HCi Factsheet
Keeping health insurance simple!
Why have private health insurance?
January 2022
Private health insurance can provide you with peace of mind that you have financial support through times of illness or injury.
Here are some advantages to having private health insurance rather than just relying on the Medicare program:
Peace of mind
Avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge
Hospital treatment cover
Medicare covers you for hospital and medical costs in a public hospital as a public patient. You have no choice of doctor and will usually be treated in a shared ward. In many cases, especially for elective surgery, there may be a substantial waiting time for the type of treatment you need.
However, by taking out private health insurance with HCi, you can be sure that if you or your family require hospital treatment you will have greater control over who, where and when you are treated. In most cases, the waiting time for elective surgery will be significantly less than the public system. HCi provides access to over 500 private hospitals and day hospital facilities and more than 30,000 doctors.
Other health care treatments
Medicare does not cover the cost of treatment for dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropractic and many other non-medical type services. HCi offers you three levels of Extras cover which are designed to help offset the costs of these non-medical health services.
Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading
The aim of the Federal Government’s Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) initiative is to encourage people to take out private health insurance hospital cover early in life. If you join earlier in life and continue private hospital cover, you will be rewarded with lower contributions than those who join later in life.
LHC is a financial loading that can be payable in addition to the base rate premium for your private health insurance hospital cover.
To avoid paying a LHC loading, you need to purchase hospital cover by 1 July following your 31st birthday. If you purchase hospital cover after this date you may be required to pay a LHC loading – 2% for each year you are over 30. For instance, if you wait until you are 40, you could be paying an extra 20% on the cost of your hospital cover. If you wait until you are 50, you could pay 40% more. And so on, up to a maximum of 70%.
HCi used its best endeavours to ensure this information was accurate at the time of publication. From time to time, circumstances relating to the subject matter may change which may impact the accuracy of the information. This information is also general in nature and does not take into account any specific health or financial situation. Before making any decisions in relation to this information, you should consider your own financial and health situation and seek professional advice. Health Care Insurance Ltd ABN 43 009 579 088. A Registered Private Health Insurer.