7 reasons to have hospital cover
More than 12 million people, or 45.5% of the population, have hospital cover, according to a recent Australian Prudential Regulation Authority report. In fact, family policies increased by 14,777 policies, and single policies had an uptick of 21,751 in Australia between July and September 2025*. In the same quarter, Peoplecare received 7,888 hospital claims.
As an industry, private health insurers paid $5,208 million in hospital treatment benefits, according to the report. This was comprised of:
- $3,797 million for hospital services (such as accommodation and nursing)
- $771 million for medical services
- $640 million for medical devices or human tissue items.
What the statistics tell us
Hospital cover is important — almost half of all Australians are covered*.
11,259 Peoplecare members made hospital claims last year
Thinking about hospital cover?
The main reasons our members take out hospital cover are peace of mind, more choice about their care, and to save money at tax time.
Still deciding? Here are seven compelling reasons why hospital cover could be the right choice for you.
1. Less time waiting
In the public system, you get put on a hospital waiting list for elective surgery. You could spend months or even years waiting for a procedure in a public hospital.
In 2024 to 2025, the overall time within which 50% of patients were admitted (the median waiting time) was 45 days, and the time within which 90% of patients were admitted was 329 days#.
At the time of writing, public hospital wait times include 255 days for a total knee replacement, 182 days for a tonsillectomy, and 106 days for cataract surgery>.
With hospital cover, you can have your elective surgery as soon as your doctor is ready, provided your hospital waiting periods have been served.
2. Choose your doctor
In a public hospital, you’ll usually be treated by the doctor on duty. If having a say in who treats you matters, hospital cover gives you the option to choose your own doctor — helping you feel more comfortable and confident about your care.
3. Access more healthcare options
Having hospital cover gives you flexibility. You can choose between public and private hospitals, which means you can make decisions based on what matters most to you — like being closer to home or accessing advanced technology. You may also be able to access hospital substitution programs that allow you to recover in the comfort of your own home^.
4. Avoid full-cost private hospital bills
If you opt for a private hospital and don’t have cover (and some people do this), the bills could be high. To give you an idea, last year the highest benefit we paid for a member's private hospital treatment was for gastrointestinal endoscopy: the total benefit paid was $376,731.
5. Save on tax
High-income earners with an appropriate level of private hospital cover don’t need to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) at tax time. Singles who earn over $101,000 and families that earn over $202,000 (in the financial year) need hospital cover to avoid the MLS, however, for families, the income threshold for each tier is increased by $1,500 for every child after your first. Learn more.
6. Avoid paying a loading
Take out hospital cover before you turn 31 and avoid paying 2% more for cover for every year that you’re over 30, up to a maximum of an extra 70%. Lifetime Health Cover Loading rewards you for taking out private hospital cover earlier in life and keeping it. Learn more.
7. Have peace of mind
Knowing you and your family can access hospital care when you need it gives you peace of mind. It means less stress and faster treatment — so health issues can get resolved sooner.
What next?
If you’re happy with your hospital cover, now is a good time to get a cup of tea and relax knowing your health is protected. If you’d like a cover review to check your cover still fits your needs, please get in touch).
If you would like to take out Hospital cover and you’re not sure which policy is right for you, there are several ways we help make choosing a policy easy. You can:
- Speak to a friendly specialist in our Customer Service Team: they’re trained to help you choose the right hospital policy.
- Use our online hospital policy tool and choose the services that are important to you.
- Browse our six hospital cover options here or contact us and we’ll send you our Hospital Cover Comparison Overview.
- View this handy guide: Choosing Cover:10 questions to ask yourself.
Peoplecare Health Insurance is a not-for-profit, member-owned heath fund with agreements with more than 42,000 doctors and over 500 private hospitals around Australia. Learn more about Peoplecare.
*Source:https://www.apra.gov.au/quarterly-private-health-insurance-membership-and-benefits-summary-september-2025
#Source: https://www.aihw.gov.au/hospitals/topics/elective-surgery/waiting-times
^Source: Hospital substation programs can only substitute hospital treatments you’re covered for. Exclusions and restrictions apply.
>Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Elective surgery waiting times 2024-25: data tables, Table 4.6