As part of the Australian Government’s private health insurance reforms, health funds can now offer a discount of up to 10% to members aged 18 to 29.

The objective of this initiative is to make private health insurance more affordable for young Australians and increase their ability to access private hospital services.

This discount is voluntary and not all health funds have chosen to adopt this scheme. At Doctors’ Health Fund, we support this new initiative and have made this discount available on all our hospital covers.

The discount will range between 2% and 10% per annum; depending on the age of the person at the time of joining Doctors’ Health Fund as per the table below. If you are already a member of Doctors’ Health Fund, your discount is determined by the age you were on 1 April 2019 or for new members, it’s your age when you take out cover for the first time after 1 April 2019.

Youth-discount-table

For couples and family policies, the discount will apply individually to the two adults on the policy.

Members will retain their discount until they turn 41, after which time it reduces at a rate of 2% per annum until they turn 45. The discount is applied to the hospital cover only, not extras, and is separate to any other discounts or rebates.

Here are some example of how the discount is applied in different circumstances:

Example: Singles
Andy just turned 21 and is taking out Private Health Insurance Hospital cover for the first time. Andy is entitled to 10% discount on his hospital premium per year, and he continues to receive the full discount until he turns 41.

Example: Couples and Families
Yalda and Khalid purchased a couples hospital policy after 1 April 2019. The youth discount is averaged based on both of their ages of 28 (4%) and 27 (6%). They are entitled to a 5%* discount on their hospital premium per annum.
*[Avg = 4% + 6% ÷ 2]

Example: Age on 1 April 2019
Steph has had private health insurance hospital cover since she was 22 years old; she is 27 when the Youth Discount comes into effect on 1 April 2019. Steph's discount is based on her age on 1 April 2019; she is entitled to an 6% discount.

Example: Switching from another fund
Cory switched to Doctors’ Health Fund from a health fund that didn’t offer the youth discount. Because of this, his discount is determined by his age when joining Doctors’ Health Fund. If his previous fund had offered the Youth discount it would have carried over when he switched.

Contact our friendly and knowledgeable member services team to find out what discount you’re eligible for by emailing info@doctorshealthfund.com.au or calling 1800 226 126.