage as Gold Hospital, but co-payments of $100 per day up to a maximum of $700 per admission apply. Co-payments are not the same as hospital excess. Please note: Some private hospitals only have single rooms and co-payments will apply.
Co-payments do not apply.
Australians are lucky to have Medicare. As a free service that can help pay for medical consultations, tests and examinations, it is the envy of most of the rest of the world.
It's also a safety net if you need to visit hospital, covering you for a public hospital stay. Medicare however doesn't cover many treatments and services that cheap health insurance for families could provide benefits for.
Public hospital waiting lists can be long, especially for non-emergency cases like tonsillectomies, grommet procedures or joint reconstructions. This means while you might be eligible for free treatment from the public system, you or your family members may need to wait for surgery. Having cheap health insurance for families can help you avoid the public hospital waiting lists by being treated in a private hospital. Having the option of not sharing a room while you or your children recover can also be a reason for families to take out private hospital cover.
Sometimes, Medicare doesn't cover all of a family’s health needs, especially when it comes to treatments outside of hospitals. Going to the dentist, having physio treatment, or buying new glasses or orthotics can be very expensive. Having cheap health insurance for families can provide benefits for those kinds of treatments if you need them, and extras cover can help make balancing your weekly budget easier if you do.
Cheap health cover may not cover everything your family needs, or could leave you significantly out-of-pocket for some procedures. On the other hand, expensive family health insurance policies may be a waste of money, with cover for things your family will never use.
It's important to compare policies so you don't just get the cheapest family health insurance cover but the one that offers you the best value.
Weigh up hospital and extras cover
The first thing you should consider when looking for the best cheap health insurance for families is what type of benefits you are expecting from private cover. If you're looking to be covered by more than Medicare when you need to visit a hospital, then hospital cover is for you. Frank's cheapest hospital insurance cover – Basic Hospital – could cover you for treatment a public hospital only.
While there may be cheaper family health insurance policies out there, make sure you look at why they are cheaper. This may include additional exclusions, higher excesses and co-payments.
Even with cheap health insurance for families, if you have hospital cover that covers you in a private hospital, you can choose what doctor treats you, unlike the public system. For a family this can mean keeping with the doctor that treats them over time, or finding a doctor such a paediatrician they are comfortable with.
Many families choose to have the peace of mind that comes with having extras cover as well as hospital cover. A bundled package offers hospital cover, as well as cover for health services not covered by Medicare or hospital cover such as dental, optical, chiropractic, physiotherapy and acupuncture, among others.
We have two extras plans that offer cheap health insurance for families – Lots and Some. Like hospital cover, the higher the level of extras cover, the more treatments and services it provides benefits for, so make sure you take a close look.
Many policies offering cheap health insurance for families can limit the amount of treatments they offer, and, for example, only provide cover for general dental procedures like oral exams, cleaning and basic treatment. But our two extras plans offer cheap health insurance for families that includes both general and major dental. There is no point getting dental cover for your kids and not yourself, and major dental can provide benefits for the kinds of dental treatments parents are more likely to need.
Alongside our philosophies of affordable and simple cheap health insurance for families sits choice. Cheap doesn’t have to mean limited. We offer the choice of either 50% or 80% back on extras. Choosing the 80% option means the premiums can be higher, but your out-of-pocket costs could be lower. You may find that you reach your annual limits quickly if you are a regular extras user. If so, using the 50% option gives you the option to pay higher out of pocket costs and use your annual limits over the course of a year.
Keeping costs lower
Health insurance premiums tend to increase on a regular basis because of government regulations and higher medical costs. If you're looking to spend much less on your private health cover, it's best to shop around and compare policies prior to April each year. Often not-for-profit funds such as Frank offer superior value as they don't need to pay dividends to shareholders.
Many insurance companies have promotional offers like giving a free month of insurance or waiving certain waiting periods. These can help make your cheap health insurance for families even more affordable.
