Why shouldn’t I just cancel my membership if I have financial issues?
If you’re eligible to suspend (rather than cancel) your membership, here are 3 reasons to do so:
- Waiting periods: suspension doesn’t wipe out Hospital or Extras waiting periods you’ve already served. If you reactivate your membership within 30 days of your last Centrelink payment or return to work, your waiting period status will be the same as when you left! If you cancel your membership you may need to re-serve waiting periods.
- Increasing limits: members with Top Extras accrue higher annual limits on Major dental and hearing aids (which come under Aids and appliances) over time. As with waiting periods, these entitlements are preserved during a suspension period.
- Lifetime Health Cover (LHC): if you have Hospital cover, LHC may be an important consideration. Cancellation may well impact your continuous cover status, but suspension won’t. See more on LHC
Please be aware that you may be liable for the Medicare Levy Surcharge during a suspension period. See the ATO’s advice