How do you find the best private health insurance?
When it comes to private health insurance in Australia, no one policy is the ‘best’—the answer will come down to you and your needs as well as your budget. If you’re single, for instance, you’re likely to have very different healthcare needs than a family. Likewise, the best health insurance for a young couple is likely to be quite different from a policy that’s well-suited to an older person.
A good place to start when comparing health insurance policies can be to ask yourself some key questions:
What type of hospital cover do you need? Do you want comprehensive coverage for you and your family, that will potentially allow you to skip lengthy public hospital waiting lists? Or do you only need a more basic hospital policy that will help you avoid tax burdens like the Medicare Levy Surcharge?
Do you need extras? Extras insurance provides some cover for services like dental, optical and physio, that aren’t covered by Medicare. If you regularly use services like these, then extras could help you save, but if not, you may find you could save by ditching extras and just taking out hospital cover.
Do you have concerns about your health long-term? Depending on your family history, you may want the peace of mind of knowing you have hospital cover that includes procedures like joint replacements or heart and vascular treatments.
What is your budget? Canstar research found that the average family hospital and extras insurance policy in Australia currently costs around $558 per month, so it’s important to consider your budget and the best value for money that you can get with your cover.
What are the best health insurance providers in Australia?
If you’re looking for the best value health insurance, consider the winners of Canstar’s annual Health Insurance Awards, which recognise the health funds that provide outstanding value to customers nationally and by state or territory.
Three health funds topped the list nationally in Canstar’s 2025 Health Insurance Awards: Outstanding Value Award – Health Insurance Australia: Bupa, GMHBA, HCF and Medibank
GMHBA
GMHBA is a new national award recipient, recognised for delivering strong value across hospital, extras and package cover. This year, its performance improved notably in extras and package products, earning five state awards in the packages category. Its SmartCare Extras policies offer competitive premiums and the flexibility of an overall limit that members can allocate across included services. Consumers can also reduce their premiums by choosing options with sub-limits, which performed strongly in our assessment.
Bupa
Bupa has retained the National Award for 2025, delivering consistently strong results across its hospital, extras and package policies. Its performance is particularly strong in Extras, where it continues to hold five state awards, supported by a broad range of policies that rate highly across all three assessed cover levels. Bupa’s Members First Extras Network, which includes thousands of registered providers nationwide, also contributes to its strong performance by offering members high benefits and generous limits.
HCF
HCF continues to deliver strong value across hospital, extras and package cover, retaining both the national award and the Tasmania package state award. Its Bronze Plus and Standard Silver Plus policies remain strong performers in the Young and Established Hospital profiles, offering broad coverage at competitive monthly premiums. In Extras, HCF provides a well-rounded suite of policy options, making it easier for consumers to choose cover that aligns with their individual needs.
Medibank
Medibank is once again a National Award recipient, continuing to offer competitive policy options across all cover levels to help members find products that suit their needs. This year, its performance strengthened notably in Hospital, earning four new state awards in the category and bringing its total to seven state wins for 2025. The uplift is particularly evident in the Young profiles, driven by competitive premiums and coverage within its Bronze hospital policy suite. Its Silver Plus Secure policies also contributed to strong results in the Mature profiles, further supporting Medibank’s overall performance.
Take a look at our annual Most Satisfied Customers Award, which recognises the best provider in terms of customer satisfaction as rated by everyday Australians like you. Canstar’s 2025 Most Satisfied Customers Award: Health Insurer was awarded to Latrobe Health Services.
How does private health insurance work in Australia?
Private health insurance in Australia actually consists of two separate components – hospital and extras cover. These are often bundled together and sold as combined hospital and extras cover, sometimes with a discount, but they are two distinct types of insurance, and you can purchase both separately. Here’s a brief rundown of what they are and what they cover:
Hospital cover
Private hospital cover can help cover the cost of treatment in hospital as a private patient – it can allow you to choose your own hospital and doctor and also to skip public hospital waiting lists for elective surgeries, which can sometimes be lengthy. It can also allow you to stay in a private room, as long as one is available. There are four tiers of hospital cover in Australia – Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold – with Gold typically being the most expensive but also the most comprehensive.
Extras cover
Extras insurance can help you cover the cost of services that are not subsidised by Medicare. This commonly includes optical, dental, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, remedial massage and psychology, as well as a range of others. Extras policies generally have annual limits for each type of service – sometimes, the limit may be spread across a few of them, meaning there may be an annual limit for dental, optical and physio combined. The higher the level of cover you choose, the higher the limits will likely be.
What does health insurance cost in Australia?
If you’re looking for the best health insurance, the price may well be a determining factor for you. We crunched the numbers on the policies in our database and as of November 2025, here’s how the average cost of a combined hospital and extras policy shakes out for young (under 36), established (36 to 59) and mature (60 and over) Australians:
- Young single: $234 per month
- Young family: $474 per month
- Established single: $275 per month
- Established family: $558 per month
- Mature single: $295 per month
You may be wondering why the average price increases as you get older. Health insurance providers in Australia are not allowed to charge more based on age or pre-existing conditions. The reality, however, is that, the older you get, the more comprehensive cover you are likely to need, to cover the broadest range of treatments, and the more comprehensive the cover, the higher the price.
When trying to find the best health insurance that offers the greatest value for money at your stage of life, you may find that it’s worth your while to consider switching up your health fund. If you already have health insurance and you feel you’re paying too much, a new provider could offer you comparable coverage for a cheaper price.
What are the pros and cons of private health insurance?
Some potential upsides to private health insurance include:
- Potential for shorter wait times: Public hospital waiting lists can be lengthy in Australia, and private health insurance can help you skip the queue.
- Greater choice in your treatment: With private hospital insurance, you can have the ability to choose your own doctors and specialist and even hospital.
- Avoiding the Medicare Levy Surcharge: The MLS is a fee of up to 1.5% of your income that is added to your yearly tax bill, unless you have suitable hospital cover.
- Access to private rooms: If you value your privacy, private health insurance can give you access to a private hospital room, if one is available.
Some potential downsides include:
- High premium costs: Health funds raise their premiums every April, and this year, some hiked prices by more than three times the government-approved average increase of 3.73%. This can put a strain on your family finances.
- Choice is not guaranteed: If your health fund does not have an agreement with your chosen doctor or specialist, then you may find that you’ll be asked to pay high out-of-pocket costs.
- Potential to pay for services you don’t use: If you don’t wear glasses and rarely visit the dentist, for example, then you may find that extras insurance does not make financial sense for you, and you’re paying a premium for stuff you don’t need.
- Complicated fine print: Health insurance policies can be very dense when it comes to the fine print, and if you don’t read your policy documents carefully and ask for clarification, you may find you’re not covered for what you thought you were.
