Travel healths

Is a Gold health insurance policy right for you?

Here's what the highest tier of health insurance in Australia covers.
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Last updated: 11 Mar 2024
gold tier hospital insurance

Our insurance experts have reviewed Gold hospital insurance policies from over 40 health insurers to find out which ones offer the best value. Find out whether you can secure cover that’ll save you money by comparing health insurance with us.

Need to know a bit more about Gold health insurance first? We explain what’s covered, what you can expect to pay and the cover you might want to consider instead.

What is Gold health insurance?

Gold health insurance is the highest level of private hospital cover available in Australia. Consider a Gold policy if you need cover for things such as pregnancy and birth, cataract eye surgery and hip or knee replacement.

If you want health insurance that gives peace of mind for a hospital visit, a Gold policy is for you. But if you want cheaper health insurance, try Silver, Bronze or Basic policies.

What does Gold hospital insurance cover?

  • 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 for 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, grommets.
  • Hernia and appendix surgery.
  • Brain and nervous system treatments including for stroke, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
Read more:
Is your health insurance policy the best possible deal?

How much is Gold health insurance?

Gold health cover costs on average $590 per month for a family policy with $750 excess (without the health insurance rebate). The cost varies depending on which state you live in, how much you earn, your level of excess and when you first bought health insurance.

What is a health insurance excess?

An excess is a contribution you pay towards each hospital stay which will reduce the cost of your premium. 

If you’re not likely to go to hospital in the next one or two years, opt for a higher excess to reduce your premium. If you think you’ll need to go to hospital sooner rather than later, switch to a policy with a lower or nil excess at least 12 months before your hospital stay.

Should you consider Silver Plus health insurance instead?

A Silver Plus policy is a level down from Gold-tier cover, but it might have what you need and cost less. Silver Plus policies cover the 26 Silver-level services in private hospital, plus one or more of the services from the Gold level.

For example, if you want cover for a specific treatment such as pregnancy, you may be able to buy a Silver Plus policy that includes the cover you need and is cheaper than a Gold policy that has all the bells and whistles. 

What’s covered by Silver Plus?

Everything that’s covered by Silver policies, plus at least one of the following:

  • pregnancy and birth including fertility treatments such as IVF 
  • joint replacements
  • cataracts
  • rehabilitation in a private hospital
  • hospital psychiatry in a private hospital
  • palliative care in a private hospital
  • gastric banding and obesity surgery
  • insulin pumps
  • sleep studies
  • dialysis
  • pain management with a device (for example, a surgically implanted device to manage pain caused by heart disease).
Read more:
Dump these overpriced Silver Plus health insurance policies

CHOICE health insurance comparison

Not sure whether you’re paying too much for private health insurance? We’ve built a tool that lets you compare thousands of health insurance policies from more than 40 insurers (see the full list of below).

Our experts rate policies based on out-of-pocket costs, fund complaints, price and more, and we’re 100% independent, which means we don’t show sponsored results like other comparison sites.

We show you all the funds – big and small, member-owned and nonprofit – to help you find the best. Compare health insurance now and see whether you can change policies and save.

Our health insurance reviews are for members, but we’ve got lots of helpful free health insurance content, like advice from our experts, explainer articles and buying guides to help you figure out the best option for you.

Health funds included in our review

With our health insurance tool you can compare policies from over 40 health insurers:

  1. AAMI 
  2. ACA 
  3. AHM 
  4. AIA 
  5. Apia
  6. Australian Seniors
  7. Australian Unity
  8. Bupa
  9. CBHS Corporate
  10. CBHS
  11. Defence Health 
  12. Doctors’ Health 
  13. Emergency Services Health
  14. Frank
  15. GMHBA
  16. HBF
  17. HCF
  18. HCi
  19. HIF
  20. Health Partners
  21. Hunter Health
  22. ING
  23. Latrobe
  24. Medibank
  25. Mildura
  26. onemedifund
  27. Navy Health
  28. NIB
  29. Nurses & Midwives Health
  30. Peoplecare
  31. Phoenix
  32. Police
  33. Priceline
  34. Qantas
  35. Queensland Country
  36. Reserve Bank
  37. Real Insurance
  38. RT health
  39. see-u
  40. St.Lukes Health
  41. Suncorp
  42. Teachers Health
  43. Territory Health Fund
  44. Transport Health
  45. TUH
  46. UniHealth
  47. Union Health
  48. Westfund
Uta

I've been at CHOICE for over 20 years, starting as a research assistant and nowadays a senior content producer in the money and travel team. I am originally from Germany and my background is in journalism; I started in my teens at my local paper and then studied journalism in Germany and Australia. I hold a Master in History and Politics from the Technical University of Berlin, a Graduate Certificate in Journalism from UTS and a Certificate IV in Financial Advising from the Securities Institute in Sydney. Over the years I have worked on all types of financial topics – from credit cards to reverse mortgages and kids bank accounts. My main interest and expertise is in health insurance and I am member of the government health insurance website reference group of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.    I love working at CHOICE because I feel that we can make a real difference helping consumers to get a fair go. You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

I've been at CHOICE for over 20 years, starting as a research assistant and nowadays a senior content producer in the money and travel team. I am originally from Germany and my background is in journalism; I started in my teens at my local paper and then studied journalism in Germany and Australia. I hold a Master in History and Politics from the Technical University of Berlin, a Graduate Certificate in Journalism from UTS and a Certificate IV in Financial Advising from the Securities Institute in Sydney. Over the years I have worked on all types of financial topics – from credit cards to reverse mortgages and kids bank accounts. My main interest and expertise is in health insurance and I am member of the government health insurance website reference group of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.    I love working at CHOICE because I feel that we can make a real difference helping consumers to get a fair go. You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Jodi

I manage CHOICE's Money and Travel team. We look after health, home, car, travel and pet insurance reviews plus all the travel content. I studied a Bachelor of Commerce Majoring in Economics and worked in finance for many years in Sydney, London, Amsterdam and Switzerland before I joined CHOICE in 2012. So I've done plenty of travel and I'm no stranger to playing with numbers. I like breaking down complex consumer decisions about financial services into easy to understand steps, and comparing all the products to find the best in the market. Especially when the best products are cheaper than those that aren't so good. We see that a lot. I also really like holding companies to account for failing their customers. Unfortunately we also see a lot of that. From timeshares to airlines, funeral insurance and poor financial advice. You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

I manage CHOICE's Money and Travel team. We look after health, home, car, travel and pet insurance reviews plus all the travel content. I studied a Bachelor of Commerce Majoring in Economics and worked in finance for many years in Sydney, London, Amsterdam and Switzerland before I joined CHOICE in 2012. So I've done plenty of travel and I'm no stranger to playing with numbers. I like breaking down complex consumer decisions about financial services into easy to understand steps, and comparing all the products to find the best in the market. Especially when the best products are cheaper than those that aren't so good. We see that a lot. I also really like holding companies to account for failing their customers. Unfortunately we also see a lot of that. From timeshares to airlines, funeral insurance and poor financial advice. You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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