Can I stay on my ex-partner’s health insurance plan?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions when thinking about health cover after a separation or divorce. The short answer is that it depends. NIB, for example, is quite explicit: “When two partners separate or divorce, they can still stay on the same health insurance policy. Sometimes this may be more cost-effective, especially if they have accumulated LHC loadings.” nib even allows claims to be paid into separate bank accounts.

This is not the case for all health funds though. AHM for example states, “If the policyholder and their partner become divorced or separated, we require that the partner be removed from the policy and take out a separate policy under our fund rules, and to prevent privacy breaches. If you’re with a health fund that allows you to stay on with your ex-partner, if you’re on good terms together, then it will be financially beneficial for you to remain on the same policy, as a family policy is often cheaper than the price of a separate single policy and single parent policy.

If you and your ex-partner split cover, you need to make sure you take up a new policy within 30 days. Most health funds will allow a 30-day gap in coverage before making you re-reserve wait periods. Some health funds, like nib, will extend this to 59 days. However, the majority of health funds restrict this to 30 (although some do have a 0-day policy). So, if you’re going to continue having health cover after you split, make sure you take up a new policy within 30 days if you leave your ex’s plan. We’ve heard enough stories first-hand about ex-partners removing people from their plans without them knowing and then having to re-serve all their wait periods.

If you and your ex-partner both take out new policies, be aware that your children do not have to be covered by both of you. One adult can take out a single policy and the other a single-parent policy.

Children have all sorts of medical needs, and paying hefty bills out of pocket can be a problem when many live paycheck to paycheck. Single-parent private insurance can help you financially and get you medical services swiftly. Therefore, health funds insurance for single-parent families is not only important but necessary.

There are a few different types of single-parent health coverage provided by different companies in the market today from which you can choose. Generally, there are three main types of single-parent health cover insurance:

Hospital Cover

Private hospital cover is a type of insurance that will cover you or your child’s in-patient services in a public or private hospital. The benefits of private hospital cover are that you get to choose your own doctor, choose your hospital, and crucially avoid potentially lengthy public waiting lists. It gives you peace of mind that if something goes wrong with either you or your child, you won’t be waiting months and months before you are able to get corrective surgery.

Extras Cover

Extras cover is a type of insurance that allows you to claim a series of out-of-hospital services like dental, optical, physio, and much more! Extras are a great way of claiming money back on the services you’ll use regularly. Kids can be pretty expensive; between going to the dentist every 6 months, getting new glasses, mouthguards, speech therapists, and physio trips, the cost of medically looking after your kid can add up quickly! Extras cover helps you pay for a good portion of these services, meaning you won’t have to pay the full amount when you use them.

Combined Cover

Combined cover is a type of health insurance where you get both hospital and extras on the same policy. If you are on the combined cover, you cannot switch just your extras or just your hospital component because they are locked into each other. Most single parents who have health insurance have hospital and extras but not combined cover. It can be tricky to know if you have combined cover or if you have separate hospital & extras policies. An easy way you can find out, though, without looking at the product pdf is to just look at the name of the product.

Most hospital policies have the word “hospital” in them, such as Bronze Hospital $500 Excess or Silver Plus Hospital $250 Excess, and most extras policies have the word “Extras” in the name, such as “Core Extras” or “Vital Extras.” Combined policies though, will generally not have the word “hospital” or “extras” in its name, so you might see a product called “Top Choice $500” or “Deluxe Package Silver Plus” and you know it’s combined because it doesn’t have the word “hospital” or “extras” in its name.

Tailored Solutions for Single Parents

It’s important to remember that there is no such thing as “the best health insurance policy for single parents.” For some people, a combined cover might be best; for others, it might be just a standalone hospital or extras plan. In some cases, it might be best to have a hospital policy with one health fund and an extras policy with another health fund. The key is finding a tailored solution to your individual health needs.

That’s why Health Deal always recommends that you carefully consider what you use and don’t use on your health insurance policy and make sure you get something that fits your needs.

There are five key considerations that you should keep in mind when choosing a single-parent health insurance policy:

Current Health Status of Parents and Children

Before you choose a single-parent health insurance policy, it’s essential to assess your current health status and that of your kids. Think about how often you or your children have visited the GP for checkups or emergencies in the last few months, what illnesses you and your family are currently dealing with, your overall health, and whether you or anyone in your family has any chronic pains or illnesses. Additionally, consider the type of medications you and your family are on. Answering these questions will help determine if you need a basic health insurance policy that covers emergencies or a more comprehensive plan that includes extra coverage for ongoing ailments.

