An independent look at Extras cover

IsItWorthIt compares Australian private health insurance Extras policies only. Enter the services you plan to use and we calculate which policies offer the best value for your specific situation.

The calculator considers premiums, benefit limits, waiting periods and per-visit caps to give you a realistic estimate of your out-of-pocket costs across different policies.

It does not evaluate hospital cover or combined hospital + extras packages.

You can purchase hospital and extras cover separately, sometimes from different insurers. There’s often no cost advantage in bundling, and splitting can give you better-tailored coverage for your needs.

Many Australians hold hospital cover primarily to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS), an additional tax of 1–1.5% on income if you earn above certain thresholds and don’t have hospital cover.

At higher incomes, the surcharge can cost more than a basic hospital policy. So even if you never plan to use private hospital services, holding a cheap hospital policy may save you money at tax time.

If you already have hospital cover (or plan to keep it for MLS reasons), your next question is:

“Should I add extras cover, and if so, which policy gives me the best value for what I actually use?”

That’s exactly what this calculator answers.

• ✕Not financial advice. It’s a calculator. You make the decisions.
• ✕Not a hospital cover comparison tool. If you’re evaluating whether to hold hospital cover at all, that’s a separate question involving MLS, your income, your health needs and your risk tolerance.
• ✕Not comprehensive. It uses official government data, but always verify with your insurer before purchasing.

Data sourced from the Private Health Open Listing (PHOL) — the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care’s directory of currently-available products, published via data.gov.au under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO) is a separate agency that publishes consumer-complaints data; we don’t use that. We use the product directory only.

IsItWorthIt is run as IS IT WORTH IT, an Australian registered business (ABN 72 734 983 769). It’s a small independent project — no insurer owns it, no fund funds it. The $19 unlock is the only revenue, and it goes back into keeping the data current.

1. Select your state and cover type.
2. Add the healthcare services you expect to use.
3. Enter the visits and estimated cost per visit.
4. Set your time horizon.
5. Press calculate.