The best health insurance, so good it’s sickening

Basic Hospital Plus Elevate $750/$1500 Excess

From

$22.50

/week

Hospital only

From

$22.50

/week

Go to site

Read our HBF Health Insurance review

Our verdict

One of the only good value basic hospital policies on the market. Many basic policies don't cover any hospital treatments. HBF Basic Elevate covers 18. Bonus points – it lets you avoid the Medicare Levy surcharge (MLS) (the tax you need to pay if you earn over $97,000 as a single).

• Pros and cons

  • 92.5% of hospital services have no gap (out of pocket expenses) – the best of all open health funds.
  • It's only $2.60 more than the cheapest policy in Finder's database of 480 policies.
  • It won the 2023 Finder Award for best value basic policy.

  • If you solely want to avoid the MLS, there are some marginally cheaper options.
  • Bronze hospital cover may be better value depending on your health needs.
  • Its no gap record is beaten by rt health (86.7% vs 92.5%). rt health is only open to transport workers.

• Why we picked it

  It won the most recent Finder Awards for best basic hospital policy. These awards compared all eligible basic hospital policies on the market. It won based on value for money, covering more treatments in a private hospital for a lower premium than any other fund.

  While basic hospital cover allows you to avoid paying the MLS if you earn over $97,000 a year as a single or $194,000 as a couple, they're often terrible value for money – many don't cover any hospital treatments at all. HBF's Basic Plus Elevate actually gives you some cover in return for your money.

  Additionally, 92.5% of hospital services have no out-of-pocket costs, according to the latest ombudsman report. That's more than all 22 other open membership insurers, including the 4 major funds, Bupa, HCF, Medibank and nib.

  Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

• Covered treatments

  Hospital Treatments

  Blood
  Bone joint and muscle
  Cancer
  Dental surgery
  Digestive system
  Ear nose and throat
  Gastrointestinal endoscopy
  Gynaecology
  Hernia and appendix
  Joint reconstructions
  Kidney and bladder
  Male reproductive system
  Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
  Skin
  Tonsils adenoids and grommets
  

  Extras Treatments

  Extra treatments not covered

HCF HOSPITAL STANDARD SILVER PLUS

From

$28.51

/week

Hospital only

From

$28.51

/week

Go to site

Read our HCF review

Our verdict

This won the 2023 Finder Award for best value silver policy. It scored higher than all 200+ silver plans we assessed. It covers 29 hospital treatments – 3 more than a typical silver policy. Bonus points: HCF is not-for-profit so money goes back to members, not shareholders.

• Pros and cons

  • Finder 2024 best value bronze award winner.
  • An average of nearly 90c back on every dollar spent on premiums.
  • The lowest average rate rise of the major health funds (2.89%).

  • HCF received a high proportion of complaints compared to other funds.
  • 86.7% of medical services have no gap – Bupa, HBF, NIB and more all do better.
  • Cheaper bronze options are available but they give you less for your money.

• Why we picked it

  HCF was the winner of our bronze category at the 2024 Finder Awards. It covered more treatment for less money than any other fund.

  Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

• Covered treatments

  Hospital Treatments

  Back neck and spine
  Blood
  Bone joint and muscle
  Brain and nervous system
  Breast surgery
  Cancer
  Dental surgery
  Diabetes management
  Digestive system
  Ear nose and throat
  Eye excluding cataracts
  Gastrointestinal endoscopy
  Gynaecology
  Heart and vascular system
  Hernia and appendix
  Implantation of hearing devices
  Joint reconstructions
  Kidney and bladder
  Lung and chest
  Male reproductive system
  Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
  Pain management
  Palliative care
  Medically necessary plastic surgery
  Podiatric surgery
  Rehabilitation
  Skin
  Sleep studies
  Tonsils adenoids and grommets
  

  Extras Treatments

  Extra treatments not covered

ahm health insurance

Go to site

Read our ahm health insurance review

Our verdict

ahm won the 2023 Finder Customer Satisfaction award. Out of the 750+ customers surveyed, it scored highly for customer service, value for money and application process. It also has some of the cheapest hospital policies on the market.

• Pros and cons

  • Top-scoring health insurer in 2023 Customer Satisfaction Awards.
  • Cheap hospital policies.
  • No waiting periods on certain extras policies.

