AMAV VICDOC Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 63
THE PRICE OF HEALTH COVER
-
Health insurance is community rated so
your age, health status or claims history
cannot influence the price of your health
cover, and everyone pays the same amount
regardless of the frequency of which they
need to access health services. This system
ensures equality and fairness for Australians
when it comes to protecting their health
with insurance.
The price of health cover varies for
other reasons, such as the number of
services it covers, the state or territory,
and government initiatives such as
Lifetime Health Cover loading and the
Australian Government Rebate on
Private Health Insurance.
Premiums are generally higher for
policies that cover more services. In 2019,
the Australian Government introduced tiers
to categorise hospital cover: Gold, Silver,
Bronze and Basic. While these tiers have
standardised the inclusions of hospital
cover, it is up to individual health funds to
set the price of these policies. That means
a Gold policy with one health fund can have
a different premium to a Gold policy with
another health fund, even when they cover
the same services.
VALUE MEANS MANY THINGS,
IN ADDITION TO PRICE.
-
Value for money when it comes to your
health insurance doesn't just include the
cost of your premium. While price is an
important consideration when managing
a family budget, paying less may not
necessarily mean you are receiving the
right amount of value for your family.
When assessing the value you receive from
your health cover, other factors such as the
level of medical gap cover your health fund
offers, the service experience and the health
fund itself and their values, all contribute
to how your health cover can support and
meet the health needs of your family.
IF YOU DO SWITCH, IT’S EASIER
THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.
-
In Australia health insurance is ‘portable’.
This means you can switch health funds
at any time and in most instances, you
won’t have to re-serve waiting periods
already served on your existing policy.
If you’re upgrading your cover, you will
need to serve waiting periods for any new
services, and these can range from two
months to 12 months. This is why planning
for the additional services you may need
can be beneficial to ensure you have
served any waits before you need to access
these services. When you switch, all this
information is transferred directly between
health funds, so you don’t need to worry
about any of the paperwork.
We all want to get value from our
health insurance, and there are important
considerations when deciding on what this
means for your family and what is the best
option for your current and future needs.
With competitively priced Gold hospital
cover, market leading medical gap cover
and no preferred providers for extras,
Doctors’ Health Fund is made for doctors,
the medical community, and your families.
Plus, join on any hospital and extras by
30 June and receive up to 15 weeks free^
across your first two years and skip the
two-month waiting period on extras so
you can claim for services like dental and
optical straight away.^ Made for better
value for your family, see how your cover
compares today.
^ Offer and policy T&Cs apply, see our website.
Existing Avant members receive 15 weeks over
the first two years, non-Avant members receive
8 weeks free in the first year. Check eligibility in
the full terms and conditions at
doctorshealthfund.com.au/silvertogold
Private health insurance products are issued by
The Doctors’ Health Fund Pty Limited, ABN 68 001
417 527 (Doctors’ Health Fund), a member of the
Avant Mutual Group. Cover is subject to the terms
and conditions (including waiting periods, limitations
and exclusions) of the individual policy, available at
www.doctorshealthfund.com.au/our-cover.
VI CD O C WI NTER 2024
63
