Health Insurance 4
Hospital cover pays:
Some of the doctors’ fees.
A benefit for accommodation.
Some treatment costs in hospitals the fund has an agreement with.
It may not include cover for other costs such as phone calls or television sets.
Extras/ancillary cover contributes to:
The cost of non-hospital treatments that aren’t covered by Medicare. This
usually includes dental or physiotherapy treatment and products like glasses and
contact lenses. It may also include less common treatments such as acupuncture
or podiatry.
The range of benefits paid varies between funds, and the payout is unlikely to
cover the whole cost of the treatment.
Broader health cover
Traditionally Private Health Insurance covered in-hospital treatments under
hospital insurance policies and other treatments not covered by Medicare, such
as optical or dental care, under 'extras' ('ancillary') policies. Since 2007
they can cover a whole range of out-of-hospital treatments under an existing or
a newly designed policy. New types of services covered can include:
Out-of-hospital provision of services such as chemotherapy at home. An
out-of-hospital option gives patients and doctors the choice to decide whether
it’s more suitable for chemotherapy to occur in the home or in a hospital. Under
the new legislation, such services are expected to become more common.
Services substituting hospitalisation — for example, early discharge programs
combined with nursing care at home, such as wound dressing for patients
recovering from an operation. This can also cover midwives providing post-natal
services and nurses treating bedsores.
Disease management programs for people with a chronic illness, such as diabetes
or heart disease. Over the last few years a number of funds have introduced
programs to help chronically ill people better manage their health and limit the
amount of time they need to spend in hospital.
Prevention and support programs for people at high risk of developing a chronic
disease. For example, a number of funds have introduced free online health
information.
If you’re interested in out-of-hospital services, preventative treatment and
health management programs, and/or suffer from a chronic disease such as a heart
condition or diabetes, contact your health fund to check whether it has a
program or policy available that would suit your needs.
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