Bupa Extras Health Insurance

Bupa is one of the most well-known names in health, both in Australia and around the world. With a focus on smart, affordable policies that almost anyone can make use of, it might be worth going to Bupa for your extras cover.

What extras plans does Bupa offer?

There are five pre-made plans to choose from and you can tailor your own plan with Your Choice Extras.

How does Your Choice Extras work?

This option lets you select up to four different benefits and always includes emergency ambulance as a fifth benefit.

• You can change your extras every 12 months.
• You’ll get benefit limits that grow over time, eventually capping at maximums broadly equivalent to a Silver policy after 6 or 7 years.
• A 12-month waiting period applies to orthodontics and major dental, so you need to select them for 2 years in a row to be able to make a claim.

The amount you are reimbursed, as well as your annual limits for optical cover, is dependent on whether you visit a Bupa member provider. Even if you visit a non-member provider, you can still claim fixed amounts instead of getting a percentage of costs covered.

Annual per person limits also apply.

• The dollar values are the most you can claim per person, per calendar year.
• When you sign up for a family or couples policy, your ambulance limits will be two services per year instead of one.
• Per-item sublimits also apply to health aids.

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What other benefits are available?

When you join Bupa, you also get a range of member discounts and other bonuses.

• Optional pharmacy saver. Add this option to any of the policies to enjoy 20% off beneficial medications, such as medication for disease management or chronic conditions, at National Pharmacies stores.
• Member discounts. Get significant discounts on a wide range of health and wellness products, sporting goods, travel and entertainment.

Limitations of your cover

You are only able to claim benefits for services or treatments provided by a registered and recognised private practitioner.

You are not able to claim benefits for services that are claimable under Medicare or another third-party option. In addition, you cannot claim benefits for services provided outside of Australia or that were not fully customised for you. For example, prescription glasses are customised while non-prescription lenses aren’t.

Ambulance cover comes with all Bupa extras policies, but only for emergencies. This does not include ambulance transport from a hospital to your home, from a hospital to a nursing home or in other non-emergency situations.

Waiting periods also apply, and you cannot make claims during this period.

• 12 months for health aids, orthodontics and major dental
• 6 months for lifestyle benefits, such as being able to claim the cost of gym memberships
• 2 months for everything else
• No waiting period for emergency ambulance service

"As a mother of 3 growing children I rely heavily on Bupa extras cover. I have the Your Choice Extras plan which I find good as it reduces unnecessary cover. I'm very happy with the two free check-ups at Bupa Dental every year for our family members, but I find the optical limits are a bit too stingy. My son needs braces but I only just thought to switch one of my extras out for orthodontics so it's a long 12 month wait until we can make an appointment. However my loyalty is well rewarded with Bupa, with lifetime limits for orthodontics significantly higher than when I joined in 2015. The Bupa app is fantastic for tracking my extras usage, member only rewards and upcoming payments. "

Kate Boddington

Finder crew member

How do I make a claim?

There are several ways you can claim your Bupa health extras:

• On the spot. Simply swipe your membership card and pay any difference. Around 20,000 service providers around Australia accept Bupa membership cards.
• Online. To make a claim for services that you’ve already paid for, sign into your myBupa account and enter the details on your receipt. Your reimbursement will be automatically paid to your nominated account. This is not available for ambulance, health aids, orthodontics, travel/accommodation or pharmacy extras claims.
• By post. Fill out a claim form, attach your receipt and invoice and then post it to Bupa Reply Paid 990, Adelaide SA 5001. Payments will then be made to you by EFT if you’ve provided your details on the form or by cheque if you haven’t.

Looking for Bupa's hospital policies? Read our review and find out if it's right for you.

Written by

Andrew Munro

Editor

Andrew Munro was the global cryptocurrency editor at Finder. During his time he covered all aspects of cryptocurrency and the blockchain. Before he became cryptocurrency editor, he was a content writer for Finder covering various topics over his nearly 5 years in the role. Prior to joining Finder he was a web copywriter. Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales. See full bio