Compare Health Insurance Hospital Cover Background

Compare Health Insurance Hospital Cover

The table below shows a range of hospital insurance policies (with $750+ excess) on Canstar’s database from our Online Partners.

Group Manager, Research & Ratings
Former Content Lead
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  • Star Rating - lowest first
  • Star Rating - highest first
  • Hospital cover tier - lowest first
  • Hospital cover tier - highest first
  • Excess per admission - lowest first
  • Excess per admission - highest first
  • Monthly premium (approx) - lowest first
  • Monthly premium (approx) - highest first
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Bronze Glossary
$750 Glossary
$89 Glossary
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Bronze+ Glossary
$750 Glossary
$91 Glossary
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Bronze+ Glossary
$750 Glossary
$92 Glossary
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Bronze Glossary
$750 Glossary
$92 Glossary
star-rating-icon star-rating-icon star-rating-icon star-rating-icon star-rating-icon
Bronze+ Glossary
$750 Glossary
$96 Glossary
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Basic+ Glossary
$750 Glossary
$85 Glossary
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Basic+ Glossary
$750 Glossary
$87 Glossary

Showing 10 of 136 results

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Unsure of a term in the above table? View glossary

The initial results in the table above are sorted by Star Rating (High-Low) , then Monthly premium (approx) (Low-High) , then Provider Name (Alphabetical) . Additional filters may have been applied, see top of table for details.

What is Hospital Cover?

Hospital cover is a hospital-only health insurance policy that helps cover the costs of being admitted to hospital. As a rule, when you have private hospital cover in place, you have a choice of being treated as a private patient in a public hospital or being admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

What does hospital insurance cover?

Private hospital health insurance usually covers, either in full or partially, theatre costs and hospital accommodation fees, including meals. From April 2020, all hospital insurance products in Australia must be classified as one of four tiers: Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic. A hospital product policy is classified into a tier according to the minimum level of cover it offers against the government’s hospital clinical categories.

But hospital-only insurance does not cover for the costs of ‘general’ treatments, such as dental care and optical, even if you receive these types of care and treatment in hospital. If you want to be covered for ‘general’ healthcare, you may want to consider a hospital and extras combined policy or an extras-only policy if you don’t require hospital cover.

Frequently Asked Questions about Health Insurance

The different hospital insurance product tiers in Australia are Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic.

A hospital product policy is classified into a tier according to the minimum level of cover it offers against the government’s hospital clinical categories. Gold is the highest hospital policy coverage, covering all clinical categories outlined by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care.

The table below shows a summary of what clinical categories are included in each hospital cover tier.

← Mobile/tablet users, scroll sideways to view full table →

The main difference between private and public hospitals mainly comes down to choice, where private patients have more say in their care, such as being able to choose their own doctors and treatment.

Learn more: Private vs public hospitals – What’s the difference?

Whether hospital cover is worth taking out will be heavily dependent on individual circumstances. Being insured is always a personal choice but it can be particularly complicated when it comes to health.

You will need to weigh up the costs against the benefits when determining the worth of private health insurance for you. Some questions you may want to consider include the following:

  • Do you have an existing health condition you wish to cover?
  • Do you have any major family history of particular health conditions that could warrant hospital cover?
  • Do you prefer being able to choose your own doctor, or specialist, and have more sway over your treatment plan?
  • Does staying in a private room while in hospital appeal to you?

It’s also always best to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Target Market Determination (TMD) and other applicable product documentation when considering an insurance policy.

Hospital cover insures you for the costs of receiving treatment and staying in hospital, including theatre costs and hospital accommodation fees. Examples include orthopaedic surgery (such as knee or hip replacement), eye surgery (such as cataracts) or gastrointestinal tests (such as endoscopy or colonoscopy). But what you are insured for will depend on your level of coverage.

Extras health insurance on the other hand provides cover for ‘general’ treatments and services from medical and allied health professionals not typically subsidised through medicare. Examples include dental treatment, physiotherapy, optical devices such as glasses, or remedial massages. Unlike hospital cover, there is no distinct government standardised level of cover for extras insurance products.

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Canstar Star Ratings and Awards

Looking for an award-winning product or to switch providers or brands? Canstar rates products based on price and features in our Star Ratings and Awards. Our expert Research team shares insights about which products offer 5-Star value and which providers offer outstanding value overall. We also reveal which providers have the most satisfied customers in our dedicated Customer Satisfaction Awards.

