Independent · Australian · Updated weekly
Health insurance, with the actual numbers instead of the sales pitch.
Every figure on this site has a source and a date next to it. Every guide names the reporter who wrote it and the day its figures were last checked. We tell you when not buying cover is the cheaper answer, because that is the only way the rest of it is worth reading.
We are paid a fee when you request a quote. It never changes our ranking. How we make money
The number that moved this year
Premiums rose 4.41% on 1 April 2026
Weighted average across all funds. The spread between the cheapest and dearest increase was three percentage points — which is why "the average" is not your number.
4.41%
Average increase, all funds, effective 1 April 2026. Gold-tier policyholders were hit hardest.
Source: Dept of Health · checked 16 Sep 2026
Calculators
Work out your own number first
Across the four biggest comparison sites in Australia there are three calculators in total. Ours are being built now.
Medicare Levy Surcharge calculator
Your income in, your surcharge out — and the cheapest compliant policy alongside it.
Coming soonRebate calculator
The government rebate is income-tested and age-tiered. Most people guess it wrong.
Coming soonLifetime Health Cover calculator
How much the 2%-a-year loading has already cost you, and what dropping cover would add.
Coming soonRecently reviewed
Guides, with the date we last checked them
Every page carries a review date. Anything tax-related is re-checked within 48 hours of an ATO or Department of Health change.
Everything we cover
The whole map, in fifteen parts
291 pages planned across these clusters. Every page sits inside exactly one of them, links up to its hub and sideways to its siblings — so nothing on this site is more than three clicks from here.
Tax & thresholds 34 pages
- Medicare Levy Surcharge 2026–27
- Private health insurance rebate tiers
- Lifetime Health Cover loading
- Do I need private health insurance?
- Turning 31: what changes
- All tax & thresholds →
Compare & quote 9 pages
- Compare health insurance
- Hospital cover
- Extras cover
- Combined cover
- All compare & quote →
Fund profiles 45 pages
- Medibank review
- Bupa review
- HCF review
- nib review
- HBF review
- All fund profiles →
Procedures & waiting times 41 pages
- Knee replacement cover
- Hip replacement cover
- Cataract surgery cover
- Public wait times by procedure
- All procedures & waiting times →
Who it’s for 24 pages
- Best cover for families
- Best cover for singles under 30
- Best cover for over 65s
- Cover during pregnancy
- All who it’s for →
Extras & limits 24 pages
- Dental cover compared
- Optical cover compared
- Physio cover compared
- All extras & limits →
Head to head 18 pages
- Medibank vs Bupa
- HCF vs nib
- Bupa vs HCF
- All head to head →
Gold / Silver / Bronze / Basic 17 pages
- Gold vs Silver vs Bronze vs Basic
- Is Gold cover worth it?
- Basic cover for MLS only
- All gold / silver / bronze / basic →
Seniors & retirement 17 pages
- Health insurance when you retire
- The over-65 rebate change
- Self-funded retirees
- All seniors & retirement →
Switching & saving 16 pages
- How to switch funds
- Does switching reset waiting periods?
- Prepay before 1 April
- All switching & saving →
Ambulance by state 12 pages
- Ambulance cover NSW
- Ambulance cover VIC
- Ambulance cover QLD
- All ambulance by state →
Visitors & students 11 pages
- OVHC for 482 visa holders
- OSHC for students
- All visitors & students →
Calculators 10 pages
- Medicare Levy Surcharge calculator
- Rebate calculator
- Lifetime Health Cover calculator
- All calculators →
Premiums & policy news 8 pages
- 2026 premium rises by fund
- What changed on 1 April 2026
- All premiums & policy news →
State guides 5 pages
- Health insurance in NSW
- Health insurance in VIC
- All state guides →
Why you can check us
Everything here is verifiable
Primary sources only
ATO, PrivateHealth.gov.au, the Department of Health, APRA and fund Product Information Statements. Each one linked and dated where we use it.
A named writer on every guide
Every guide carries the name of the reporter who wrote it and the date its figures were last checked against the ATO and the Department of Health.
We say how we are paid
A fee when you request a quote, disclosed above the fold on every commercial page. Our ranking method is published and does not include what we are paid.
We publish our corrections
When we get a number wrong we fix it, date the fix and list it on the corrections page rather than quietly editing the article.
Hannah Brooks
Reporter. Writes our guides to the Medicare Levy Surcharge and the thresholds that decide who pays it.
Medicare Levy SurchargeLiam Carter
Reporter. Writes our guides to the government rebate and Lifetime Health Cover.
Rebate & Lifetime Health CoverMaya Singh
Reporter. Writes our guides to extras cover, switching funds and waiting periods.
Extras & switching