Are you paying too much for Gold health insurance?

Dump these overpriced Gold policies and lock in better cover.
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Last updated: 22 Mar 2021
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Need to know

  • Premiums increased in April, but you can compare and switch at any time to make sure you're getting the best cover and value 
  • We found Gold policies that cost you $500 (single) or $1000 (couple/family) more a year than similar Gold policies
  • Medibank, Bupa and Qantas (NIB) are among the health funds selling these overpriced Gold policies

Health insurance premiums went up on 1 April, but you can compare health insurance at any time to make sure you’re getting the best cover and value. 

We’ve found 47 Gold hospital insurance policies that cost at least $500 (single) or $1000 (couple/family) more than the cheapest Gold policy in the same state. 

And it’s not like there is a big difference in cover to the other Gold policies. All policies in the same tier of cover (Bronze, Silver or Gold) include all the same treatments. 

Beware of these expensive policies

These Gold policies are the most expensive, costing at least $500 per year (single) more than at least one other Gold policy in most states. 

  • AAMI (NIB) Gold Hospital, $500 excess (in all states except SA and WA)
  • Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $500 excess (in all states except WA)
  • Medibank Gold Advanced, $500 excess (in all states except NT and WA)
  • Suncorp (NIB) Gold Hospital, $500 excess (in all states except SA and WA)

In WA, the market is more competitive, but the most expensive Gold policy is Latrobe Gold Hospital, $500 excess. 

Our complete list of expensive Gold policies is in the table below. If you have one of these policies, it makes sense to dump it for a cheaper one. Compare health insurance options to find the right policy for you. 

Read more:
Insurers hiding soaring increases to top-level health cover
Text-only accessible version

Notes: 

All premiums are for single policies without the health insurance rebate; families and couples pay about double.

All policies have a $500 excess. Excess applies once per person a year and twice for a family or couple policy.

All Gold policies are at least $500 (single) or $1000 (couple and family) a year more expensive than the cheapest Gold policy in their state.

Sourced from data.gov.au, March 2021. 

Cheapest Gold policies (with $500 excess) are $204 a month in Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. $116 a month in Northern Territory, $198 a month in South Australia, and $185 a month in Western Australia. 

The Gold policies $500 more expensive than the cheapest Gold policy are:

NSW

AAMI (NIB) Gold Hospital, $271 per month for a single person

Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $276 per month for a single person

CUA Premium Hospital, $257 per month for a single person

HIF Gold Star Hospital, $253 per month for a single person

Medibank Gold Advanced, $262 per month for a single person

Qantas (NIB) Gold Hospital, $249 per month for a single person

Suncorp (NIB) Gold Hospital, $271 per month for a single person

NT

AAMI (NIB) Gold Hospital, $180 per month for a single person

Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $177 per month for a single person

CBHS Corporate Gold Hospital, $170 per month for a single person

Doctors’ Prime Choice Gold, $205 per month for a single person

HCI Gold Hospital, $236 per month for a single person

HIF Gold Star Hospital, $171 per month for a single person

Latrobe Gold Hospital, $239 per month for a single person

Mildura Five Star Gold – F3, $204 per month for a single person

Qantas (NIB) Gold Hospital, $187 per month for a single person

St.Lukes Gold Hospital, $201 per month for a single person

Suncorp (NIB) Gold Hospital, $180 per month for a single person

QLD test

AAMI (NIB) Gold Hospital, $284 per month for a single person

AHM Top Hospital Gold, $256 per month for a single person

Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $299 per month for a single person

Bupa Gold Complete Hospital, $257 per month for a single person

CUA Premium Hospital, $254 per month for a single person

HIF Gold Star Hospital, $263 per month for a single person

Medibank Gold Advanced, $283 per month for a single person

Nurses & Midwives Gold Hospital, $250 per month for a single person

Qantas (NIB) Gold Hospital, $265 per month for a single person

Suncorp (NIB) Gold Hospital, $284 per month for a single person

SA

Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $259 per month for a single person

