Health insurance for travel and accommodation expenses
Private health insurance can cover travel and accommodation expenses if you need to travel for specialist care.
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Step 1/2 - About your cover
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*Prices updated November 2024, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies. Prices reflect the cheapest available for a single individual with less than $97,000 income and living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
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When you’re suffering from an illness or injury, sometimes it’s not possible to access the medical treatment you need close to home – especially if you live in a remote area. If this is the case, you may need to travel to the nearest city or regional centre where the treatment you need is available. However, this can be an expensive exercise, as travel and accommodation costs can quickly add up.
The good news is that if you have private health insurance cover, your policy may provide cover for your medical-related travel and accommodation costs. Let’s take a closer look at which policies provide protection and what costs are covered.
Does health insurance cover travel and hotel expenses?
Many private health funds in Australia pay a benefit for travel and accommodation costs when you need to travel a long distance from home to receive medical or hospital treatment. Travel benefits are designed to cover the expenses you incur to get to the place of treatment, including petrol costs if travelling by car, or train, bus or airfares if using other forms of transport.
Accommodation benefits are designed to cover the cost of accommodation near to the place of treatment for the patient and a carer or attendant. This refers to accommodation in a hotel or motel (not hospital), and can help you afford the cost of staying overnight and accessing the medical or hospital treatment you need. While some funds will require your carer to also be a member in order to cover their accommodation costs, other funds will also cover your carer’s accommodation expenses even if they are not a member.
The exact level of cover provided varies depending on the health fund and the individual policy you choose, but limits will apply. This could be one overall limit for both travel and accommodation benefits, or separate limits for each individual benefit.
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Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
You'll pay the same price as going direct - we don't
charge fees
We don't ask for your phone number to see prices
Hang tight - we're fetching policies just for you!
Comparing quotes from 40+ funds...
When does health insurance cover travel expenses?
Private health funds cover medical-related travel and accommodation costs when the following conditions are met:
The medical or hospital treatment must be medically necessary.
The treatment must not be available locally.
The total return trip distance must exceed a specified limit, usually 200km.
It’s also worth pointing out that your health fund may impose limits on when it will cover accommodation costs. For example, cover may only be available for one overnight stay, while other policies may provide cover for accommodation one night before and one night after the treatment. Check the details of your policy for more information.
Is cover provided by hospital or extras policies?
Travel and accommodation benefits are included as part of extras health insurance cover. However, this feature is not included on all policies, so you’ll need to select high-level extras cover if you want to access travel and accommodation benefits. Check with your health fund for details of which of its products include this cover feature.
How do I lodge a claim for travel and accommodation costs?
Your health insurance fund will most likely provide you with a special claim form you can fill out to lodge a claim for travel and accommodation costs. Although these forms may vary slightly between funds, you will usually have to provide the following information:
Your full name
Your membership number
Your address and contact details
The type of transport (e.g. car, bus, train)
The date(s) of travel
Your destination and the distance travelled
The cost of travel (including receipts where required)
The name of the medical specialist or hospital that you travelled to in order to receive treatment
The name of the doctor that certified travel (your GP will need to sign a declaration that it was necessary for you to travel to receive specialist medical or hospital treatment because that treatment was not available locally)
If claiming for accommodation costs, you will also need to provide details about the length of your stay, the hotel or motel where you stayed, and the cost of your accommodation
When aren’t you covered?
It’s also important to be aware that there are situations and expenses for which your health fund will not provide any cover. These include:
Overseas travel and accommodation – health insurance can only cover health care expenses incurred in Australia
If no referral is provided by your GP or treating doctor
If the medical or hospital treatment you need is available locally
If you do not provide receipts (for petrol, travel and accommodation costs etc) to back up your claim
If the total distance of your return trip is less than a specified limit, usually 200km
If your claim is for hospital accommodation costs (this cover is provided by a separate part of your health insurance hospital cover policy)
How much does health insurance cost?
We ask hundreds of Australians what they're paying for health insurance every month. Here's what their bill looked like in October 2024.
Extras only: $60
Basic: $97
Bronze: $145
Silver: $176
Gold: $210
Price based on 500+ responses for single hospital or extras insurance.
Tim Falk is a writer for Finder, writing across a diverse range of topics. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, Tim has reported on everything from travel and personal finance to pets and TV soap operas. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio
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Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
Email me my results (optional)
To get a copy of your results for later, add your email below
