Frank Health Insurance

With a Frank private health insurance policy, you’re covered for emergency ambulance services on select policies. However, you may still require a subscription with your state ambulance service for full coverage.

Members who hold an eligible Frank extras policy may be able to claim some of the cost of their ambulance subscription. It is important to refer to the policy brochure for further information. If you live in NSW, ACT, QLD or TAS, you may be covered for free by your state government. Read more on ambulance services here.

Yes, you’ll still be covered by Frank health insurance if you have a pre-existing condition, but you will likely need to serve a 12-month waiting period before you can claim on hospital treatment relating to your condition. However, if you’ve already served your waiting period with a previous health fund, you won’t need to re-serve it for the same or lower level of cover.

Yes, waiting periods will apply on Frank health insurance products. For hospital cover, the waiting periods are standard across all health funds. These are 12 months for pregnancy and pre-existing conditions (except psychiatric, rehab and palliative care) and 2 months for everything else.

For extras cover, Frank’s waiting periods are:

• 12 months: Major Dental, orthodontics, orthotics, podiatric surgery, hearing aids, blood glucose monitors
• 6 months: Optical
• 2 months: Everything else.

When you make a claim for treatment in hospital there are typically two different accounts that need to be paid. These are claimed differently. For the hospital account, the hospital will usually bill Frank directly. If the hospital does send you a bill, simply send it directly to Frank. For your doctor’s account, your doctor or specialist may also bill Frank and Medicare directly. However, if you do receive a bill, you will need to make a ‘two-way’ claim through Medicare.

When you claim on your extras products, you can simply scan your membership card at your provider’s HICAPS machine. If your provider doesn’t have a HICAPS machine, you will have to pay your bill in full and lodge a claim later either online or with a claims form.

No, you won’t receive a discount for paying your premiums annually. However, you could potentially save when you pay annually by locking in a lower rate before the yearly premium rate rise. You can pay your premiums with a direct debit from a bank account or credit union account.

Yes, you will most likely need to pay an excess when you claim on your Frank health insurance policy for treatment received as a private hospital patient. Depending on your policy, you can elect to pay a $500 or $750 excess, which you will only have to pay once per person per year on hospital admission. If you choose to pay a higher excess, you will pay a lower premium in return.

To cancel your Frank private health insurance membership, simply give them a call, and they will walk you through the cancellation process. If you are cancelling due to financial hardship, you may be able to temporarily suspend your membership instead or move to a lower level of cover. Frank’s high-quality customer service team will take you through your options or cancel your cover for you if that’s what you decide.