Depending on where you live, you may not need a policy with ambulance cover.
- Queensland and Tasmania: Emergency ambulance services are covered by the state government.
- NSW and the ACT: All hospital policies come with emergency ambulance cover – so you’ll be covered with any hospital or combined policy you select.
- South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory: You can buy emergency ambulance cover directly from the ambulance service. Alternatively, some health fund policies will cover ambulance in your state or territory or refund at least part of the cost of the ambulance service cover.
- Rural Western Australia: You can buy emergency ambulance cover directly from the ambulance service. Alternatively, some health fund policies will cover ambulance or refund at least part of the cost of the ambulance service cover.
- Metropolitan Western Australia: If you want to be covered for ambulance you need to buy a health insurance policy with ambulance cover.
Who is RT Health?
RT Health is a nonprofit health fund originally for transport and energy sector employees and their families but is now open to all. It was started more than 120 years ago by a group of railway employees. RT Health merged with HCF in 2021 and is part of Members Health, an alliance of nonprofit and mutual health funds.
Phone: 1300 886 123
Website: rthealthfund.com.au
Does RT Health get many complaints from members?
RT Health has a Medium complaints rating.
When we score policies we give each fund a complaints rating, based on the number of complaints and serious disputes the Ombudsman deals with. We take into account the size of the fund, so big funds don’t get automatically penalised for having more complaints. The ratings are Low, Medium and High. A Low rating is better than a High rating – it means the fund has fewer complaints and fewer serious disputes for its size.
How good is RT Health’s gap cover?
A medical gap is the difference between Medicare’s recommended fee and what your doctor actually charges for a treatment or service.
Health funds have agreements with particular doctors and hospitals to cover all of the gap, which are called ‘no gap agreements’, or part of that gap, which are called ‘known gap agreements’ (these will have lower out-of-pocket costs, usually less than $500).
Our graphic below displays the CHOICE gap rating, which takes into account the percentage of services where members either paid no gap or a known gap, compared to the state average.
Rating scale
- Well above average
- Above average
- Average
- Below average
- Well below average
Australian Capital Territory
Average.
New South Wales
Average.
Northern Territory
Below average.
Queensland
Average.
South Australia
Average.
Tasmania
Average.
Victoria
Average.
Western Australia
Below average.
How many hospital agreements does RT Health have in each state?
The benefit amount your fund pays you for hospital services depends not only on the type of cover you buy, but also whether your fund has an agreement with the hospital where you’re treated.
The table below shows how many hospital agreements RT Health has in your state compared to the fund with the highest number (the industry maximum). Note that public hospitals don’t have agreements with specific funds and are generally treated as though they’re agreement hospitals.
R.T. Health hospital agreements
In the Australian Capital Territory this fund has…
4 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 6.
8 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 9.
In New South Wales this fund has…
88 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 92.
91 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 105.
In the Northern Territory this fund has…
1 private hospital agreement out of an industry maximum of 1.
2 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 2.
In Queensland this fund has…
50 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 58.
46 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 54.
In South Australia this fund has…
20 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 20.
25 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 31.
In Tasmania this fund has…
8 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 8.
6 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 9.
In Victoria this fund has…
69 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 71.
71 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 80.
In Western Australia this fund has…
21 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 23.
20 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 29.
Does RT Health offer ambulance cover?
All RT Health extras, hospital and combined policies have emergency ambulance cover.
In Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, cover is limited to $5000 per person per year.
Depending on where you live, you may not need a policy with ambulance cover.
- Queensland and Tasmania: Emergency ambulance services are covered by the state government.
- NSW and the ACT: All hospital policies come with emergency ambulance cover – so you’ll be covered with any hospital or combined policy you select.
- South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory: You can buy emergency ambulance cover directly from the ambulance service. Alternatively, some health fund policies will cover ambulance in your state or territory or refund at least part of the cost of the ambulance service cover.
- Rural Western Australia: You can buy emergency ambulance cover directly from the ambulance service. Alternatively, some health fund policies will cover ambulance or refund at least part of the cost of the ambulance service cover.
- Metropolitan Western Australia: If you want to be covered for ambulance you need to buy a health insurance policy with ambulance cover.
Does RT Health offer family policies that cover adult children?
- Adult children are covered on family policies for free until they turn 22.
- Full-time students are covered on family policies for free until they turn 31.
- Adult children younger than 31 can be covered on extended family policies for an extra cost.
Does RT Health let you claim online or in-app?
You can claim online for all services (there is no app available).
