What is Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading?
The Federal Government introduced the Lifetime Health Cover loading to encourage Australians to take out private hospital cover at a younger age and encourage them to maintain it.
Does Lifetime Health Cover loading apply to everyone?
No, there are some situations where you won’t have to incur the loading. These include if you:
- Are aged under 31 years old
- Had continuous hospital cover since 1 July 2000
- Were born on or before 1 July 1934
- Are an Australian citizen or resident who is overseas at the time of the deadline and take out Hospital Cover within 12 months of your return. In order to review your LHC correctly, we will require a copy of your International Movements Record which you can obtain from Department of Home Affairs.
- Are a new migrant aged 31 or over but take out hospital cover within 12 months of being eligible for Medicare
- Are a member of the Australian Defence Forces
- Are a Department of Veteran Affairs Gold Card Holder
How is Lifetime Health Cover loading applied?
For every year over the age of 30 that you don’t have private hospital cover, a 2% loading is applied to the cost of your insurance (and increases each year until it reaches 70%).
Calculate your LHC