Why should I keep private hospital cover?
There are many reasons private hospital cover is important, including:
- Peace of mind knowing you can have access to private hospitals with state-of-the-art facilities
- Being in control of your health, by selecting the Doctor or Specialist of your choice
- Getting treated when you need to in a private hospital, instead of spending months (even years) on a public hospital waiting list
- If you earn over the threshold for Medicare Levy Surcharge (currently $101,000 for singles and $202,000 for families), you may have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge if you don’t hold hospital cover.
- Not being penalised with a Lifetime Health Cover loading (a government initiative for all Australians who don’t take out private hospital cover before turning 31).
You might be surprised by how much it costs to pay for a private hospital procedure if you don’t have private hospital insurance. To give you an idea, these are the highest hospital costs for individual RBHS members we paid in the 2025 financial year:
| Hospital claims paid in the 2025 financial year | |
|---|---|
| Admission reason | Total benefit paid |
| Hospital psychiatric services | $93,365 |
| Brain and nervous system | $72,507 |
| Rehabilitation | $66,954 |
| Digestive system | $63,624 |
| Brain and nervous system | $63,298 |