Future Health Needs

After assessing your current health status, it’s time to think about your family’s future health needs. How old are your kids? Will they need braces in the future? Do they require regular trips to a speech therapist? Are they active in sports and need mouthguards every year? What do your health requirements look like over the next few years? These questions will help guide you in selecting the right level of health insurance for you and your family’s future.

Budget and Affordability

Cost is a significant factor when selecting a single-parent health insurance policy. Health funds offer different pricing based on the type of coverage—whether it’s hospital, extras, or combined cover. To find the best one, compare the cost of health insurance policies, including premiums, excess, and out-of-pocket costs. Keep in mind that the cheapest option may not always be the best. Sometimes paying a bit more upfront could save you more in the long run due to better coverage and higher claim amounts.

The Excess Structure

When purchasing a hospital policy, it will come with an excess. The general rule is: the lower the excess, the higher the premium. Many single parents choose a $500 or $750 excess. An excess is the amount you agree to pay upfront before you are admitted to the hospital. This only applies to hospital admissions, not extras claims.

It’s essential to understand how the excess applies to your children. Some policies may require your kids to pay the excess if they are admitted to the hospital, while others may waive the excess until your children reach a certain age (e.g., 21 or 23 years). Make sure you’re aware of who is responsible for paying the hospital excess to avoid unexpected costs.

Exclusions and Waiting Periods

Make sure the policy you choose covers the services you and your children need. If you need to add services to your hospital cover, you’ll have to wait either 2 months for new conditions or 12 months for pre-existing ones. You don’t want to be caught out underinsured, but you also don’t want to be overinsured either. For instance, if you’re done having kids, you may want to look for policies that exclude birth and pregnancy coverage, as these are unnecessary costs for you.

There are many different types of costs associated with insurance generally, and understanding what each of them means and entails is important for making an informed decision when buying a policy and using it where needed. Here, we explain each type of associated cost:

Premiums for Single-Parent Policies

Premiums are the regular payments you make to maintain the coverage of the policy for yourself and your child. Depending on your budget, you can choose to pay them fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. The amount of the premium will depend on the level of coverage you choose and the specific services included in your plan.

Lifetime Health Cover Loading

Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading is an additional cost for those who take out hospital cover after the age of 31. If you don’t take out private hospital cover before turning 30 and decide to purchase it later, you will need to pay a 2% LHC loading cost on top of your premium for every year you’re aged over 30. This is different from the Medicare Levy Surcharge and can significantly increase your premiums if you delay getting cover. It’s important to consider purchasing cover before you turn 31 to avoid this additional cost.

Government Rebates for Single Parents

The Australian Government offers rebates to help reduce health insurance premiums based on the age of the policyholder and their income. In the case of single-parent insurance, the government provides a higher income threshold, the same as for family cover, allowing you to access a higher rebate. This can significantly reduce the cost of your premiums and make health insurance more affordable.

All of the above-mentioned costs related to private health insurance for single parents can be reduced and managed according to your chosen policy and coverage. However, it is essential to balance your expenses with the benefits provided by your insurance provider and the government rebates available for health insurance. This will help you manage your bills efficiently and ensure you get value for money while protecting yourself and your family.

We have provided you with a lot of information about the single-parent health insurance types, their providers, tiers, rebates, associated costs, and services. However, the question remains: Which are the best health insurance providers for single parents according to your family’s health and medical needs? While assessing the best insurance provider, you need to consider factors like coverage options, cost, provider networks, customer service, and the ease of the claims process.

To make a careful decision, we suggest you compare single-parent health insurance providers and their products. We encourage you to read their product disclosure statements carefully and refer to their websites for more information. Additionally, you can also read single-parent health insurance reviews and view ratings of different insurance companies and their customer services on review sites like ProductReview.

A common misconception in the health insurance industry is that there’s a “best health insurance provider” for single parents. However, this isn’t true. It’s important to be cautious of marketing claims or advertisements that promote certain policies or providers as the best, even if they’ve received awards from sources like Canstar or Choice. Health insurance is a deeply personal decision.

For example, a health fund may have won a prestigious award in New South Wales, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option for everyone. Some health funds might not have agreements with all private hospitals in the state. If you choose a fund based solely on awards and later find out that your preferred hospital doesn’t have an agreement with your health fund, you could end up facing significant out-of-pocket expenses.

