It’s really easy! Enquire online, use our form or call one of our friendly member services team on 1800 804 950.

At HCi, we provide flexible health insurance – cover for you, cover for you and a partner, or cover for your family.

Family cover can be for one or two adults and their biological, adopted and step children. Each person to be covered simply needs a green Medicare card to be eligible to join HCi.

Dependent children can be on your cover up to 31 years of age (inclusive) or more, depending on their circumstances.

You can transfer (switch) from another fund to HCi at any time. It’s quick and easy as we’ll help you at every step.

What’s more, if you join within 30 days of the expiration of your current cover, you will not have any new waiting periods for the same or lower level of cover with HCi. Normal fund waiting periods apply to services not covered by your previous fund cover, including pre-existing waits.

HCi will recognise your Certified Entry Age for the Federal Government’s Lifetime Health Cover when you transfer.

It’s easy to switch to HCi…

1. When joining online or via our form make sure the Clearance Request section is completed,
2. HCi will take care of the rest!

make the switch

*When switching from a comparable level of cover.

Unfortunately not. HCi cover is only available to Australian residents who are eligible for a green Medicare card. Temporary work and student visas, and those here on holiday or visiting relatives are not eligible to join HCi.

You can receive your HCi payments by direct credit.

If you have paid the account, your benefit can be paid electronically into your nominated bank account. You will receive separate notification as to the payment details.

However, if you have not paid the account, a direct credit will be made payable to the practitioner who provided the treatment.

You can add or update your banking details at any time by calling us, completing the HCi payment options form or logging into OMS.

All HCi hospital cover includes our Access Gap Cover at no extra charge, helping to reduce or eliminate Out-Of-Pocket (Gap Costs). Please refer to our AGC factsheet for full details.

HCi will not pay towards services, treatment or appliances provided or purchased overseas. This includes purchases from websites not owned and operated from within Australia. We will only pay eligible claims for services, treatment and appliances by approved providers and/or suppliers registered within Australia only.

HCi does not pay claims for services or treatment where you are entitled to receive compensation or damages from another source. This applies whether or not you receive compensation from that source.

Where an accident or illness is caused by the actions of another party, HCi expects that you will pursue a claim for compensation or damages from the party concerned. We may, however, make provisional payments where compensation or damages are claimable by you, provided you agree to repay such payments from your final settlement.

If you become involved in circumstances where compensation or damages may be claimable by you, please call us on 1800 804 950 to seek clarification of your entitlements.

To help ensure the propriety of services offered to members by health care providers, benefits will only be paid for services from providers who are recognised and approved by HCi. Recognition of providers by HCi is subject to change without notice. If you are not sure about a provider’s approved status with HCi, please call us on 1800 804 950 to check before arranging treatment.

Please note that claims will not be paid for any treatment provided by a family member, even if they are otherwise a registered provider.

Pregnancy, Obstetrics and birth related services.

A 12 month waiting period applies to all IVF and assisted reproductive services where utilisation of these services generally relates to treatment of a pre-existing condition. If there is not a pre-existing condition, a 2 month waiting period applies to IVF and assisted reproductive services.

Only hospital admissions can be covered under private hospital insurance.

Services outside of a hospital admission, including consultations and tests, may be claimable on Medicare or paid out of your own pocket.

Always check with the hospital, HCi and your doctor before proceeding with an IVF or hospital booking to ensure you will be covered and to discuss what costs you may incur.

If you fall more than two months in arrears for your HCi premiums, your membership may be ceased.

Acceptance of arrears payments after two months is not automatic, so please talk to us if you need time to pay. Please note that HCi does not pay claims for treatment while you are in arrears.

Refer to our payments page for payment options.

Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) is a financial loading payable in addition to the base rate premium for your private health insurance hospital cover.

Read more on our Government incentives page.

Medicare is the scheme that gives Australian residents access to health care. To help fund the scheme, most taxpayers pay a Medicare Levy of 1.5% of their taxable income.

You may be liable for the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) in addition to the Medicare Levy. Individuals and families on incomes above the MLS thresholds, who do not have an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover, pay MLS for any period during the year that they did not have this cover. If you become liable for MLS, your MLS rate will be 1%, 1.25% or 1.5%.

For more information on the MLS please visit our Government incentives page.

Some private health insurers apply Benefit Limitation Periods (BLP) for certain types of treatments and hospital policies. BLP are applied after your waiting period has finished and a lower than normal benefit is paid.

HCi does not apply BLP for members.

The Federal Government Private Health Insurance Rebate is a financial incentive to help Australians afford private health cover.

Find out more about this rebate on our Government incentives page.

The PBS subsidises the cost of various medications resulting in the consumer paying a reduced price for certain medications. These medications are reduced on average by 80%. A HCi benefit is not payable for PBS items because they are already subsidised by the Federal Government.

HCi only offers health insurance, not travel insurance. We strongly recommend that members traveling seek advice from their travel agent or specialist travel insurer.

Your usual health cover applies throughout Australia.

Members who get sick or injured while away from their home (within Australia or overseas) may incur expenses that fall outside the range of health fund benefits, including loss of air fares, additional accommodation costs etc. These costs may be covered by travel insurance, not health insurance. Likewise, health costs whilst overseas are part of travel insurance.

We have a range of ways to contact us, including…

   call 1800 804 950

   email enquiries@hciltd.com.au

   visit 25 Cattley St, Burnie, TAS

If you require further explanation or have problems on matters affecting any aspect of your health insurance cover, please call us to discuss your concerns. We will endeavour to resolve your concerns to your satisfaction as quickly as possible. However, if you believe we have not addressed your issues satisfactorily, you can contact us on 1800 804 950 or email us enquiries@hciltd.com.au.

Upon receiving a complaint,  HCi will try resolving your matter at first point of call. If that is not possible, HCi will:

• keep you informed of the process
• investigate your complaint and respond to you within 5 business days
• provide you with a final response within 45 days.