Private Health Insurance Reforms

In October 2017, the government announced a series of reforms to private health insurance. Some came into effect immediately, others on 1 April 2019.

If you’re a Teachers Health member, we’ve already contacted you about any changes to your cover. But if you’re unsure about the impact of the reforms, or want to talk about your cover options, call us on 1300 727 538

What are the reforms?

Some of the big changes included:

• Categorising hospital insurance products as Gold/Silver/Bronze/Basic so members can better understand their level of cover.
• Introducing standardised clinical categories for treatments so members know what’s covered.
• Reducing minimum benefits for prostheses that private health insurers must pay to place downward pressure on premium increases.
• Additional support for mental health, so members with hospital cover can upgrade their cover to access mental health services without serving a waiting period (on a once-off basis).
• Removing coverage for a range of natural therapies.

You can view a comprehensive list of the changes at health.gov.au

How do the reforms affect me?

If your cover changed on 1 April 2019 we let you know in February 2019. Here’s what changed:

• Basic Hospital
• Mid Hospital
• Starterpak
• Essential Extras
• Top Extras