  • 90% of hospital charges are covered. Several insurers including Bupa, HBF and St.Lukes are better.
  • 83.8% of medical services have no gap. This is the 5th worst out of 23 health funds.
  • ahm's gold option isn't the cheapest gold policy available on the market.

• Why we picked it

  We asked 765 Australian customers for their opinion about their health fund. ahm scored highly for ease of application and customer service. 86% of people said they would recommend it to a friend. No fund did better than this.

  In total, there were 8 eligible health funds included in Finder's 2023 Customer Satisfaction Awards, including Bupa, Medibank, Australian Unity and HCF. We've also used complaints data from the Ombudsman's State of the Health Funds Report.

  *Prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

Medibank Gold Protect + Growing Family 70

From

$78.49

/week

Hospital and Extras

From

$78.49

/week

Go to site

Read our Medibank Private Limited review

Our verdict

This comes with lots of benefits you don't get with other insurers. In addition to pregnancy cover, continuity of care and IVF cover, you get access to its 24/7 Medibank Nurse service, an OptimalMe program for mums-to-be and a pregnancy health concierge. The Growing Family Extras cover includes pre and post-natal classes, and much more.

• Pros and cons

  • Extremely comprehensive pregnancy cover.
  • The extras option includes antenatal and postnatal classes, pregnancy compression garments and an Australian Breastfeeding Association membership.
  • It's efficient. Medibank has the lowest management expenses of all open health funds.

  • You may still have out-of-pocket expenses.
  • Only 83.80% of Medibank medical services have no gap (e.g. out-of-pocket expenses). Many including Bupa, HBF, NIB and Westfund are above 90%.
  • It's not the only good value option. Finder 2024 Gold Award winners included St. Lukes, HBF and Health Partners.

• Why we picked it

  Medibank offers a lot of pregnancy-related benefits that you won't get with other insurers, including 24/7 Medibank Nurse service, an OptimalMe program for mums-to-be and a pregnancy health concierge.

  Additionally, the extras portion of the policy goes further than others we researched including ahm, Bupa, St.Lukes and HBF.

  Medibank is also above average for percentage of extras charges covered (52.60% vs 49% overall) according to the latest ombudsman report.

  Average prices are updated monthly when we update Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.

• Covered treatments

  Hospital Treatments

  Assisted reproductive services
  Back neck and spine
  Blood
  Bone joint and muscle
  Brain and nervous system
  Breast surgery
  Cataracts
  Cancer
  Dental surgery
  Diabetes management
  Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
  Digestive system
  Ear nose and throat
  Eye excluding cataracts
  Gastrointestinal endoscopy
  Gynaecology
  Heart and vascular system
  Hernia and appendix
  Hospital psychiatric services
  Implantation of hearing devices
  Insulin pumps
  Joint reconstructions
  Joint replacements
  Kidney and bladder
  Lung and chest
  Male reproductive system
  Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
  Pain management
  Pain management with device
  Palliative care
  Medically necessary plastic surgery
  Podiatric surgery
  Pregnancy and birth
  Rehabilitation
  Skin
  Sleep studies
  Tonsils adenoids and grommets
  Weight loss surgery
  

  Extras Treatments

  Endodontic
  Orthodontic
  Optical
  Physiotherapy
  Psychology
  Acupuncture
  Chiropractic
  Glucose monitor
  Podiatry
  

Qantas Insurance

Read review

Read our Qantas Insurance review

• Pros and cons

  • It's the only health insurer on the market that lets you earn Qantas Points.
  • You earn 1 Qantas Point for every $1 you spend on premiums and, in many cases, earn points when you sign up.
  • Qantas's underwriter is nib, which covers 91.7% of hospital services with no gap costs (out-of-pocket expenses). That makes it the fourth highest out of 22 other major Australian funds. Medibank and HCF cover 84.6% and 87.8%, respectively.

• Why we picked it

  We've selected Qantas as our top pick for bonus points because it's the only policy on the market that lets you earn Qantas Points.
  Unlike our other top picks, we haven't selected a specific Qantas product. This is because points are available with every policy and the best-value option comes down to your individual needs.