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Health insurance costs can vary by state, with Queensland having higher insurance costs than the national average.
Learn moreQueensland residents don’t need ambulance cover as free ambulance transport is provided throughout Australia by the Queensland government.
Learn morePrivate hospital insurance can help reduce hospital waiting times and allow you to avoid lengthy public hospital waiting lists.
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Our health insurance expert, Steven Spicer, has some tips for choosing the right QLD health insurance policy for you.
When choosing a policy, pay close attention to the inclusions and exclusions. This will help you find a policy that is right for you without you paying for a higher level of cover than you currently need. Whether this is your first time looking into health insurance products or you’re updating your existing policy, speaking to an expert can help you look for the best policy for you.
Choosing the right level of cover can help you spend your money wisely. For example, some people choose to go all in with a comprehensive policy while others may prefer hospital cover without extras.
There may be waiting periods whenever you take out a new policy or upgrade an existing one. For most hospital cover, waiting periods are two months, except for pregnancy and birth and any pre-existing conditions (excluding rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services and palliative care).
Where you live can have an impact on your health insurance costs. In this section, we’ll provide an overview of average costs for the various levels of coverage. This should be considered a rough guide, and none of the numbers given should be viewed as a quote.
When it comes to private hospital cover, policies will fall into one of four tiers: Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold. These are in order of both level of cover and price, so Basic policies have the lowest level of cover and tend to be the most affordable. In contrast, Gold policies have the most comprehensive cover but are typically also the most expensive.
Average Monthly Premium Costs for Hospital Cover in QLD | ||
---|---|---|
Level of cover | Average cost in QLD | Australian national average |
Basic | $118.08 | $104.71 |
Bronze | $138.93 | $124.49 |
Silver | $207.54 | $186.21 |
Gold | $302.88 | $268.30 |
Source: Privatehealth.gov.au, current as of August 2024.1 |
The prices above are based on monthly premiums for Single-only policies that exempt you from the Medicare Levy Surcharge and have a $750 excess. Doesn’t include any rebates, discounts or loadings. Plus policies are included in the base tier (Silver-plus policy prices have been factored in the Silver category).
Like hospital cover, the cost of extras cover can vary greatly depending on the health services included, annual limits and other factors. The average cost for an extras cover policy in Queensland is $86.60.1 This is slightly above the national average of $84.73. 1
While public hospitals offer a range of healthcare services covered by Medicare, a major downside is the lengthy waiting list. Depending on your procedure, it could take weeks, months or even years to receive treatment. Let’s look at the average waiting times for public hospital patients, both for emergency hospital care and elective surgery.
Hospitals see patients based on how urgent their health needs are, not based on who arrives first. Below are the recommended times cases should be treated based on their urgency:2
Below are the QLD public hospital median times for emergency treatment by triage category:
Triage Category | Median Waiting Time (in minutes) |
---|---|
Resuscitation | 0 |
Emergency | 7-8 |
Urgent | 20-22 |
Semi-Urgent | 24-28 |
Non-Urgent | 20-27 |
Source: AIHW Emergency Care 2022-2023 data tables.2 |
The following are overall emergency room waiting time statistics, including the percentage of people who are seen on time:
Median waiting times (the amount of time 50% of patients are seen) | 18 minutes |
90 percentile waiting time (when 90%of patients are seen) | 91 minuts |
The proportion of people seen on time | 67% |
Source: AIHW Emergency Care 2022-2023 data tables.2 |
Considering how different the wait times for elective surgeries can be, it’s best to look at the individual stats for each procedure to get an accurate idea of public health system waiting times.
The table below shows average waiting times for various elective surgeries in Queensland.
