The huge change in private health insurance that every Australian family should be aware of – and it could save you thousands
Age limit for dependent children for private health insurance increased from 25 to 31
Change was announced in the 2020-21 budget, but has now been rolled out
The new rules could save single-child families more than $1000 a year
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A major change in private health insurance has flown under the radar, but it could save you thousands of dollars.
The age The limit for dependent children on private family insurance has been increased from 25 to 31, meaning younger Aussies can get coverage for longer.
Although the change was announced in the 2020-21 budget, it has only recently come into effect.
The budget document says the change “helps to provide continuity of care for younger Australians and encourages them to continue with private health insurance (PHI) when they reach the age of 31, the age at which lifelong health coverage starts.” .
‘By allowing survivors to remain on the family policy until the start of the Lifetime Health Cover, they have a clear moment to decide whether to keep their PHI and make PHI more attractive to young people.’
The age limit for dependent children with private health insurance has been raised from 25 to 31 meaning younger Aussies can get coverage for longer
Families with a child aged 25 to 31 with low-threshold hospital coverage and benefits can save up to $1010 per year as a result of the change
Medibank, AHM, BUPA, HCF and Teachers’ Health had already raised the dependent age limit and NIB, Australian Unity, GMHBA and Frank Health Insurance said they intend to.
“This has changed as more and more people are staying at home longer and regulations that made sense 30 years ago no longer make sense,” said Ben Harris of Private Healthcare Australia. 9News.
Families with a child ages 25 to 31 with a low-threshold hospital and perks can save up to $1010 per year.
Households with two adult children can save up to $3,812 per year with families, according to Compare Club data.
While families with three can be better off $5604 and those with four can save about $7396.
Margaret Guthrie said she and her husband were surprised to learn they could save nearly $1600 a year as a result of the change.
‘I wasn’t aware of it. As soon as I found out, I put all three of my eligible children on my private cover,” Mrs. Guthrie said.
Medibank, AHM, BUPA, HCF and Teachers’ Health had already raised the dependent age limit and NIB, Australian Unity, GMHBA and Frank Health Insurance said they planned to
Compare Club’s Andrew Davis said a survey found that 82 percent of people were unaware of the change allowing more than 300,000 adult children to return to their parents’ policies.
“It also has the potential to give people better coverage than they would otherwise have,” said Mr. Davis.
There is a catch, although dependent children with parents in an actual relationship will not be able to access the family policy again and a one-time 25 percent top-up fee will apply when adult children are re-introduced to the family policy.