Age-based discount
If you're aged 18-29 you could be eligible to receive a discount on your hospital cover.
Affordable health insurance for under-30s
There’s a lot going on when you’re under 30. Whether it’s uni, travel, inching up the corporate ladder, thinking about starting a family or just enjoying plenty of nights out, health insurance isn’t exactly on the top of the wishlist – we get it.
Having said that, if it’s something you might need for specific health or tax reasons (if you’re a higher income earner), or just want peace of mind - it’s a great feeling to get rewarded with a discount just for getting a headstart. The perk of the age-based discount is that the earlier you take out hospital cover, the greater the discount you’ll receive.
We want to make it easier for young Australians to access affordable private health insurance hospital cover. For this reason, we offer an age-based discount on all levels of hospital cover, so you'll benefit no matter which one you choose.
What is the age-based discount?
The age-based discount is a 2% reduction on premiums for each year that a person is aged under 30 when they purchase eligible hospital cover. The highest age-based discount that can be applied is 10% for 18 to 25 year olds.
It was part of the Australian Government health insurance reforms that gave funds the option to offer tiered discounts on hospital policies to members aged 18-29 years.
How does the age-based discount work?
As the name suggests, the age-based discount is tiered based on age.
If you're eligible, it’s applied to your premium until you turn 41 (as long as you keep your hospital cover). So, if you took out hospital cover at 20 years old and kept it, you would receive a discount until you turn 41 - that’s 21 years of discount for the win!
The discount is then gradually phased out after you turn 41. It declines by 2% of your premium each year until there is zero discount remaining. So, if you had an existing 10% discount, this would drop to 8% when you turn 41, then 6% when you turn 42, and so on until you have 0% discount remaining.
Age-based discounts only apply to Hospital cover premiums. If you’re on a combined hospital and extras cover, the discount will only apply to the hospital component of your combined cover.
How it works
For example, Ash is 27 years old as of 1 April 2023 and has just joined on a GMHBA hospital policy.
They are eligible for a 6% discount on their premium (single policy), applied from 1 April 2023 onwards.
That 6% discount would remain applied to their premium until they turn 41 (as long as they retain their hospital policy).
It then reduces by 2% each year until the discount no longer remains.
When only one adult on a couples or family policy (excluding dependants) is eligible for the age-based discount, it’s averaged out across the policy.
For example, if Arcee (34) and Rodimus (28) took out a GMHBA hospital policy:
- At 34, Arcee is not eligible for an age-based discount
- At 28, Rodimus is eligible for a 4% age-based discount
The total age-based discount applied to their policy will be 2%.
Where there’s two eligible adults on a couples or family policy (excluding dependants), the discount applied will be the average of your individual age-based discounts.
For example, if Alice (25) and Angie (27) took out a GMHBA hospital policy for their family:
- At 27, Angie’s age-based discount is 6%
- At 25, Alice is eligible for a 10% age-based discount
The total age-based discount applied to their policy will be 8%.
Choosing eligible private health cover
All GMHBA hospital products are eligible for the age-based discount.
When you get a quote with us and enter your date of birth, your age-based discount (if you’re eligible) will be included in the premium total, so you can easily compare your options.
Benefits of Private Health Insurance for under-30's
If you’re coming up to your 31st birthday and don't have hospital cover, it's worth learning about the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading and how it could affect your premium. Once applied, it can only be removed after 10 years of continuous hospital cover.
If your income is likely to increase (or is already) beyond 101k for singles or 202k for couples/families, you could be liable for the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). You may be able to avoid paying MLS by having private health insurance hospital cover.
FAQs
If you were receiving an age-based discount from your previous fund, your current discount will come across with you to your new GMHBA hospital cover. This is called a retained age-based discount. To be able to retain your current age-based discount, there can’t be any more than a 30-day gap in cover between leaving your previous insurer and joining GMHBA.
Once your transfer certificate arrives from your previous health fund, the level of discount you receive will be verified and automatically applied to your premium.
If you’re on a couples or family membership, both you and your partner can each receive the discount if you’re aged 18-29. The discount is averaged out across the policy.
Only the main member and the spouse on the policy are eligible for the discount.
If your dependant is over 21 and no longer studying, or they have turned 25, they'll need to take out their own membership to remain covered. The good news is that they would then be eligible for the age-based discount on their new hospital policy. They would also be eligible to receive any offer available to new members at the time they join (as long as they meet the terms and conditions of the offer).
Get more information about student dependants.
If you cancel your hospital policy or remove it from a combined hospital and extras policy, the discount is removed. If you add hospital to your policy again in the future, the discount will be applied in line with the age you are at the time, if you’re still eligible.
If you suspend your policy within fund suspension rules, your discount as it was at the time of suspension will still apply when you reactivate. The only time it will reduce is if you are over the age of 41 when you reactivate.
New to health insurance?
Looking at health insurance for the first time can be an overwhelming task. That’s why we’ve put together a handy three-step guide to help you get started, so you can be protected for the moments that matter.