Intended procedure | Average waiting times (days) | Percentage of patients who waited more than 365 |
---|---|---|
Arthroscopy | 85 | 11.6 |
Breast Lump – excision or biopsy | 19 | 0.4 |
Carpal tunnel release | 69 | 5.5 |
Cataract extraction | 77 | 3.9 |
Cholecystectomy (open/laparoscopic) | 48 | 2.3 |
Coronary artery bypass grafting | 14 | 0.9 |
Curettage and evacuation of uterus | 4 | 0.0 |
Cystoscopy | 29 | 2.2 |
Haemorrhoidectomy | 80 | 9.5 |
Herniorrhaphy | 80 | 7.0 |
Hysterectomy (abdominal/vaginal/laparoscopic) | 91 | 12.6 |
Hysteroscopy, dilatation and curettage | 27 | 0.5 |
Inguinal herniotomy/Herniorrhaphy | 64 | 2.9 |
Laparoscopy | 73 | 6.8 |
Myringoplasty | 155 | 28.8 |
Myringotomy | 85 | 2.7 |
Prostate Biopsy | 29 | 0.1 |
Prostatectomy | 49 | 1.9 |
Septoplasty | 342 | 39.5 |
Skin lesion | 26 | 1.5 |
Thyroidectomy | 49 | 2.6 |
Tonsillectomy (with or without adenoidectomy) | 110 | 13.7 |
145 | 22.1 | |
334 | 38.0 | |
Varicose veins treatment | 219 | 14.0 |
Other Procedures | 36 | 6.2 |
Source: AIHW Elective surgery waiting times 2022-23 Data Tables3 |
Each state in Australia is responsible for its own ambulance service, so where you live greatly influences your need for ambulance cover. Fortunately, Queensland is one of only two Australian states (the other being Tasmania) that offers free emergency ambulance cover.
In Queensland, the state government covers all ambulance costs for QLD residents, which means you don’t need ambulance coverage. This doesn’t just cover ambulance costs within the Sunshine State but also Australia-wide.4
If you’re a Queensland resident visiting another state who needs ambulance transport, you will probably receive an invoice for your trip in the ambulance. You can forward this invoice to the Queensland Ambulance Service who will cover the cost, provided you can provide evidence of your Queensland residency to confirm your eligibility.4
While Medicare benefits every Australian, it doesn’t cover everything. Private health insurance can provide cover for medically necessary treatments and services outside the hospital that Medicare doesn’t cover. Private health insurance also provides healthcare flexibility and peace of mind that you and eligible members of your family should be covered for the unexpected. Some of the key benefits of health insurance are:
Extras cover (sometimes referred to as ancillary cover) provides cover for services outside the hospital that Medicare doesn’t cover. This includes out-of-hospital services such as:
Remember, different policies may offer different cover. There may also be limits applied to how much you can claim and gap payments you’ll need to make. Be sure you understand exactly what your policy includes and excludes to avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.
Hospital cover helps with the healthcare costs of private patients who are admitted to the hospital, including hospital costs, accommodation, consultations, anaesthetist fees and more. Private hospital cover provides various benefits, including your choice of available healthcare provider, a private room (subject to availability) and being able to avoid long public waiting lists for elective surgeries. Since 2019, hospital cover has been categorised under four tiers, which are:
Basic: The minimum level of cover, offering a restricted level of cover for three out of 38 clinical categories.
Bronze: This offers hospital insurance for 3 restricted clinical categories and 18 unrestricted clinical categories.
Silver: This type of policy offers restricted cover for 3 clinical categories and unrestricted hospital cover for 26 clinical categories.
Gold: Unrestricted cover for all 38 clinical categories is available with this type of policy.
Restricted cover refers to being only covered as a private patient in a public hospital. When in a private hospital, your health fund will only pay some costs, like a small amount of your accommodation fee. This means more out-of-pocket fees for you.
Unrestricted cover means you’re covered for all fees as a private patient in a private hospital or private day hospital, the exception being any agreed excess or co-payments. This includes accommodation and theatre fees.
Without knowing your specific details, it’s difficult to estimate how much health insurance will cost you. Several factors will affect the cost of health insurance premiums, including:
As the Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Energy, Steven Spicer is a strong believer in the benefits of private cover and knows just how valuable the peace of mind that comes with cover can be. He is passionate about demystifying the health insurance industry and advocates for the benefits of comparison when it comes to saving money on your premiums.
1Privatehealth.gov.au. Accessed August 2024
2Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Emergency Department Care 2022-2023. Accessed August 2024
3Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Elective Surgery Waiting Times 2022-2023. Accessed August 2024
4Queensland Government Emergencies Services – Interstate Ambulance Treatment and Transport Information for Queensland Residents. Accessed August 2024