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Compare Hospital Cover

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Silver+
$750
$117
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Want 6 weeks free?
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Plus up to $400 in gift cards?
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New members only. T&Cs apply.
Psychiatric services
Rehabilitation
Bronze+
$750
$93
Psychiatric services
Rehabilitation
Bronze+
$750
$103
Psychiatric services
Rehabilitation

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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, which impact the results displayed in the table - filters can be applied or removed at any time.

Get up to 12 weeks FREE, plus up to $200 gift card. For new members who join by 9 December and maintain hospital and extras cover. T&Cs apply.^
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Australian Financial Services Licence 227681. See Terms & Conditions.
Australian Financial Services Licence 227681. See Terms & Conditions.

What is hospital cover?

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

What does hospital insurance cover?

Private hospital insurance usually covers, either in full or partially, theatre costs and hospital accommodation fees, including meals. All hospital insurance products in Australia must be classified as one of four tiers: Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic. A hospital policy is classified into a tier according to the minimum level of cover it offers against the clinical categories (i.e. the medical treatments and procedures covered in each tier). Health insurers can also offer ‘Plus’ policies for Silver, Bronze and Basic categories, which allow them to provide cover for extra medical treatments that aren’t covered by these categories as standard.

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

What is the benefit of hospital cover?

Hospital cover can give you choices when it comes to which hospital you’re treated in, and even which doctor or specialist treats you. It can also mean bypassing the lengthy queues that can apply to elective surgery in the public health system.

While hospital cover may be an extra household cost to bear, taking out cover before you turn 31 years old may also be advantageous due to Australia’s Lifetime Health Cover. Lifetime Health Cover loading exists to encourage young Australians to take out private hospital insurance. For each year after you turn 30 that you don’t take out private hospital insurance, premiums become more expensive, up to a set level. The rationale behind this is that if young, healthy people take up private health insurance, it will reduce some of the burden on the public hospital system.

Ultimately, deciding if you want to take out or hold onto a hospital cover policy can come down to your budget and your views around managing your personal healthcare.

What are the different hospital insurance product tiers?

The different hospital insurance product tiers in Australia are Gold, Silver, Bronze or Basic. A hospital policy is classified into a tier according to the minimum level of cover it offers against the Federal Government’s clinical categories. Gold is the highest level of hospital insurance and covers all clinical categories.

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

Private Hospital Cover Product Tiers

✔️ – Indicates the clinical category is a minimum requirement of the product tier. ⭕ – Optional for the insurer to include (may be offered as additional clinical categories). R – Restricted cover permitted (insurers are allowed to offer cover for the clinical category on a restricted basis*).

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Clinical Category Basic Bronze Silver Gold
Rehabilitation ✔️ R ✔️ R ✔️ R ✔️
Hospital psychiatric
services
✔️ R ✔️ R ✔️ R ✔️
Palliative care ✔️ R ✔️ R ✔️ R ✔️
Brain and nervous system ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Eye (not cataracts) ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Ear, nose and throat ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Tonsils, adenoids
and grommets
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Bone, joint and muscle ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Joint reconstructions ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Kidney and bladder ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Male reproductive system ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Digestive system ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Hernia and appendix ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Gastrointestinal endoscopy ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Gynaecology ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Miscarriage and termination
of pregnancy
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Chemotherapy radiotherapy
and immunotherapy
for cancer
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Pain management ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Skin ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Breast surgery
(medically necessary)
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Diabetes management
(excluding insulin pumps)
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
Heart and vascular system ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Lungs and chest ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Blood ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Back, neck and spine ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Plastic and
reconstructive surgery
(medically necessary)
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Dental surgery ⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Podiatric surgery
(provided by a registered
podiatric surgeon)
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Implantation
of hearing devices
⭕ R ✔️ ✔️
Cataracts ⭕ R ✔️
Joint replacements ⭕ R ✔️
Dialysis for
chronic kidney failure
⭕ R ✔️
Pregnancy and birth ⭕ R ✔️
Assisted reproductive
services
⭕ R ✔️
Weight loss surgery ⭕ R ✔️
Insulin pumps ⭕ R ✔️
Pain management
with device
⭕ R ✔️
Sleep studies ⭕ R ✔️

Source: Privatehealth.gov.au. *Restricted benefit means you’re partially covered for hospital costs as a private patient in a public hospital. Privatehealth.gov.au warns insurers pay only a limited amount for private hospital costs with restricted cover and you may face substantial out of pocket expenses.

How can hospital cover help you save on the Medicare Levy Surcharge?

Hospital cover can also offer tax benefits. Without hospital cover in place, you could be charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS), which applies if you earn over $101,000 as a single or $202,000 as a family (plus $1,500 for each dependent child after your first one) and don’t have an appropriate private health insurance policy in place. These income thresholds apply for the 2025-26 tax year.

The MLS can be levied between 1% and 1.5% of your taxable income depending on your personal situation. It comes on top of the 2% Medicare levy, and it doesn’t buy you any additional health services. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) says the MLS is designed to “encourage people to take out private patient hospital cover and use the private hospital system to reduce demand on the public system.”

The ATO states that if you want to avoid paying the MLS, you should consider taking out the appropriate level of private hospital cover for yourself, your spouse and your dependents.

