A new survey from Compare the Market finds that 12% of Australians have gone into debt to pay for medical expenses for themselves or for a loved one. This is despite Australia’s robust public health system covering a lot of necessary medical care.

Medicare doesn’t cover everything, and patients with or without private health still face out-of-pocket fees.

The most common cause of medical debt was specialist consultations and treatment, experienced by 36% of survey respondents. This was followed by medically necessary elective surgery at 30% and dental work at 29%, with expensive prescriptions close behind at 27%.

Past medical attention aside, Compare the Market also asked respondents if they would be willing to go into debt for treatments in the future, and 64% said they would for life-threatening emergency surgery.

^{Note: Respondents could select more than one option, so percentages do not total to 100%.}

Not everyone would be willing to take on future debt for medical expenses, however, with 28% of Australians saying they would not go into debt for a healthcare bill.

Of those who had medical debt, 23% had $1,000 to $5,000 of debt, followed by 22% who had $5,000 to $10,000 of debt. Only 2% of Australians had the highest amount of medical debt at $100,000+.

When asked how much debt they would be willing to take on in the future, 24% would be willing to take on $5,000 to $10,000. Interestingly, only 5% of Australians said they would not be willing to take on any future debt for medical expenses.

Compare the Market’s Executive General Manager of Health, Steven Spicer, encouraged Australians to be pre-emptive when it comes to their healthcare needs, as health insurance can help cover the cost in many cases.

“It’s interesting to note that health insurance can pay a benefit towards many of the different causes of medical debt that impact over one-in-ten Australians. However, if you are new to health insurance or upgrading your policy, you will likely have to undergo a waiting period before making a claim,” Mr Spicer said.

“Hospital insurance waiting periods are set by the Australian Government and range from 2 months to 12 months, depending on the inclusion/s that you need to claim on and whether the treatment is for a pre-existing condition. While the waiting periods will prevent you from claiming straight away, health insurance can cost a lot less than having to pay for medical bills entirely out of your own pocket.”

For those with private health insurance, Mr Spicer said it was important to look at ‘no gap’ or ‘known gap’ hospitals and doctors, to reduce out-of-pocket fees further.

“There can still be gap fees for those with private health insurance, but many health funds have a list of doctors and hospitals that they have agreements with where you can have your treatment with no gap fees at all, or a lower gap fee that is set before your treatment,” Mr Spicer said.

“There’s a range of benefits to private health insurance, and it gives customers greater choice over their healthcare than if they relied solely on Australia’s public system. Whether people already have insurance or are considering purchasing it, comparing available policies beforehand can help people weigh up the differing coverage benefits and prices before they buy.”

To learn more about the survey, and see how Australia compares to Canada and the USA, visit: https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/health-insurance/features/health-debt-survey/

Compare the Market commissioned PureProfile to survey 1,012 Australian adults in a demographically representative survey for each nation in January 2025.

For interviews and more information, please contact:

James McCay | +61 450 930 374 | [email protected]   

Compare the Market is a comparison service that takes the hard work out of shopping around. We make it Simples for Australians to quickly and easily compare and buy insurance, energy, and home loans products from a range of providers. Our easy-to-use comparison tool helps you look for a range of products that may suit your needs and benefit your back pocket.