Monday, June 18, 2018
Combined cover is a health insurance policy that includes both components of hospital cover and extras cover. It covers all your bases, insuring you for treatment both in and out of hospital, and protecting you for just about any medical issue that may arise.
Most health funds offer combined covers that are pre-packaged to suit certain budgets or lifestyles, but you can also choose a separate stand-alone hospital cover and extras cover and combine them yourself to create one that suits you better.
Hospital cover
Hospital cover protects you for medical events and emergencies that require in-hospital treatment. With hospital cover, you’ll have your own choice of agreement private hospital, choice of doctor, and cover for accommodation, theatre costs and medical treatment.
You could lower the cost of your premium by selecting an excess or co-payment, which is payable only if you are admitted to hospital. Most health funds offer a range of excess and co-payment options for their hospital covers.
Hospital cover can also save you money by exempting you from paying extra tax in the form of the Medicare Levy Surcharge, and is subject to Lifetime Health Cover regulations.
Extras cover
Extras cover provides benefits for out-of-hospital medical care like dental treatment, optical appliances, physiotherapy and remedial massage, among others. These features will generally be limited per treatment with an overall limit per year. But by selecting an extras policy with features you’ll regularly claim for, you can receive excellent value for money.
Combined hospital and extras cover is eligible for the health insurance rebate, so depending on your taxable income and age bracket, you could receive up to 40% rebate on the cost of your health insurance policy.
Why wait? Use our private health insurance comparison tool to find a combined hospital and extras policy today.