When searching for the best health insurance, especially for single parents, it’s crucial to consider whether the health fund meets your specific needs. Do they have agreements with the hospitals you prefer? Are they partnered with your chosen surgeon? Do they provide additional services you might need, like at-home healthcare? Always ask yourself these important questions to ensure the health fund is right for you.

Using customer reviews is quite popular these days; it’s important to be able to view and read personal feedback from customers. However, don’t let that be the sole deciding factor on whether to pick a health fund. Choose a policy that is best suited to your needs and will help you in your time of need. Remember that whatever works for someone else might not work for you.

Switching single-parent health insurance, especially with Health Deal, is super simple. Health Deal will handle the entire switching process for you, so you won’t have to lift a finger. When you sign up for a health insurance policy through Health Deal, they’ll ask you for information like your Medicare card number, your previous health fund member number, and payment details. Once you click submit on your application, the following will occur:

1. Health Deal will securely transmit all your information over to your new health fund.
2. You will receive a welcome email from Health Deal with your new health fund.
3. Your new health fund will send a transfer certificate request to your old health fund. This is the document that outlines all the waiting periods you have already served.
4. Your old health fund will cancel your ongoing direct debit and will refund you any money you have pre-paid them for the fortnight/month/quarter/year on a pro-rata basis (this takes about 10 working days to receive the refund).
5. Your new health fund will send you a card in the post, and you’ll receive an onboarding welcome call from someone in their customer service team.
6. All your payments will have been set during the signup process, so you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy your new health fund.

Remember, when switching health funds, you will not have to re-serve any waiting periods you’ve already served, and any money you’ve pre-paid will be refunded to you. Please also bear in mind that any claims you’ve made on your extras will follow you across, so if you’ve claimed $100 on your general dental limit with your current fund and switched to a new one, that $100 will be deducted from your yearly limit when you switch across.

Here are the answers to a few of the common questions about single-parent health insurance:

What is covered under hospital and extras cover?

Under this cover, a wide variety of your in-hospital and out-of-hospital services are covered. The specific covered service will depend on your insurance provider and the tier of coverage you select, but the most commonly covered services include hearing aids, dental, optical, and physiotherapy services. Additionally, you have the choice of public or private hospital, a choice of specialist, and a private room option (if one is available), all chosen by you according to your needs.

If you would like more information on what is covered under hospital and extras, whether covered separately or in combination, here is the Health Deal Insurance Comparison tool. Use it to make an informed decision.

How do I claim the Australian Government Rebate on Private Health Insurance?

There are two ways that you can claim rebates, according to Service Australia. One way is to claim it from your insurance provider, and the other way is to claim it from the Australian Taxation Office. You can claim the rebate from the insurance provider as an upfront reduction to your private health insurance premium, whereas you can claim the rebate through the ATO tax return if you don’t get it as a premium reduction. The choice is yours. You can read more about health insurance rebates for families on this page.

What are waiting periods?

Waiting periods refer to the initial time frames that begin as soon as you take out an Australian private health insurance policy. During this period, you won’t be able to claim or access any benefits covered by the policy. If you require medical services during this time, you’ll need to cover the full cost yourself. The length of these waiting periods can vary depending on the type of condition.

Here are the standard waiting periods for some common health insurance benefits:

• New Conditions: 2 months
• Pre-existing Conditions: 12 months
• Rehabilitation, Psychiatric Care, and Palliative Care: 2 months
• Pregnancy and Birth-related Services: 12 months
• IVF and Assisted Reproductive Services: 12 months
• Weight Loss Surgery: 12 months

Remember, if you’re switching to a new policy and have already served the waiting period with your previous insurer, you will not need to serve it again.

How can I reduce my premiums?

There are a few foolproof ways that you can reduce your premiums on your single-parent health insurance policy. These ways include comparing different policies and their rates, switching to policies with lower premiums, only getting cover for services you or your kids will require, and removing the services from the cover that are no longer required. Another way you can reduce your premium is by prepaying your policy premium for at least 12 months. For more information on the matter, please visit this page. If you have any other family health insurance FAQs, we invite you to email us at enquiries@healthdeal.com.au.

Single-parent health insurance comparison is the best way to choose an insurance provider for you and your loved ones, and you can do that by using the Health Deal Insurance Comparison tool. Here, you can compare health insurance plans, costs, and providers. For health insurance expert advice, you can contact Health Deal at enquiries@healthdeal.com.au. You can speak to our experts at 1300 369 399 or fill out the online form here. Get in touch now to speak with our insurance experts for tailored advice and support in making viable health insurance decisions for you and your family.

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