On this page:
- Who is Medibank?
- Premium increase for 2024
- How to save on your Medibank health insurance premium
- Does Medibank get many complaints from members?
- How good is Medibank's gap cover?
- How many hospital agreements does Medibank have in each state?
- Does Medibank offer ambulance cover?
- Does Medibank offer family policies that cover adult children?
- Does Medibank let you claim online or in-app?
Who is Medibank?
Medibank was launched by the Australian government in 1976, initially as a nonprofit entity but converted to for-profit in 2009. It was privatised in 2014 and today is one of Australia's largest health funds with 3.6 million members. It also owns the AHM health insurance brand.
Phone: 134 190
Website: medibank.com.au
Premium increase for 2024
Medibank increased its health insurance premiums on 1 April 2024 by an average of 3.31%.
This compares with an average premium increase of 3.03% and is the second lowest increase of the five major health funds:
How to save on your Medibank health insurance premium
Medibank doesn't offer any discounts for prepaying your premium or paying your premium by direct debit, but there are discounts available for young people who buy health insurance before they turn 30.
Review, switch and save
If you want to check whether you're getting the best deal, you can review your health insurance at any time (in fact, it's good practice to do it at least once a year). To help you wade through the seemingly infinite options, our insurance experts developed a tool that lets you compare health insurance based on your needs so you can find cover that works for you, and potentially save yourself hundreds.
Does Medibank get many complaints from members?
Medibank has a Medium complaints rating.
When we score policies we give each fund a complaints rating, based on the number of complaints and serious disputes the Ombudsman deals with. We take into account the size of the fund, so big funds don't get automatically penalised for having more complaints. The ratings are Low, Medium and High. A Low rating is better than a High rating – it means the fund has fewer complaints and fewer serious disputes for its size.
How good is Medibank's gap cover?
A medical gap is the difference between Medicare's recommended fee and what your doctor actually charges for a treatment or service.
Health funds have agreements with particular doctors and hospitals to cover all of the gap, which are called 'no gap agreements', or part of that gap, which are called 'known gap agreements' (these will have lower out-of-pocket costs, usually less than $500).
Our graphic below displays the CHOICE gap rating, which takes into account the percentage of services where members either paid no gap or a known gap, compared to the state average.
Rating scale
- Well above average
- Above average
- Average
- Below average
- Well below average
How many hospital agreements does Medibank have in each state?
The benefit amount your fund pays you for hospital services depends not only on the type of cover you buy, but also whether your fund has an agreement with the hospital where you're treated.
The table below shows how many hospital agreements Medibank has in each state and territory compared to the fund with the highest number (the industry maximum). Note that public hospitals don't have agreements with specific funds and are generally treated as though they're agreement hospitals.
Does Medibank offer ambulance cover?
All Medibank extras, hospital and combined policies have emergency ambulance cover.
Does Medibank offer family policies that cover adult children?
- Adult children are covered on family policies for free until they turn 21.
- Full-time students are covered on family policies for free until they turn 31.
- Adult children younger than 31 can be covered on extended family policies for an extra cost.
Does Medibank let you claim online or in-app?
You can claim online or via the Medibank app for acupuncture, chiropractic/osteopathy, psychology, dental, physiotherapy, dietetics, optical, orthodontics, eye and speech therapy, and remedial massage.
We're on your side
In more than 60 years of making a difference for Australian consumers, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family.
And you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
Learn more about CHOICE membership today
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
