Health insurance

What is Private Health Insurance?

Private health insurance can be taken out in a few ways:

  1. Hospital only insurance, which is used for admissions to hospital as a private patient.
  2. Extras only insurance, which is cover for non-hospital treatments such as dental, optical, physio and other complementary therapies.
  3. Combined cover is when you take out both hospital and extras insurance together.

There are plenty of reasons private hospital cover is important, such as:

  • knowing you can have access to private hospitals with state-of-the-art facilities 
  • being able to choose your doctor 
  • not having to spend months (even years) on a public hospital waiting list by going into a private hospital 
  • if you earn over the threshold for Medicare Levy Surcharge (currently $90,000 for singles and $180,000 for families), you may save tax by not having to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge 
  • avoiding a Lifetime Health Cover loading (by having hospital cover before you turn 31) 

When you think about health insurance it’s important to think about more than just the cost – it’s about giving you more choice for your healthcare, less time waiting for the services you need and (most importantly) the peace of mind to know that you’ll be looked after when you need it most. 

Want to know more? Read our article on the benefits of private health insurance.



Peoplecare results in IPSOS Health Care and Insurance Australia survey 2021.svg

family running past a beach desktop banner

Hospital and Extras cover

Combined cover is when you take out both Hospital and Extras cover together. This means you're covered for both hospital admissions and extras such as dental, optical, osteo etc.

family running past a beach desktop banner

You might be interested in...

What does Hospital cover include? orange hospital icon

We love keeping our hospital cover simple. Read our guide to see what our different levels of Hospital cover can provide.

What does Extras cover include? orange star icon

Our guide explains the key features of Extras cover, what it can include and how it’s different to Hospital cover.

Compare our health insurance products orange contact chat icon

Not sure what level of cover you need? Use our online tool to help you choose the right product.

Why choose us

purple thumbs up icon

97% of our members are satisfied

We’ve got the health cover and service to make you smile.

Discovery Research: 2023 Member Satisfaction Survey

purple apple icon

Your wellbeing is our priority

We’re on a mission to connect you to the latest health and wellbeing programs at no extra cost to you.

purple computer icon

Switching is easy with us

Switching to Peoplecare is quick and simple.

purple winner ribbon icon

We're member-owned

We're for members, not for profits.