5 tips to get better value from your health cover

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Looking for more affordable health insurance? Here are 5 ways you can get better value from your health cover.

Making sure you’re getting great value (and keeping costs down), while also having private health cover that does the hard yards when it comes to protecting your health is important.

There are a few ways you can look at getting better value. Whether it’s lowering your hospital costs, knowing about the lesser-known benefits included in your extras, or keeping your cover in check with regular reviews, there’s a few ways you can look at things to make sure you're saving money when you need to.

Here are 5 tips to help you get more value when it comes to your private health cover.

Understand government rebates and incentives

Understanding government incentives and rebates can highlight a whole other level of value when it comes to the way you think about your private hospital cover. The Australian Government Rebate on private health insurance, the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) and Lifetime Health Cover Loading (LHC) can impact how much you need to pay for your cover, as the amount you’ll need to pay at tax time. .

Here's a quick guide to each.

Australian Government Rebate: The ‘rebate’ applies to both hospital and extras cover and is the income-tested portion of your private health insurance the government pays for you (if you choose to claim it as a reduction on your premiums). Depending on your age, income and the number of dependent children you have, the government will contribute up to 32.812% of the cost of your private health cover. The rebate percentage is adjusted on 1 April each year. Most people choose to receive their rebate as a reduction in their premiums. However, you can also choose to pay the full premium and claim the rebate at the end of the financial year as a tax offset.

Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS): MLS was created to take the pressure off the public health system by encouraging Aussies to take out private hospital cover. Most of us pay a Medicare Levy through our income tax. This levy helps to fund the public health system and pay for the health services we use and claim through Medicare. If you earn more than $97,000 as a single and $194,000 as a family, you may need to pay MLS – an additional amount calculated in your annual tax return. There are special rules to determine your income for this calculation – it’s not the same as your taxable income. The MLS can be up to 1.5% of your income, payable at tax time. You can also check out the ATO website for more information, including who is considered a dependant for MLS purposes.

Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading: LHC is an incentive designed to encourage people to take out private hospital cover earlier in life. If you get hospital cover earlier in life (and keep it), you’ll avoid paying LHC. From 1 July following your 31st birthday, you'll pay 2% LHC loading on top of the normal premium for each year you’ve not had hospital cover since turning 30 (up to 70%) and you'll be required to pay this loading for 10 continuous years. LHC loading only applies to hospital cover and there is no government rebate for any LHC loading portion you have to pay. If you're already over 31, taking our private hospital cover may help you avoid paying any extra loading as you get older. You can find more details about LHC on the ATO website.

Make your extras work for you

What are health insurance extras? Extras cover helps you look after your general health and wellbeing. It covers common services like dental, optical, chiro and physio.

Whether you want to use your cover to improve your health and wellbeing or to be fitter and more active, there’s no doubt being covered for beneficial extras services can save you money.

Plus, there’s the advantages you get from being an RT Health member and your access to our More for Teeth program.

Because you’re with RT Health, you can get 100% back* on a range of no-gap services through our More for Teeth dental network. That means every member, every year can get the following preventative services, all with $0 to pay when visiting an HCF Dental Centre or More for Teeth provider:

Two no-gap check-ups
Two scale and cleans
One fluoride treatment
One mouthguard

Use our handy Find a Dental Clinic tool to find a More for Teeth provider near you.

Check your excess

The excess you choose when you first join (or change your level of hospital cover) impacts your premium, as well as the amount you’ll need to pay if you go to hospital.

An excess is the amount you’ll pay upfront (out of your own pocket) before you’re admitted to hospital for planned treatment.

Generally, the higher your excess, the lower your premiums (and vice versa).

Choosing a hospital cover with a higher excess is a way to reduce the cost of your cover, without reducing your level of cover. The flip side is that you’ll have a higher excess to pay if you’re admitted to hospital.

You can change your excess amount at any time. Choosing a higher level of excess is likely to make your membership premiums cheaper.

But it pays to know that lowering your excess (for example, from a $700 excess to a $350 excess) counts as an upgrade to your cover. That means you may have to pay your previous higher excess until you’ve served the waiting period for the new, lower level excess. This means that if you opt to increase your excess to lessen your premiums for a while, you’ll need to serve a waiting period if you later want to switch back to the lower excess.

No excess for the kids: If you’ve got your hospital cover with RT Health, you'll never pay any excess for kids under the age of 22 on your membership.

Make the most of your member perks

RT Health members have lots of perks – and we want you to make the most of them.

Here are just a few:

Support with weight management. Eligible RT Health members with hospital cover can get 12 weeks free access^{^} to the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.
RT Thank You Loyalty program⁺. There's never been a better time to save money. RT Thank You includes access to big savings on everyday household items like groceries and fuel, as well as shopping and entertainment.
Involuntary Unemployment Assistance (IUA). We may cover the cost of your health cover for up to 6 months if you find yourself unexpectedly unemployed^#. Learn more about IUA here.

Check out our Member Benefits hub for more info about being an RT Health member.

Get to know your cover

Making sure you’re getting value from your cover means there’s no ‘set and forget’ approach to private health insurance.

A serious partner, a new job or your first baby are all pivotal moments when you should take the time to review your private health insurance to make sure it changes with you.

All that aside, it’s ideal to look at your cover every two to three years to make sure it’s doing its job. Because even if your circumstances haven’t changed, your health needs or finances may have.

Remember, we’re always here to lend a helping hand when it’s time to review your cover.

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