Health Insurance Star Ratings and Awards

About our finance experts

Ellie McLachlan, Former Content Lead

Ellie McLachlan
Ellie McLachlan is the former Content Lead at Canstar, helping to shape and deliver the content strategy. She specialises in covering mortgage and everday money topics and breaking finance news. An experienced journalist, Ellie has made her mark working in digital, broadcast and print media, serving in positions such as Editor at News Corp Australia's Compare Money and also News.com.au's Best Of Money, as Story Strategy Coach at the Australian Conservation Foundation, as a lifestyle reporter at The Urban List, The Courier Mail and The Sunshine Coast Daily, as well as radio presenter at 4ZZZ. While at Canstar, Ellie has written well over 500 finance articles and her work is regularly referenced by other publishers, including Business Insider, The Motley Fool and The New Daily. Her expert financial commentary has been featured in publications such as Yahoo Finance and the Herald Sun. She studied a Bachelor of Journalism and Arts (Peace and Conflict Studies) at the University of Queensland. Follow Ellie on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Canstar on Facebook. Meet the Canstar Editorial Team. Have a media enquiry and interested in featuring Ellie as a financial expert and commentator? Contact Canstar’s Media Team today.

Joshua Sale, Group Manager, Research & Ratings

Joshua Sale

As Canstar’s Ratings Manager, Josh Sale is responsible for the methodology and delivery of Canstar’s Health Insurance Star Ratings and Awards. With tertiary qualifications in economics and finance, Josh has worked behind the scenes for the last five years to develop Star Ratings and Awards that help connect consumers with the right product for them.

Josh is passionate about helping consumers get hands-on with their finances. Josh has been interviewed by media outlets such as the Australian Financial Reviewnews.com.au and Money Magazine.

You can follow Josh on LinkedIn, and Canstar on Twitter and Facebook.


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Important information

For those that love the detail

This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.

Canstar may earn a fee from its Online Partners for referrals from its website tables, and from sponsorship or promotion of certain products. Fees payable by product providers for referrals and sponsorship or promotion may vary between providers, website position, and revenue model. Sponsorship/promotion fees may be higher than referral fees. If a product is sponsored or promoted, it’s an ad and it is clearly marked as such. An ad might appear in different places on our website, such as in comparison tables and articles. Ads may be displayed in a fixed position in a table, regardless of the product's rating, price or other attributes. The location of an ad doesn’t indicate any ranking or rating by Canstar. Payment of fees for ads does not influence our Star Ratings. See How We Get Paid to find out more.

The Health Insurance Star Ratings were awarded in November 2023 and data in the table is current as at that date, updated from time to time to reflect product changes notified to us by product issuers. The results don’t include every provider in the market and we may not compare all features relevant to you. You can find a description of the initial sort order below the table. You can use the sort buttons at the top of each column to re-order the display. Learn more about our Health Insurance Star Rating Methodology. The rating shown is only one factor to take into account when considering products.

The products and Star Ratings in the table might not match your exact inputs in the selector. Sometimes the methodology uses profiles with categories or bands (e.g. income, loan amount or monthly spend), but sometimes a single methodology, without any categories or bands, is applied. The results will show the products that most closely match your selection, based on our profiles. If you are unsure about any terms used in the comparison table please refer to the glossary.

What is a Target Market Determination?

A Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) is a document that explains which people particular financial products may be suitable for (the target market) and sets out any conditions around how financial products can be distributed to consumers.

Why do product issuers provide Target Market Determinations?

From 5 October 2021, TMDs are compulsory for most financial products.

Issuers and distributors of financial products must take reasonable steps that are likely to result in financial products reaching consumers in the target market defined by the product issuer.

We recommend that you consider the TMD before making a purchase decision. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the TMD.

Any advice on this page is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this general advice is right for your personal circumstances. You may need advice from a qualified adviser. Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances. If you decide to apply for an insurance policy, you will deal directly with the provider, not with Canstar.  It’s important you check product information directly with the provider. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before making a purchase decision. For more information, read our Detailed Disclosure.

If you are seeking to replace an insurance policy, you should consider your personal circumstances, including continuing the existing cover until the replacement policy is issued and cover confirmed. Your current policy may have different features to products currently on the market. Please consider what features are right for you when comparing insurance products and refer to the provider for further details on a policy.

Companies listed in the table, or in ads, may use or be used by another company to arrange, issue, distribute or sell its insurance policies to customers. For more information on the issuer of the policy, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.

By clicking on the number next to the phone icon, you will leave the Canstar website and be connected with the call centre of the Online Partner’s brand that you have selected. You will be subject to that referral partner's brand privacy policy and terms of use. You agree that Canstar Referral Terms apply to this referral.