How does health insurance help you?
You might be wondering why you should get health insurance if travel insurance covers you for trip disruptions as well as medical issues while you’re in Australia. Travel insurance typically only covers medical emergencies and not any ongoing treatment you may need. Health insurance will cover you not only for the emergency but also for General Practitioners (GP, a doctor who treats general medical issues), specialists, some pharmacy items and tests like blood tests and x-rays.
Travel insurance is often for short visits to another country while health insurance may be a better option if you’re staying in Australia for a few months or years. Having health insurance means you’ll have peace of mind that you’ll be covered for more than just emergencies.
*Minimum direct debit frequency is fortnightly. Price is for a single in NSW. Hospital cover price is based on an excess of $250.
Medical treatment can sometimes be very expensive in Australia. If you don’t have hospital cover, you’ll have to pay all medical fees yourself. You may consider yourself young and healthy, but accidents can happen, or you might need to go to a doctor for something small but that still needs medical treatment.
Even though health insurance isn’t a requirement of a 417 or 462 Working Holiday visa, the Australian government strongly recommends all visitors get private health insurance. If you’re here looking for adventure on your working holiday or if you’ll be in Australia for a longer time because you’re on a 462 Working Holiday visa, Bupa can help make sure you’re covered for any unplanned medical care or hospital care you may need while in Australia.
Bupa’s hospital cover will pay some or all your fees if you:
- visit a General Practitioner (GP) or specialist outside of a hospital,
- visit a hospital, or
- need to get any medical tests (for example, blood tests or x-rays).
Our hospital cover also includes unlimited emergency ambulance and capped non-emergency ambulance, which means we’ll cover the cost of your emergency transport and on-the-spot treatment by ambulance medical professionals.+
In Australia, services that aren’t hospital related are called extras. Extras cover will give you some money back for everyday services like dental, physiotherapy, chiropractic, optical and more. Bupa has a large network of medical professionals across Australia that you can visit, which means you could pay less or nothing for treatment.
Your cover will list what services you’re covered for and if there are any waiting periods you’ll have to serve. As long as you’ve served your waiting periods, you could save on big medical fees (up to yearly limits).
If you’re from a country with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia, you’re eligible for Medicare (Australia’s public health system). Just keep in mind that you will only be covered for medically necessary treatment, so any other treatment costs will be billed to you.
RHCA won’t cover services not covered by Medicare like medical transport, private hospital costs, any ongoing treatment you may need, pharmacy items, or visits to a General Practitioner (GP) for everyday illnesses you may want treatment for. Bupa health insurance can help reduce your out-of-pocket medical costs when it’s not an emergency, but you still need medical treatment.
If you are a high-income earner, an RHCA may not exempt you from the Medicare Levy Surcharge. Contact us for more options.
Check with Services Australia to see all RHCA eligibility criteria and what your country is covered for.
~ Based on total revenue for Overseas Visitors Cover, APRA Operations of Private Health Insurers Annual Report 2022-23
¥ Waiting periods, yearly limits, fund and policy rules apply. Limits also apply to how often you can get a service, based on usual clinical practice.
** Extras service providers must meet certain requirements to be recognised by Bupa and for us to pay towards the cost of your treatment. Waiting periods, yearly limits, policy and fund rules apply. Percentage back may vary depending on benefit claiming restrictions.
+ With Bupa recognised providers only. Bupa covers emergency ambulance transport and on-the-spot treatment unless claimable from another source. Non-emergency ambulance cover 3 trips per person, per calendar year.