In 2020 many customers were unable to access health services or receive treatment. As a result, we have $120 million in COVID-19-related savings. While some uncertainty around the pandemic remains, we’re now sharing this money with eligible customers.
These funds will be available to policy holders who had private health cover with Bupa for a period of three months or more at any stage between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, except for policy holders with Overseas Visitors Cover, Overseas Student Health Cover and Ambulance Only policies.
When will payments be made?
Bupa has now attempted to contact all eligible customers who will be receiving the payment. In this communication, we’ve shared how much you’ll be receiving based on membership type (e.g. single, couple or family) and the type of cover (Hospital and/or Extras) you held with us on 30 June 2021. We'll pay this money into the same bank account that we use to pay your benefits to.
If we don't have your bank account details to make the payment, we've asked customers to provide these details which can be done easily online here. Alternatively, you can also call us on 134 135 to enter your bank details via our self-service portal.
Update in myBupa nowHow else is Bupa supporting me during the COVID-19 pandemic?
This latest announcement brings our total COVID-19 support for customers to more than $318 million.
Some of the other ways we've proudly supported you during this time include:
- Delaying the 1 April 2020 premium increase for six months until 1 October 2020, this was part of $184 million worth of financial support we dedicated to helping all our customers during the pandemic in 2020,
- We have automatically added coverage for lung and chest conditions for all customers with hospital policies, irrespective of the policy they hold,
- We gave you more ways to use your Extras cover, with Bupa being the first health insurer to pay claims for telehealth services for Psychology, Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Counselling, Exercise physiology, Midwifery and Dietetic services.
- We increased this year's mental health Extras limits by $200 for more than 2.2 million customers, and
- We offered customers access to 28 by Sam Wood for three months at no cost.
We're here to help
Throughout the pandemic we've supported our customers with more than $318m in financial support. We’re currently focused on returning $120 million in cash back to customers from COVID related savings and that remains our priority.
While we complete returning cash back to customers over the next few weeks, we’re also assessing the ongoing impacts of COVID and the Omicron variant to see what further support we may be able to provide to customers.
If you've been financially impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, we have support packages available. Please call us on 1300 884 285, or request a call when best suits you, and we can talk with you about your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bupa doing and why?
At the beginning of the pandemic, we predicted there might be fewer hospital admissions and medical expenses, which would result in Covid-19 related savings. We always said we wouldn’t take advantage of the pandemic for our benefit, which is why we’re now making these payments to our customers. The total refund will amount to approximately $120 million.
Why is this only being returned now?
We needed to wait for the end of the 2020/2021 financial year to confirm what the final number of COVID-19 related savings would be before we could determine how to return these funds to our customers. While some uncertainty remains, we’re now returning this money to eligible customers.
Who is eligible to receive the payment?
If you had an eligible private health cover with us for at least 90 days at any stage between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 then you’ll be eligible to receive a payment.
Why are Overseas Visitors Cover, Overseas Student Health Cover and Ambulance Only policies excluded?
Our Overseas Visitors Cover and Overseas Student Health Cover health insurance policies are designed for visitors to Australia who don’t have the same level of access to Medicare as Australian residents do for medical or hospital expenses. This is why these policies cover outpatient medical costs like GP visits and emergency medical care, where our domestic ones may not.
Our customers on these policies were not disrupted by COVID-19 between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 and customers continued to be insured for these services.
Why are Ambulance-only policies excluded?
These policies provide insurance against the cost of ambulance transport in the event of a medical emergency. Ambulance Policy holders continued to have full cover between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021.
How is the payment calculated and paid?
Your payment is based on your membership type (e.g. single, couple or family) and the type of cover (Hospital and/or Extras) you held with us on 30 June 2021.
We'll deposit the money directly into the same bank account that we use to pay claims to. If we have your bank account details, you don't need to do anything.
If we don't have your bank account details to make the payment, we'll ask you to provide these when we contact you by email or mail.
How much can I expect to receive and when?
Bupa has now attempted to contact all eligible customers who will be receiving the payment. In this communication, we’ve shared how much you’ll be receiving based on membership type (e.g. single, couple or family) and the type of cover (Hospital and/or Extras) you held with us on 30 June 2021. We'll pay this money into the same bank account that we use to pay your benefits to.
As a guide, below is what you can expect to receive depending on the policy you hold.
- Extras Only: Payments will be between $15 and $30 per policy
- Hospital Only: Payments will be between $40 and $80 per policy
- Hospital & Extras: Payments will be between $55 and $110 per policy
All eligible customers should have their payments made by the end of February 2022.
What if I’m currently in arrears?
If your policy was active for a minimum of 90 days at any point between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, you’ll still be eligible for the payment, even if you were in arrears.
What if my policy is currently suspended?
If your policy was active for a minimum of 90 days at any point between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, you’ll still be eligible for the payment, even if your policy is suspended.
My employer pays my premium. Do I get anything?
Yes. We’ll be making the payment directly back to you. The amount we have set aside is from COVID-19 related savings and is separate from how your premium is being paid.
My employer pays part of my premium. Do I still get a refund?
Yes. We'll be making the payment directly back to you. The amount we have set aside is from COVID-19 related savings and is separate from how your premium is being paid.
I’ve since cancelled my cover with you, will I still get a refund? If so, how?
Even if you have since cancelled your cover with us, so long as you held eligible private health insurance cover with Bupa for a period of 90 days or more at any stage between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, you’ll still be eligible. This excludes policy holders with Overseas Visitors Cover, Overseas Student Health Cover and Ambulance Only policies.
I have Overseas Visitors Cover or Overseas Student Health Cover, as well as a domestic Extras cover. Will I be eligible?
If you held domestic Extras cover with Bupa for a period of three months 90 days or more at any stage between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, you'll be eligible for a payment depending on your policy. Bupa has now attempted to contact all eligible customers who will be receiving the payment. In this communication, we’ve shared how much you'll be receiving.
Your Overseas Visitors Cover and Overseas Student Health Cover policies will not be included within the scope of this payment because these policies were not disrupted by COVID-19, and you continued to be insured for these services.
I pay for Gold cover. Why am I getting the same amount back as someone who has Basic cover?
Everyone has experienced the pandemic differently. As such there are a number of different ways that the payment could have been assessed; policy type, location and number of days in lockdown, claims made this year compared to historical averages, for example. Some of these are quite complex and each way has flaws of its own, so we went for the fairest and simplest possible approach of giving payments back to all customers based on whether they had Hospital cover or Extras cover and if it was a single policy or couples/family policy.
Why is the give back higher for hospital cover?
The average hospital product premium is approximately 2.5 times the average premium for an Extras product. A policyholder of a hospital only product will receive 2.5 times the amount that a policyholder of an Extras only product will receive. Where a policyholder holds both hospital and Extras products, the policyholder will receive the sum of the hospital and Extras product amounts.