Health insurance for families
Health insurance for every type of family
With families, finding a meal everyone's happy with can be a challenge, let alone finding health insurance to suit your whole family. There are many factors to consider like lifestyle, age of your children, budget and what matters most to you. So whether your kids are still learning to walk and talk, starting primary school or deciding what subjects they want to do in year 12, we’re here to help.
It’s important to know the difference between private health insurance that will cover your family opposed to private health insurance that covers pregnancy and birth. If you’re looking at expanding your family with a new born and want to be covered for the pregnancy and birth, check out the GMHBA pregnancy page.
If you are planning on having a baby in the near future, you might need more information around health insurance that covers you for pregnancy and birth.
Your kids might be getting taller than you but that doesn’t mean you can’t still look after them. Learn about student, apprentice and traineeship dependants and how they can remain on your cover.
Why family cover with GMHBA?
Accidents happen, that’s why we have included accident protection on all eligible hospital products.
Peace of mind during an emergency means a lot, which is why we have included emergency ambulance cover on all eligible hospital products.
For new members, we'll refund any premiums paid as long as you haven't made a claim in the first 60 days.
Winner of Canstar’s 2022,2023 and 2024 Outstanding Value Health Insurance Hospital Cover Victoria award.
Through our member benefits like GMHBA +Baby, Healthy Weight for Life, and Hospital in the Home we continue to provide value for you and your family.
For 90 years, we’ve been driven by believing health insurance should be run to benefit members, not shareholders.
Switching to GMHBA is simple
You choose the cover that will fit your life (if you need assistance picking the right cover, you can phone 1300 477 550) and with your permission, we will take care of the paperwork. We’ll cancel your old membership, request the transfer certificate from your old insurer and then you'll be a GMHBA member.
Is family private health insurance worth it?
For many parents, the peace of mind that comes with having their family covered is invaluable. While cost is certainly a consideration, there are different cover levels to suit different budgets and health needs.
The Australian Government provides a rebate on private health insurance to help more people access cover. If you’re eligible, you can either claim your rebate as a reduction on your health insurance premium payment or on your tax return each year.
If you are a high income earner, you may be liable to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) at tax time if you don’t have eligible hospital cover. Getting hospital cover may save you money at tax time if you’re a higher income earner.
How you benefit from family hospital cover
Private health insurance can be a valuable investment for any family. It brings a level of comfort to know that you’ve done all you can to support the health and wellbeing of your loved ones.
Hospital cover will allow you to choose your own specialist and whether you will be treated at a public* or private hospital (if you’re covered for a private hospital admission) that the chosen specialist attends.
*Specialist waiting list determines the waiting period.
Not only will you have more control in choosing a doctor but you may be able to reduce your waiting time for elective surgery by choosing to be treated in a private hospital (if you’re covered for a private hospital admission).
Under our AHSA agreement, GMHBA pays higher benefits for most medical procedures when the scheme is used by a participating medical provider, meaning less out-of-pocket expenses for members.
Popular choices for family hospital cover
Private health insurance hospital cover gives you a choice of specialist and may reduce wait times for treatments in a private hospital. And with extras cover you can maintain your family’s dental and eye health with the ability to reduce your out-of-pocket costs for these services (if covered under your policy).
Popular choices for family hospital cover include our Bronze Plus Advantage, Silver Plus and Silver Plus Premium. These are on the mid to high end of the coverage range for peace of mind.
For example Silver Plus Premium includes:
- No excess for hospital day stays in a private or public hospital
- Upgraded cover in the event of an accident
- Emergency ambulance cover
- No excess for child dependants under 21 when admitted to hospital
- And much more
Silver Plus Premium hospital cover excludes:
- Pregnancy and birth
- Weight loss surgery
- Assisted reproductive surgery
There are many levels of hospital cover available, so you’re sure to find something that suits the needs of your family. Remember, the higher the cover, the more included clinical categories, but also the more expensive your premium.
Learn more about the benefits of joining GMHBA.
Some things to consider when insuring kids
As any parent with little ones knows, life can be chaotic. Look for common childhood procedures such as tonsils, adenoids, and grommets*. This cover starts at Basic Plus Starter Hospital and covers more as go higher. (*Waiting periods apply for each individual member).
As school begins and your kids grow, the needs become greater. Combining your hospital cover with extras can come in handy with dental appointments and prescription glasses becoming more relevant as they get older. View combined covers that will suit your lifestyle.
When it comes to teenagers, there's lots of change all happening at once. It's worth considering whether your health insurance also needs to be on that list. Pairing hospital cover with a mid-extras to cover major dental, physiotherapy and optical could be beneficial to you and your family.
FAQs on Family cover
Adding your dependants to your family or single parent policy means they're covered for the same treatments and services as you (with the same waiting periods, exclusions and limits).
If you’re a higher income earner (over $194k for families) you may be liable to pay the MLS. Holding any level of GMHBA hospital cover for your family can help you to avoid the MLS.
The simplest way to do this is to get in touch with us or add a person to your membership in the member area. It’s important to be aware that if you’re changing membership class (single, couple, single parent or family), a change in premium may occur. Waiting periods, pre-existing conditions and benefit limitations may also apply to the new member.
If you’re looking to move to a GMHBA family cover, we're here to help get it sorted out for you.
Up to 21 years of age for child dependants and up to 25 years of age for student dependants. Learn more about keeping your kids covered longer.