Health Insurance For Families

Health insurance is commonly viewed as a necessity for families. One of the most economical ways to guarantee you, your partner and dependent children, are covered for medical services if life takes an unexpected turn, is by taking out one family policy.

Are you aware of the perks and eligibility rules?

A family private health insurance policy insures each family member for all or part of the cost of medical services that aren't covered under the public Medicare system. These can include hospital expenses, optical, dental, physiotherapy, speech therapy and chiropractic services, depending on your policy.

Affordable family cover
Many health insurance providers offer family coverage for exactly the same price as a couple policy, which makes private health insurance very accessible and affordable where dependent children are concerned. So even if your family grows, you can rest assured that there won't be any surprise costs, provided you continue meeting your policy's eligibility criteria.

Dependent Children's Age
If you have children included on your family policy, it's important to read the fine print as the age definition of dependent children and their cover levels can vary between providers and policies.

Dependent children are considered to be children under the age of 21 who are single and undergoing full-time study. Some providers have increased this age limit and still regard adult children as dependents if they are under 25 years, but they must be single and studying full-time.

Health Insurance Rebate
To encourage Australian families to take out private health insurance, the federal government offers an attractive private health insurance rebate to make it more affordable. Eligible taxpayers can receive a rebate of up to 40 per cent (based on age, annual income level and the number of dependent children), which ultimately reduces their family premium. For more information please our article on Means Testing: What it means for you on the Health Insurance Rebate.

Medicare Levy Surcharge
High-earning families with a combined taxable income above the federal government's threshold can also avoid paying the Medicare levy surcharge (1 to 1.5 per cent additional tax) if they hold the appropriate level of private hospital cover.

As of July 1, 2012, high-income earners are couples/families with a combined income over $168,000 and will be levied at 1 per cent. This rate gradually increases to 1.25 per cent if couples/families earn above $194,000 and 1.5 per cent for couples/families earning more than 260,000. Note: Thresholds are smaller for individual tax payers.

Weigh up the rewards and the amount of money your family could save on taxes and those health insurance premiums may seem more affordable than you once thought.


This is general advice only: Choosi is owned by Hollard Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 53 128 692 884), the information on this website does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for more information and to ensure the product suits your needs.