| Age | Loading applied to your hospital cover | How much extra you could pay each year2 |
|---|---|---|
| 31 years old1 | 2% | $30 |
| 32 years old | 4% | $60 |
| 33 years old | 6% | $90 |
| 34 years old | 8% | $120 |
| 35 years old | 10% | $150 |
| 40 years old | 20% | $300 |
| 50 years old | 40% | $600 |
| 60 years old | 60% | $900 |
| 65+ years old | 70% | $1,050 |
Use the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman website to calculate your LHC loading.
This is an example only. Contact us on what your LHC loading would be based on your individual circumstances.
1After 1 July following your 31st birthday.
2An example premium based on hospital cover that costs $1,500 per year, and does not include the
Australian Government Rebate
.
Australian citizens
If you don’t have private hospital cover by 1 July after your 31st birthday, you will have to pay LHC loading if you choose to take it out later in life.
If you have couple or family hospital cover, LHC loading is calculated as the average between the two adults. For example, if one person has a loading of 40% and the other has no loading, the loading applied to the policy is 20%.
Migrants and permanent residents
LHC loading applies to permanent residents. It can also apply to migrants who register for Medicare. To avoid paying the loading, you need to take out private hospital cover by 1 July following your 31st birthday or within one year of registering for your blue or green Medicare card (whichever is later). If you get hospital cover after this time, you’ll have to pay 2% loading for each year you’re aged over 30.
Exemptions
Some groups are exempt from LHC loading, or have special circumstances. For example, if you were born on or before 1 July 1934, you won’t have to pay LHC loading.
Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)
Private health insurance rebate
Age-based discount
You don’t need to stay with the same insurer to avoid paying LHC loading, it only matters that you have hospital cover. This means you can switch between private health insurers without worrying about losing your history.
You can also change between different levels of hospital cover, for example, downgrading or upgrading your cover.
If you join us from another insurer, they’ll send us a clearance certificate so we can confirm how long you’ve held hospital cover and if you need to pay LHC loading.
If you’re not switching insurers, but you’ve had hospital cover in the past, let us know when you join.
If you are paying LHC loading, you have to have active hospital cover for 10 continuous years before it is removed. If you’ve had hospital cover anytime in the past, let us know when you join.
For example, if you take out hospital cover for the first time when you’re 35, your hospital premiums will have a loading of 10%. You’ll have to pay 10% more on your hospital premiums until you have hospital cover for 10 continuous years, when you turn 45.
No, you must take out hospital cover by 1 July after your 31st birthday to avoid paying the loading.
If you have hospital and extras cover and are paying LHC loading, the loading only applies to the price of your hospital cover.
While Lifetime Health Cover and the Medicare Levy Surcharge are both government initiatives to incentivise Australians to take out private hospital cover, they work very differently.
LHC loading applies to people with full Medicare registration (either a green or blue Medicare card) who don’t hold private hospital cover by 1 July after they turn 31. Your insurer will charge you more for your hospital cover, and the funds are then collected by the Australian Government.
The Medicare Levy Surcharge applies to people with full Medicare registration (either a green or blue Medicare card) who don’t hold private hospital cover, and earn over a certain income threshold. The Australian Tax Office collects the Medicare Levy Surcharge when you lodge your tax return. Learn more about the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
If you're under 31 when you become a permanent resident, you need to take out private hospital cover by 1 July following your 31st birthday to avoid paying LHC loading.
If you're over 31, you have 12 months from the date of your full Medicare registration to get private hospital cover before LHC loading applies to you. After this time, an extra 2% loading is added to your premium for each year you're over the age of 30, up to a maximum of 70%. LHC loading stays on your policy for 10 years.
Your full Medicare registration date is the date you registered for either a blue (interim) or green (standard) Medicare card. To confirm this date, we'll need a copy of your LHC Letter. To get a copy, contact Medicare.
Note that extras cover, Overseas Visitors Cover, Overseas Student Health Cover, and international insurance are not considered to be ‘private hospital cover’ for LHC purposes.
If you have a yellow Medicare card (Reciprocal Health Care Agreement), you don’t have to pay LHC loading. However, you may have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge if you earn over a certain amount and you don’t have Reciprocal Health Cover - Basic.
If you have held hospital cover by 1 July following your 31st birthday, you can have periods where you aren’t covered and not incur LHC loading. You have a lifetime limit of 1,094 permitted days without hospital cover.
These days without cover can be for things like switching between insurers, or travelling overseas, and don’t need to be taken concurrently. Permitted days without hospital cover don’t count towards your days with continuous cover.
If you use up your permitted days without cover, you will start to incur LHC loading if you take up hospital cover again.
If you’re eligible, you can choose to suspend your private health cover. This suspension period will not count towards your 1,094 days of absence. This means, suspending your cover won’t affect your LHC loading status.
However, if you suspend your private health insurance and your circumstances change, you may need to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge depending on your income. You are not considered to have hospital cover for tax purposes while your health insurance membership is suspended. Learn more about the Medicare Levy Surcharge on the Australian Taxation Office website. We recommend you get independent tax advice to understand any implications for you.
Everyone’s situation is different, if you would like to discuss suspending your cover, please contact us.
You can see how much LHC loading you are paying on the cover page in myBupa.
Use the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman website to calculate your LHC loading.