Can Children Get Health Insurance In Australia?

What is the Difference Between Private Health Insurance and Medicare?To summarize The Simpsons “Won’t you think of the kids?”… well Billy Explores has! We know that health insurance is an important topic for all adults in Australia. Heck, the government provides tax breaks through Medicare. But children still need health insurance and care, which is why there are many options for children having stand alone health insurance policies or being covered as dependents under their parent’s health insurance policy. Read more below about how children can have private health insurance, then compare health insurance polices in Australia through Billy Explores!

Are there children-only health insurance policies?

It’s actually very rare in Australia to find a health insurance policy that only covers kids. You might find a health insurance fund that will cover just your kids, but that might not be the best way to spend your money. Most family health insurance policies cover your children and dependents without charging you any extra. If you don’t have a partner, you can also get health insurance for a single parent. The best thing to do is shop around and compare health insurance policies with your children as dependents. 

How old do my kids have to be to be covered under my private health insurance policy?

Your children will still be covered by your family’s health insurance until they turn 25. After that, they will need to get their own private health insurance policy. Up until they turn 25 years of age, they are normally listed in one of three groups:

Dependant child – A dependant child is a person under the age of 21 who is not married and depends on the health insurance policy holder for money.

Dependant student – A dependant student is a non-married dependent between the ages of 21 and 25 who is in school full-time and needs money from the health insurance policy holder because they are not married.

Dependant adult – A dependant adult is a dependent between the ages of 21 and 25 who is not married and is not in full-time school (many health insurance providers will cover this category, but will charge an additional loading).

How old do you have to be to get your own health insurance policy?

If someone needs their own private health insurance policy and is under 16 years of age, you can usually get your own policy when you turn 16. But some health insurance companies will provide a health insurance policy to people even younger than that. Take five minutes to compare health insurance providers through Billy Explores and see if you can get a great deal on a child health insurance policy from our panel of providers.

What should you look for in a private health insurance policy for a child?

Some child-friendly features of a good family health insurance policy to look for are:

• Coverage for a dependent adult up to age 25 without paying an extra loading.
• No out-of-pocket costs if your child is taken to the hospital (most policies include this)
• No-gap extras benefits for kids (such as dental check-ups, teeth cleaning, fillings and x-rays)
• Cover the costs of pregnancy and IVF if you want to have a baby.

Extra coverage that fits the needs of your family as a whole (e.g. more generous dental or optical if there are orthodontic or vision problems, or more physio and chiro if you are a sporting family)

Do you need coverage for extras with a kid?

Families need some level of hospital coverage to protect them if a family member needs hospital care, and they also need good extras coverage because Medicare doesn’t pay for services like dental, optical, podiatry, physio, and chiro, which most families often use.

On a family health insurance policy, children are automatically covered for extras, but you need to make sure that the benefit limits are high enough to meet your family’s needs. You should look for a policy that has limits on each individual benefit, not limits on the total amount you can get. A large family can quickly go over the total limit in a year.

Medicare’s Child Dental Benefits Schedule gives eligible children $1,000 in dental care every two years. This is something you might want to look into when deciding how much extra cover you need.

Health insurance and services related to pregnancy

If you want your private health insurance to cover your pregnancy and you want to start a family, you’ll need to upgrade your plan at least a year before you get pregnant. For pregnancy, you need a Gold-tier policy and have to wait a year before you can use it.

Services related to pregnancy and birth that may be covered include room and board, costs for the labour ward, doctor’s fees, and some of the obstetrician’s fees during delivery. If you need assisted reproductive services like IVF, most private health insurance plans will cover egg collection and embryo transfer while you are in the hospital.

Note that pregnancy also requires services that can’t be paid for by private health insurance or Medicare that aren’t done in a hospital. If you choose to give birth in the private system, you will have to pay for some things.

Compare Health Insurance Policies For Kids through Billy Explores

Billy Explores knows how children are just as important to be covered through private health insurance, and that’s why he’s here to help! Through Billy Explores you can save time and effort, and explore potential savings to compare health insurance for families and single parent families, both of which offer affordable health insurance coverage for you and your children. What’s stopping you? Compare health insurance for families through Billy Explores today and get the best deal for your family’s needs from our panel of health insurance providers!