Doctors’ Prime Choice Gold, $245 per month for a single person

Medibank Gold Advanced, $262 per month for a single person

TAS

AAMI (NIB) Gold Hospital, $250 per month for a single person

Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $274 per month for a single person

Medibank Gold Advanced, $278 per month for a single person

Suncorp (NIB) Gold Hospital, $250 per month for a single person

VIC

AAMI (NIB) Gold Hospital, $295 per month for a single person

AHM Top Hospital Gold, $274 per month for a single person

Australian Unity Ultimate Hospital (Gold), $288 per month for a single person

Bupa Gold Complete Hospital, $274 per month for a single person

CUA Premium Hospital, $269 per month for a single person

HIF Gold Star Hospital, $264 per month for a single person

Medibank Gold Advanced, $287 per month for a single person

Nurses & Midwives Gold Hospital, $259 per month for a single person

Qantas (NIB) Gold Hospital, $275 per month for a single person

Suncorp (NIB) Gold Hospital, $295 per month for a single person

WA

HCI Gold Hospital, $236 per month for a single person

Latrobe Gold Hospital, $239 per month for a single person

How we compare Gold health insurance

We looked at the cheapest Gold policies for a single person, with a $500 excess, in each state and territory, and selected all Gold policies that were $500 a year more expensive (before the private health insurance rebate is applied).

We excluded any Gold policies that were only available with an extras policy from the same fund.

Read more:
How to downgrade your top cover health insurance and save $2000 or more

What is Gold health insurance?

Gold health insurance is the highest level of private hospital cover available in Australia. 

There are four different tiers for hospital insurance:

  • Gold – full or top health insurance cover in a private hospital
  • Silver – medium cover
  • Bronze – low cover
  • Basic – very little cover, if any.

Gold policies will work for you if:

  • you need cover for IVF, pregnancy and birth
  • you need cataract eye surgery
  • you need a hip or knee replacement
  • you have chronic health issues and may need pain management with a device, insulin pumps or gastric banding surgery
  • you need private treatment for psychiatry or rehabilitation.

But Gold policies probably won’t be right for you if you need to keep your ongoing insurance costs low.

More about what Gold health insurance covers

Gold health insurance provides cover for the following treatments in a private hospital (though you still may have out-of-pocket costs):

  • Pregnancy and birth, including fertility treatments such as IVF
  • Joint replacements and reconstructions
  • Cataracts
  • Rehabilitation
  • Hospital psychiatry
  • Palliative care
  • Gastric banding and obesity surgery
  • Diabetes management including insulin pumps
  • Sleep studies
  • Dialysis
  • Pain management with or without a device (for example, a surgically implanted device to manage pain caused by heart disease)
  • Heart and vascular surgery
  • All cancer surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation
  • Lung and chest surgeries
  • Medically necessary plastic and reconstructive surgery
  • Bone marrow transplants and other blood-related treatments
  • Investigation and treatment for back, neck and spine problems such as sciatica and scoliosis
  • Dental surgery including wisdom teeth removal and dental implants in hospital
  • Implantation of hearing devices
  • Accommodation in hospital for podiatric surgery
  • Skin-related procedures including treatments for lesions and abscesses, and allergy skin-prick testing
  • Broken bones and other bone, joint and muscle treatments
  • Endoscopy and colonoscopy plus other digestive system procedures including removal of gallstones or haemorrhoids
  • Gynaecology, miscarriage and termination of pregnancy, sterilisation (male and female)
  • Ear, nose and throat surgery including tonsils, adenoids and grommets
  • Hernia and appendix surgery
  • Brain and nervous system treatments for stroke, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
Uta

Uta worked at CHOICE from 1998-2024, finishing as a senior content producer with the money and travel team. You can find Uta on LinkedIn.

Uta worked at CHOICE from 1998-2024, finishing as a senior content producer with the money and travel team. You can find Uta on LinkedIn.

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