Cheap health insurance
At Frank, we offer affordable health insurance that fits your lifestyle, covering you for the stuff that matters to you. So, if you’re looking for cheap private health cover, you’ve come to the right place. Simple, affordable, Frank.
Up to 12 weeks free plus skip 2 & 6 month waits on extras if you join on combined cover by July 31*. Get 6 weeks free after your first month, and a further 6 weeks free after 12 months if you maintain combined cover.
*For new members joining on combined hospital and extras cover, paying by direct debit. Must not have been a Frank member in the last 12 months. Must pay first month’s premium to receive initial 6 weeks free. Other waits (including hospital waits), annual limits and sub limits apply. View full terms & conditions.
Affordable health insurance cover
We know health insurance isn’t exciting. But with lots of different (and affordable) cover options, Frank makes it easier not to hate it.
When it comes to cheap health insurance, there’s a few ways you can go: there's extras cover, hospital cover, or a combination of the two.
What is private health insurance?
Private health insurance comes in three flavours. The type and level you choose will impact the cost.
1. Hospital cover
When you need to be admitted to the hospital, this is the ‘insurance’ part of private health insurance.
When talking about hospital cover (which is generally more expensive than extras), consider if you’re looking for entry level cover and are happy to exclude certain services to keep the price down, or do you want peace of mind knowing you’re covered for whatever life might throw at you?
2. Extras cover
Helps manage the costs of day-to-day health treatments that are generally not covered by Medicare for stuff like chiro, physio, dental and optical.
Do you (or should you) wear glasses or contact lenses? Back aching for the physio? Want a crack at seeing a chiro? This is where extras cover shines, helping you manage the upfront costs of accessing this kind of treatment.
3. Combined cover
A little from column A and a little from column B. With Frank’s combined cover and bundles, we make health insurance easy by combining coverage for both hospital and extras into one policy.
Choose what hospital and extras covers best suit you and your needs, or you can choose from one of our Freedom Flexi Bundles, giving singles and couples one flexible limit to claim on included extras each year.
Whichever policy you choose, if you are new to hospital cover or upgrading a policy which has additional services you may have to serve waiting periods.
What can impact the cost of health insurance?
When looking for health insurance, you need to think about what type of cover you’re after and who you’re covering. For couples, your premium is generally the same whether you choose to be on a couples policy rather than having 2 single policies with the same level of cover. For families, it’s often cheaper for both parents and kids to be on the same membership.
When looking at price as a starting point, consider what you might need from your cover. Extras-only can help manage the costs of day-to-day treatments such as physio, dental and optical which generally aren’t covered by Medicare. Or are you after hospital cover, or a combination of the two?
With extras only policies, your only additional costs are the out-of-pocket fees charged by your practitioner. The cost of your policy increases with your level of cover. For example, if you want a few services on the odd occasion throughout the year, the mid-range extras product Some Extras with 50% or 80% back options gives you dental, optical and physio limits.
If you use lots of services, Lots Extras gives you bigger annual limits across lots of different treatments like podiatry, psychology and travel vaccinations with 50% and 80% options. As your limits are greater with this cover your out-of-pockets would be less (up to your annual limits).
If you choose hospital cover or a combination of hospital and extras cover, there are some factors that may impact the cost of your cover such as the Lifetime Health Cover Loading (LHC), age-based discount (ABD), and the Australian Government Rebate. And, if you’re a high-income earner, you may also want to consider the cost impact of not having hospital cover where you may be impacted by the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).
- Lifetime Health Cover Loading (LHC): The LHC is an age-based initiative introduced by the Australian Government to encourage people to take out hospital cover earlier in life. You have until 1 July following your 31st birthday to take out hospital cover. After this time, a 2% loading is added to your hospital cover premium for every year you don’t have cover (this amount is capped at 70%, or 65 years old).
