Medibank Private Comparison and Review
Australia is home to two major heavyweights in the health insurance game – Bupa and most notably Medibank Private. The latter covers approximately 3.7 million Australians, and allows customers to be treated as a private patient in hospital. Along with this, services that do not fall under the Medicare umbrella, such as physiotherapy and dental, are included in private health cover. But how does Medibank Private Health stack up against its competitors? Read on to find out with No Worries.
Medibank Private Health Cover Overview
Medibank Private offers singles, couples, families, single parents, and young adults cover, which spans almost every demographic. The categories of plans include Hospital, Extras, or both Hospital and Extras cover. The Hospital and Extras bundle costs significantly more than the single packages.
There are a vast number of details to be aware of, in order to ascertain the cost of each package. Age, location of residence, yearly salary, and household status all play a part in the expected bundle cost. For more specific information on what your bundle could cost, be sure to check out the Medibank website.
How does Medibank Private Health Cover work for hospital visits?
A hospital visit is almost never a good thing, and the costs can rack up by the minute. Medibank Private’s hospital cover aims to take the financial burden out of what is already a traumatic period. Some benefits of Private Health Cover for in-hospital visits include:
- The ability to pick and choose your own doctor, hospital, or specialist, depending on the needs of the patient. This can be incredibly valuable for people looking for complete peace-of-mind in what is already an intimidating experience.
- A slight discount on the doctor’s costs.
- Aspects such as accommodation being paid for.
The Medibank Hospital Cover ranges from basic accident and ambulance bundles, all the way up to comprehensive bundles which include pregnancy, joint replacements, psychiatric services, and much more. However the latter of these bundles will cost far more per month, so be sure to head to the Medibank website to find out if this is right for you.
What does Medibank Private Hospital Cover look like?
Below are a list of the services available through Medibank’s Hospital Cover, and some key attributes that the service provides:
Medibank Basic Accident and Ambulance
- Accidents
- Ambulance
- Choice of excess
Medibank Basic Plus Healthy Start
- Joint reconstructions
- Hernia and Appendix
Medibank Bronze Everyday
- Bones, joints, and muscles
- Chemotherapy
- Gynaecology
- Endoscopy
Medibank Bronze Plus Progress
- Back, neck, and spine
- Tonsils, grommets, and adenoids
- Implementation of hearing devices
Medibank Bronze Plus Assured
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery added onto Medibank Bronze Plus Progress
Medibank Silver Everyday
- Heart and vascular system
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery
- Podiatric services
Medibank Silver Plus Assured
- Sleep studies
- Insulin pumps
- Palliative care
Medibank Silver Plus Security
- Joint replacements
- Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
- Cataracts
Medibank Gold Complete
- Hospital psychiatric services
- Pregnancy and birth
- Weight loss surgery
How does Medibank Private Health Cover work for extras cover?
Extras cover includes every specialist service that isn’t included in the umbrella hospital cover. Some of these services include:
- Dental
- Optical
- Physio
- Chiro
- Remedial massage
This means if you purchase an extras cover plan and want to get an x-ray, some new glasses, or just a good old-fashioned neck massage, the price of this can be dramatically reduced. Again, the range of plans goes from incredibly basic to comprehensive, so letting No Worries do the work for you to determine the most suitable plan is incredibly important.
At Medibank Private, there are five bundles of Extras cover ranging from the bare basics extras service such as dental, optical, and physio, all the way to the comprehensive package which includes orthodontics and a choice of the claim you get back.
What does Medibank Private Extras Cover look like?
Below are a list of the services available through Medibank’s Extras Cover, and some key attributes that the service provides:
Healthy Start Extras
- General and major dental
- Optical
- Physio
- Ambulance
- 60% claim back on extras
Essentials Extras
- 75% claim back on extras
Growing Family Extras Only
- Birthing classes
- 100% claim back for kids
Top Extras
- Orthodontics
- Choice of claim back
How does Medibank Private compare for Ambulance cover?
With a fixed cost for either six months or a full year, ambulance cover at Medibank requires a waiting period of just one day. This cover includes ambulance transport to hospital, or ambulance transport from one hospital to another.
This can be purchased as a standalone package, however it is also included on all extras policies after the one day waiting period if adhered to. It is also included in hospital cover, if deemed medically necessary.
The standalone package is not available to Australian citizens in Queensland and Tasmania, New South Wales and ACT citizens who already hold health insurance, and Western Australia citizens who are eligible for state-funded services.
Ambulance cover excludes transport from one public hospital to another, or when immediate medical attention is not required.
How does Medibank Private compare for overseas cover?
Many overseas citizens view Australia as an incredibly viable spot to begin, or continue, their studies. However, travelling can often result in injuries or sickness, which in turn can be a huge financial drain. No need to fear though – most private health services cover foreign students looking to study in Australia.
The Essentials Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) package is the only one available to either singles, couples, families, or single parents. It covers all course types, and meets all student visa requirements.
For the hospital aspect, the Essentials package is comprehensive, with no excess and covering accident and emergency department facility fees. It also offers unlimited ambulance cover, payment towards eligible prescription medicines, and medical benefits such as general practitioner consultations and out-of-hospital consultations, such as x-rays and blood tests.
The Comprehensive OSHC offers all of the benefits provided by the Essentials pack, as well as other Extras including private psychology, repatriation, and counselling benefits.
For visitors to Australia that are not studying, there are a similar array of packages, including a starter bundle and a more comprehensive one, however this starter bundle can only be claimed by people 49 and under.
There are more in-depth packages for people looking to work or get their first job after graduating in Australia. These packages include:
- Overseas Workers Base Hospital
- Overseas Workers Standard Hospital and Medical
- Overseas Workers Advanced Hospital and Medical
- Overseas Workers Premium Hospital, Medical, and Extras
These packages steadily increase in price as the quality goes up, however they all feature 38 clinical categories of hospital treatment, and 38 in-person medical services.
How do waiting periods work with Medibank Private Health Cover?
Waiting periods are put in place by health providers to stop consumers from purchasing private health cover and immediately reaping the benefits of the package. The waiting periods tend to range from two months to three years. Below are the expected waiting periods for Medibank Private Health Cover packages:
Two month waiting periods
This is the standard waiting period for a service, unless it is stated in the following list of longer waiting periods.
Six month waiting periods
- Optical bonus
- Ultra bonus
12 month waiting periods
- Peak flow meters
- Spacing devices
- Nebulisers
- Dental surgical procedures, such as surgical extractions
- Other major dental services
- Orthodontic services
- Obstetrics-related services
- Pre-existing conditions (does not apply to psychiatric treatment, rehabilitation treatment, or palliative care)
24 month waiting periods
- Blood glucose monitors
36 month waiting periods
- Hearing aids
- Laser eye surgery
What are the other major Australian private health insurance providers?
Here at No Worries, there are eight private health funds on our panel that we compare, and while Medibank is not one of them, you may be able to find better cover with one of these other insurers. These funds include:
- Australian Unity
- HCF
- NIB
- AIA
- HIF
- AHM
- Health Partners
- Phoenix Health
Which is the best health provider in Australia?
With the plethora of private health providers in Australia currently, it can be difficult to navigate which one works best for you. Fortunately, here at No Worries you can complete the easy-to-fill-out questionnaire, and our team will be able to ascertain whether you could be getting a better deal.
With no obligation quotes, and a free comparison in just five minutes, the No Worries team can take all the hassle out of choosing a health care provider by doing all the work for you.
And what’s more, waiting periods are waived for all No Worries customers if you are switching from an existing health care provider. So be sure to head over to noworries.com.au to make your life a whole lot easier.
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