On this page
- What is Lifetime Health Cover loading?
- How does it work?
- Example of Lifetime Health Cover loading
- How to find your loading
- How long it stays for
- Acting early to avoid it
- Exemptions
- Permitted days without cover
- New migrants to Australia
What is Lifetime Health Cover loading?
Lifetime Health Cover loading, sometimes called private health insurance loading, is a government penalty for not taking out private hospital cover after your 31st birthday.
It encourages you to take out private hospital cover earlier in life and encourages you to keep it. If you purchase hospital cover earlier in life, and keep it, you won’t pay an extra amount called Lifetime Health Cover Loading.
In essence, it’s aimed to achieve a more balanced distribution of costs within Australia's healthcare system by encouraging younger, healthier people to contribute to the private insurance pool.
How does Lifetime Health Cover loading work?
Your loading is based on your age when you first take out Hospital cover.
If you don’t have Hospital cover by 1 July after your 31st birthday and take it out later, a 2% loading is added to your premium for each year you are aged over 30 without cover.
This loading will need to be paid on your Hospital cover premium for 10 continuous years before it’s removed.
If you take out our Gold Combined cover, you only pay loading on your Hospital portion of your cover.
Example
Jane turned 31 in January 2022, so her Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) base day was 1 July 2022. She did not hold any hospital cover before or on that date.
She decided to take out hospital cover for the first time in October 2023, more than a year after her base day.
Because she did not hold hospital cover on or before her base day, and she was over 30 when she first took out cover, she is required to pay LHC loading on top of her hospital premium.
The loading is calculated at 2% for each year she was aged over 30 and did not have hospital cover.
She will pay this extra 2% loading for 10 continuous years, unless she qualifies for an exemption.
If her base hospital premium is $1,500 per year, the loading would add $60 per year, bringing her total to $1,560 annually for those 10 years.
How do I find out my Lifetime Health Cover loading?
The table below shows you what your LHC loading could be if you take out Hospital cover after 1 July following your 31st birthday.
| Age | % Lifetime Health Cover loading |
|---|---|
| 31^ | 2% |
| 32 | 4% |
| 33 | 6% |
| 34 | 8% |
| 35 | 10% |
| 36 | 12% |
| 37 | 14% |
| 38 | 16% |
| 39 | 18% |
| 40 | 20% |
^After 1 July following your 31st birthday.
If you don't see your age, use the Private Health's Lifetime Cover calculator.
How long does the loading stay for?
You’ll keep paying your loading until you keep your private hospital cover for 10 continuous years. Then your loading will be 0%, if you retain your private hospital cover.
If you cancel your private hospital cover after the loading is removed, you may have to pay the loading again if you take out another private hospital cover.
Act early if you want to avoid Lifetime Health cover loading
You can avoid the loading if you take out Hospital cover before 1 July following your 31st birthday.
Only private hospital cover with Australian registered private health insurers is considered to be complying hospital cover for the purpose of Lifetime Health Cover.
Extras cover, Overseas Visitors Health Cover, Overseas Student Health Cover, and international forms of insurance are not considered to be hospital cover for Lifetime Health Cover purposes.
Are there exemptions for Lifetime Health Cover loading?
You don't have to pay the loading if any of the following apply to you;
- You are aged under 31 years old
- You hold an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover before you reach your Lifetime Health Cover 'base day' – for many people, the base day is 1 July following their 31st birthday
(This can change depending on personal circumstances such as if you are overseas on this day) - You are a new migrant to Australia, and are aged 31 or over, and you take out hospital cover within 12 months of being registered for full Medicare benefits
- You were born on or before 1 July 1934
Permitted days without cover
If you have taken up hospital cover on or after your Lifetime Health Cover base day, then you can access the following 'permitted days without hospital cover' during which you do not have an active hospital policy, but your loading does not increase.
For most people, your base day is the later of 1 July 2000 or the 1 July after your 31st birthday.
If you have hospital cover on or after your base day, you are entitled to 1,094 days without hospital cover that won’t affect your Lifetime Health Cover loading status, see privatehealth.gov.au for more details.
New migrants to Australia
If you are a new migrant to Australia, then you have until the later of 1 July following your 31st birthday or the first anniversary of your full Medicare registration to take out private hospital cover without incurring a Lifetime Health Cover loading.
If the latter applies to you, your Lifetime Health Cover base day is the 12 month anniversary of your registration for full Medicare benefits (i.e. when you are eligible for a blue or green Medicare card).