- Age-based discount (ABD): If you currently tick the 18-29 age box, you could score a premium reduction on your hospital cover of between 2%-10%, with the percentage amount based on your age when you first purchased hospital cover. The discount is the good kind of clingy too – the percentage discount is locked in when you join and will hang around until you’re 41 before stepping away, provided you stay on an eligible hospital cover.
- The Australian Government Rebate on Private Health Insurance: This is an income-tested incentive that aims to help with cost of private health insurance. The rebate is income tested with tiers used to calculate the rebate you’re entitled to. This applies to both hospital and extras policies.
- Medicare Levy Surcharge: While it doesn’t impact your premiums, it does impact your pocket. The Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) is an extra tax on top of the standard Medicare Levy set by the Australian Government. It applies to individuals and families on higher incomes who don’t have eligible private health insurance hospital cover. It goes directly to funding the national public Medicare system and was designed to encourage the use of the private hospital system to reduce the demand on Medicare.
Frank's favourite affordable covers
Basic Accident Boost Hospital
- Emergency Ambulance Cover
- Upgraded cover in the event of an accident
- Private Emergency Department Attendance Benefit
- Emergency Ambulance Cover
- Dental Surgery
- Joint Reconstruction
Bronze Hospital
- Emergency Ambulance Cover
- Bone, joint and muscle
- Digestive system
* The price shown is per week and applies to a Single, aged 30, 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.
Who needs what?
The basics
Sarah is 28 years-old and works full-time. She hasn’t had her own private health insurance before because her parents paid for it, but now she’s earning more than the threshold, she’s keen to avoid the MLS. Sarah has no underlying health problems and decides to go with Frank’s Basic Plus Hospital. Because she’s under 30, she’s also eligible for a age-based youth discount.
All the trimmings
Sadie is 30 and wants total peace of mind with her health insurance as she and her partner have started family planning. They’ve decided to go with Frank’s most comprehensive coverage, Gold Hospital. Covering everything from pregnancy, in-patient private hospital psychiatric care, weight loss surgery to in-patient dental surgery.
A good mix
Abdul is 34 and leads an active lifestyle. He’s always hiking, skating, or surfing. He gets regular remedial massages and visits the physio every couple of months. Abdul decides to get one of Frank’s Freedom Flexi Bundles, which gives him basic hospital cover, flexible extras, as well as a loyalty bonus. Now he can spend his extras limit how he wants.
Freedom limit, flex it your way
Because sometimes your needs might change a little, you have a $500 freedom limit to claim on your 7 included extras services. And the longer you're with us, the more you can claim.
Get an extra $50 to claim on your freedom limit each full calendar year, with a maximum of $200 after 4 years of continual cover.
^ Loyalty benefit is available on 1 January after completing one full membership year. For example, Alex joins Frank on 1 July 2024, she completes her first membership year on 1 July 2025. That means her limit will start increasing each year starting 1 January 2026.
Our cheapest hospital cover
Our cheapest hospital cover is Frank’s Accident Boost (Basic) and that gets you cover for items such as:
- Emergency ambulance cover (dependent on the state)
- Cover as a private patient in a private hospital for any treatment required because of an accident. For an accident to be covered, the accident must have occurred after purchasing hospital cover and treatment must be sought from a doctor or Emergency Department within 48 hours of sustaining the injury
- Psychiatric, rehab and palliative care services in a public hospital
- A way to avoid the MLS (if you’re a high-income earner) and Lifetime Health Cover Loading (LHC) if you are 31 or older.
Can I save money with private health insurance?
Your income and the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)
If you or your partner are a high-income earner, having hospital cover may help at tax time by avoiding having to pay the MLS. The rate you pay depends on your income level, family status and if you’ve held hospital cover for any part of the financial year. Learn more about MLS and income thresholds.
Extras
If you find yourself using health services like, physio, dental and optical regularly, it might make sense to get yourself extras cover. With something like Frank’s Lots Extras you can get up to 80% back on the cost of treatment up to annual limits. It also comes with a $2000 dental annual limit per person, per year (sub-limits apply). Not too shabby at all.
