With some health fund premiums increasing on 1 November 2022, it’s a great opportunity to take five minutes to compare health insurance Australia. To help with doing a private health insurance comparison, Billy Explores will do an overview of each of the four health funds who will be increasing premiums on 1 November. This includes Bupa health insurance. There are many questions we can help answer such as is Bupa a good health fund? That will help you along your private health insurance comparison journey. Once you’re ready to go, you can easily compare health insurance, Australia, through Billy Explores.
Is Bupa A Good Health Fund?
All About Bupa
Bupa health insurance is Australia’s second-biggest health fund, has over 4 million members and provides good value Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold policies.
It is a health and care company that wants to help people live longer, healthier, and happier lives and make the world a better place. To improve the health of all Australians, we offer a wide range of services, such as care for the elderly and retirement, dental and eye care, health insurance, and programmes to improve community health.
Bupa Asia Pacific (which BUPA in Australia is part of) is part of the Bupa Group, an international healthcare company. Across the Group, they are committed to reinvesting profits into providing high quality, innovative healthcare for the benefit of current and future customers around the world.
Globally, BUPA Global has 18.5 million health insurance customers, 370 health clinics, 20 hospitals and 1,000 dental centres. They also look after aged care residents in care homes and villages across the UK, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.
Can I Still Do Private Health Insurance Comparison With BUPA?
Yes, of course you can still compare health funds if you have a BUPA membership. In fact, with BUPA increasing its premiums on 1 November 2022, it’s a great idea to do a private health insurance comparison and see if you could be getting a better value health insurance policy for your needs.
How To Do A Private Health Insurance Comparison With BUPA
There are many areas that will help you to do a private health insurance comparison when comparing BUPA to other health funds. The best way to start your health insurance comparison Australia is to review some key areas including:
- Not for profit status
- Hospital and extras coverage
- Number of hospitals they’re aligned with
- Price of health insurance premiums
- Customer service
Is BUPA not-for-profit?
Bupa is a for-profit company in Australia, but its parent company is nonprofit.
What’s BUPA’s customer service like?
The best way to see about a health fund’s customer service is to see the complaints. Se we checked out complaints about BUPA made to the Ombudsman in 2021. Here’s where Bupa stood:
It has some of the best customer service among the big brands. Bupa has 24.8% of the market, but only 23.5% of all complaints were about them. This is better than most of Australia’s other large funds, like HIF, HCF, and nib, which have a higher number of complaints.
Even though there aren’t many complaints about it, it’s not quite number 1. Medibank and HBF did better on the complaint test.
How Many Hospitals Are Aligned With Bupa In My State?
The amount your fund pays you for hospital services depends on the type of coverage you buy and whether or not your fund has a deal with the hospital where you’re treated.
The table below shows how many contracts Bupa has with hospitals in your state compared to the fund that has the most (the industry maximum). Note that public hospitals don’t have contracts with specific funds, but they are usually treated as if they did.
Bupa has the following hospital agreements
ACT
There are 4 private hospital agreements out of a possible 7 in the industry. There are 6 day hospital agreements out of a possible 9 in the industry.
NSW
There are 88 private hospital agreements out of a maximum of 100 in the industry. There are 73 day hospital agreements out of a maximum of 108 in the industry.
NT
1 private hospital contracts out of a maximum of 2 in the industry. 1 day hospital contracts out of a maximum of 1 in the industry.
QLD
There are 49 private hospital agreements out of a maximum of 62 in the industry. There are 47 day hospital agreements out of a maximum of 65 in the industry.
SA
There are 21 private hospital agreements out of a maximum of 25 in the industry. There are 26 day hospital agreements out of a maximum of 35 in the industry.
TAS
There are 8 private hospital agreements out of a maximum of 9 in the industry. There are also 8 day hospital agreements out of a maximum of 9 in the industry.
VIC
There are 68 private hospital agreements out of a maximum of 83 in the industry. There are 63 day hospital agreements out of a maximum of 96 in the industry.
WA
22 private hospital agreements out of a total of 28 for the industry; 21 day hospital agreements out of a total of 27 for the industry
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Source: Private Health Insurance Ombudsman
Does Bupa Offer Any Discounts?
No discount if you pay by direct debit.
No discount for paying a year in advance.
Total discount for annual prepay via direct debit: None
Discounts for youth: These can be moved from one hospital to another (you can transfer a discount from another fund to one of these policies).
Does Bupa Cover The Cost Of An Ambulance?
In all states, all Bupa hospital, extras, and combined policies cover emergency ambulance.
For Gold and some Silver policies, coverage is unlimited, but for all other policies, coverage is limited to: one transport per single policy per year and two transport per family and couple policy per year.
For Queensland residents, the Queensland government covers you for all ambulances, no matter where you are in the nation.
Does Bupa Have Family Plans That Cover Adult Children?
Adult children can stay on their parents’ insurance plan for free until they turn 21.
Family policies cover full-time students for free until they turn 32.
For an extra fee, extended family policies can cover adult children younger than 32 who are not married.
Of course, if you’re looking to start a family, it’s a good idea to check out pregnancy options and get health insurance in time.
It’s Time to Compare Health Insurance Australia!
Is Bupa the health fund for you? We hope we’ve made it a little bit easier when you do your private health insurance comparison and Bupa is an option. Of course, don’t forget the cheapest health insurance might not necessarily be the best health insurance for your needs, so make sure to check out the policy when you’re doing a health insurance comparison based on price only. Of course, the easiest way to do your private health insurance comparison is through Billy Explores.
Important Private Health Insurance Comparison Links
To start a health insurance comparison in Australia, see below for some handy links.
Insurance Comparison
Compare Health Insurance
Difference Between Medicare and Private Health Insurance
Compare Private Health Insurance
Compare Health Insurance In Australia