Is hospital cover worth it?

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

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

  • 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 of a say over your treatment plan?
  • Does staying in a private room while in hospital appeal to you?

If you’re interested in taking out hospital cover, you can use our table to compare options from our Online Partners. You can also change the table’s filters to better suit your requirements. It’s also always best to read the Private Health Information Statement (PHIS), Target Market Determination (TMD) and other applicable documentation when considering an insurance policy.

Frequently Asked Questions about Hospital Cover

A waiting period is a period of time that you need to serve before you can claim for a particular service on your private health insurance. Waiting periods can apply to both hospital and Extras health services, with the difference being that the maximum waiting periods for hospital procedures are set by the Federal Government, whereas the waiting periods for Extras are determined by individual providers.

Your waiting period will start on the day you either sign up for a new level of cover, or upgrade from one level of cover to a more comprehensive one. For example, if you were considering having a baby and wanted to use the private health system, but your existing private hospital cover did not include pregnancy and birth-related services, you would need to upgrade to an appropriate tier of hospital cover (i.e. Silver Plus or Gold) and serve the relevant waiting period (12 months at the time of writing), after which time you would be able to claim for these services.

The private health insurance rebate is an amount of money the Federal Government may contribute towards the cost of your private health insurance premiums. The rebate is income tested, meaning your rebate will be reduced if you have a higher income, or you might not be entitled to any rebate at all.

The Federal Government introduced the private health insurance rebate in 1999 in a bid to encourage more Aussies to take out private health insurance to help relieve pressure on the public health system.

The main difference between private and public hospitals comes down to choice. Private patients generally have more say over their healthcare while in hospital, such as being able to potentially choose their own hospital and doctors, have their own private room (if one is available) and have a shorter wait time for elective surgeries.

The benefit of public hospitals, however, is that they generally offer health services free of charge or at a reduced cost to Medicare-eligible patients, and are subsidised by the Australian Government, whereas private hospitals require patients to pay for the health services they received (although they may be partially subsidised by Medicare).

Medicare is the system that provides Australians with access to a range of healthcare services for free or at a reduced cost. This can include medical services from doctors, specialists and other relevant health professionals. Medicare also allows Australians to be treated as public patients in public hospitals, often by doctors appointed by said hospital.

Private health insurance, on the other hand, allows policy holders to be treated as private patients at both public and private hospitals. This allows policy holders to potentially choose their preferred hospital and doctor, as well as sometimes avoid long public health waiting lists. Private health insurance, depending on the policy, will often cover Extras as well, such as physiotherapy and dental treatment, and ambulance and other emergency transport usage.

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 an endoscopy or colonoscopy). But what you’re 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’s no distinct government standardised level of cover for Extras insurance products.

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Nick Whiting, Content Producer

Nick Whiting
Nick is a Content Producer at Canstar, providing assistance to Canstar's Editorial Finance Team in its mission to empower consumers to take control of their finances. He has written hundreds of articles for Canstar across all key finance topics. Coming from a screenwriting background, Nick completed a Bachelor of Film, Television and New Media Production from Queensland University of Technology. Nick has also completed RG 146 (Tier 1), making him compliant to provide general advice for general insurance products like car, home, travel and health insurance, as well as giving him knowledge of investment options such as shares, derivatives, futures, managed investments, currencies and commodities. Nick’s role at Canstar allows him to combine his love of the written word with his interest in finance, having learned the art of share trading from his late grandfather. Nick strives to deliver clear and straightforward content that helps the everyday consumer navigating the world of finance. Nick is also working on a TV series in his spare time. You can connect with Nick on LinkedIn.

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Joshua Sale

As Canstar’s Group Manager, Research, Ratings & Product Data, 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.

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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. Payment of fees for ads does not influence our Star Ratings or Awards.

Canstar is a member of the Private Health Insurance Intermediaries Association (“PHIIA”) and is a signatory to the PHIIA Code of Conduct.

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Both Canstar and ItsMyHealth are members of the Private Health Insurance Intermediaries Association (“PHIIA”) and are signatories to the PHIIA Code of Conduct.

Canstar is not providing a recommendation for your individual circumstances. We cannot and do not recommend that any particular product is suitable for you. 

We provide links to our Online Partners. These are brands that may pay Canstar a fee for referring you. Our tables default to display only our Online Partners’ products initially, you can adjust the Online Partner Filter to see all of the products available for comparison on Canstar’s website. We provide these links so that you can click through to the product provider’s website to get more information. The provision of these links does not constitute a recommendation by Canstar.

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.

The Health Insurance Star Ratings were awarded in September 2025 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.

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.

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.

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?

TMDs are compulsory for most financial products. 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. Canstar takes this responsibility seriously. As a distributor, we periodically review the TMDs of products we list on our website to help ensure our distribution channels are likely to result in the products reaching consumers within the relevant target market. This is one of the reasonable steps we take to comply with our obligations.

We recommend that you consider the TMD before making a purchase decision. Not all policies provide cover for common business purposes such as rideshare, delivery of goods and services, including food delivery, and taxi hire services. If you use your car for any of these purposes, check the insurance provider’s policy documentation carefully to ensure you are covered for your situation.  Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the TMD.