Lifetime Health cover Loading (LHC)
Ensuring you get private health cover before you turn 31 can help you avoid the LHC. The LHC is an aged-based initiative introduced by the Australian Government to encourage people to take out hospital cover earlier in life. You have until 1 July following your 31st birthday to take out hospital cover. After this time, a 2% loading is added to your hospital cover premium for every year you don’t have cover.
Age-based discount (ABD)
If you’re aged 18-29, you may be eligible to receive an age-based discount on your hospital cover (2% each year you are aged under 30 from when you first purchased hospital cover, to a maximum of 10%). This discount can be retained until you’re 41, provided you maintain hospital cover. The discount will then be phased out after you turn 41. For further information and to see if you’re eligible find out more here.
How much is health insurance in Australia?
When you’re looking for cheap health insurance, and weighing up various health insurance providers, you need to factor in a bunch of things in your calculations. Not just the price. It’s important to find private health cover that fits your needs and values, as well as your wallet.
As a not-for-profit health fund, Frank focuses on just doing health insurance. We’re not trying to line shareholder's pockets or make a quick buck. We just want people to be able to choose the protection they need - simple, no-frills hospital cover that won’t break the bank. While you can get cheap entry-level hospital cover (such as Entry Hospital (Basic +)), we also provide options for those who might benefit from extras or want more piece of mind.
Affordable cover that fits your lifestyle
We’ve learned a few things about cheap health insurance over the years:
- Skip the fluff: Look for hospital products that don't include things you may not need, like pregnancy or cataracts. If you’re not sure what you need, contact us and we can walk you through your options.
- Know your needs: are you looking for entry level hospital cover, or does your stage in life mean you might need extras for treatment like dental, optical and physio?
- Look for peace of mind. So, you’ve grown a bit older and realised you’re not invincible. Try and find the cover that combines minimum spend with maximum peace of mind. Got a young family? Make sure your loved ones are covered for when life throws a curveball.
FAQs about cheap health insurance
What’s the cheapest kind of health insurance?
The cheapest health insurance will usually be an extras-only policy. This covers you for basic health services, like optical and dental, but not for hospital-related treatment. Keep in mind, extras-only policies are cheaper than hospital cover, but they won’t help you avoid things like the MLS and LHC.
Do I need private health insurance?
That’s up to you! Private health cover comes down to your age, budget, and health needs. Other things to consider are LHC, MLS and ABD and the Australian Government Rebate on private health insurance.
What’s your cheapest level of cover?
At the moment, our cheapest possible extras cover is Basic Extras and our cheapest hospital cover is Basic Accident Boost Hospital.
At what age should I get private hospital health insurance?
That’s really your call, but there are a couple of important milestones to keep in mind. For one thing, the earlier you get private hospital health insurance, the cheaper it’ll be. Frank offers age-based discounts for people aged 18-29. The next big number to consider is 31: if you don’t have private health insurance hospital cover by July 1 after your 31st birthday, you might incur the government’s LHC when you do take out cover.
How does my excess work?
When comparing affordable health insurance, you also need to factor in the excess amount. That’s the amount you’ll need to pay upfront to be admitted to hospital before private insurance kicks in to help cover the cost of hospital accommodation, surgeon, and anaesthetist fees. The most you will have to pay for your excess is $750 per person per year (up to a max of $1,500 for a family, if admitted to hospital).
Up to 12 weeks free plus skip 2 & 6 month waits on extras if you join on combined cover by July 31*. Get 6 weeks free after your first month, and a further 6 weeks free after 12 months if you maintain combined cover.
*For new members joining on combined hospital and extras cover, paying by direct debit. Must not have been a Frank member in the last 12 months. Must pay first month’s premium to receive initial 6 weeks free. Other waits (including hospital waits), annual limits and sub limits apply. View full terms & conditions.
