Updated 29 October 2021

From the outset we made a commitment to not profit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we’re delivering on this promise, giving savings back to members by:

1. Freezing premiums until October 2022!
   
   AND
   
   
2. Rolling unused Annual Extras Benefit Limits over to 2022!

These measures build on our existing COVID support package, which includes:

• Physical and mental health support
• Financial hardship assistance

We won’t increase your premium on 1 April next year – it’ll be locked in until October 2022.

Hopefully this will help to ease financial pressures as we take our first steps out of the pandemic.

If you claim the Private Health Insurance Rebate

If the government decreases the Private Health Insurance Rebate next April, you may have to pay a slightly higher percentage of your premium.

We’ll let you know if your premium will change due to a rebate reduction, or because your income has put you in a different rebate tier.  

Extras benefit limits usually reset on 1 January each year – not this time!

As yoyo-ing COVID-19 restrictions may have stopped you from making full use of your Extras, we figured you could use some more time to get maximum value from your cover so we are rolling over any unused Annual Benefit Limits from 2021 to 2022. We’re setting this up for you over the next few months, so sit back and relax – no need to do anything to make this happen.

You will be able to see your rolled over limits from 1 January through Online Member Services or via our mobile app.

See terms and conditions

At the start of the pandemic, we introduced the following measures – they’ve since been extended to 31 December 2021:

• Telehealth – We’ve always paid benefits towards telepsychology under Extras cover. We’ve since extended this to a wider range of services, including physio, chiro and speech therapy.
  
  
• Mental Wellness Program – This phone-based program is always available to eligible members^ with Hospital cover via Teachers Healthcare Services.
  
  More on mental health support during COVID-19
  
  
• Cover for COVID-19 – Members on all levels of Hospital cover are covered for COVID-19 admissions, including cover for any adverse reaction or side-effect to a COVID-19 vaccine which requires admission to hospital. This is especially relevant for members on our Basic Plus products StarterPak, Basic Hospital and Mid Hospital (who wouldn’t have had full cover for COVID-19 admissions otherwise).
• New Family Program – our New Family Program remains open to more members^ with Hospital cover. This is to help families who may struggle to access standard ante and postnatal services during COVID-19.
  
  

^{^}This program is brought to members through Teachers Healthcare Services, an initiative of Teachers Health to support members’ health and wellbeing through quality, evidence-based health management programs and services. To be eligible for this program you must be a member of UniHealth and have Hospital cover with all relevant waiting periods served. Additional eligibility criteria may apply. Eligible members are connected with a dedicated Teachers Healthcare Services care coordinator who supports them on their personal journey.

We’re here to help if you’re experiencing financial stress due to COVID-19. Here are two ways we’ve been supporting members:

• Financial hardship suspension – If you’re having financial difficulties, you can apply to suspend your membership.
  
  
• Overseas travel suspension – We’ve relaxed the rules on suspension to better support members who suspended their cover and are stuck overseas. This measure is in place until the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.

For more information on Hospital cover during COVID-19, check out these FAQs.

Need to talk to us urgently about a hospital admission? We’ve created a fast-track process for members with COVID-19-related questions – please get in touch here.​