Cost of Overseas Student Health Cover for Single vs Couple

 Buying the Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) but need to know the cost for single and couple cover. The OSHC provides coverage for hospital and medical expenses with primary benefits of doctor visits, some hospital treatment, ambulance services, and prescriptions.

The dental, optical, and physiotherapy services are also covered under OSHC policy, but the person needs to pay some extra amount to get these extra covers as benefits. If someone does not buy it, they cannot get the benefits of dental, optical, and physiotherapy services.

As we know, OSHC policy is for Australian student visa holders, and if the visa holder wants their partner or family to come along with them, they need to buy either couple OSHC or a family OSHC. For instance, the student visa holder is covered under a single OSHC, for couple OSHC means a visa holder and their partner or de facto partner will be covered and for a family OSHC, the visa holder, their partner or de facto partner and one child under 18 years old are covered.

However, the price for each OSHC is different, whether single, couple, or family. One needs to pay a different fee according to their coverage. The cost is different, so one must compare OSHC health insurance before purchasing from any health insurance provider.

Single and Couple OSHC Policy

Single OSHC Policy

A single OSHC policy will cover only student visa holders instead of multiple people. They will be covered according to the duration of the course.

Couple OSHC Policy

The couple OSHC policy will cover the student visa holder and their partner or de facto partner in Australia. International visitors cannot get the benefits of Medicare (Medicare is known as the Public Healthcare System); it provides all public hospitals and medical services at free or low-cost to Australian PR and citizens.

What is Hospital Cover?

Health insurance will provide primary benefits for international students. It covers low-high medical and treatment costs, doctor visits, hospital stays, etc. See below some of the benefits under OSHC policy.

• hospital and theatre accommodation fees
• intensive care
• patient meals
• prostheses objects
• drugs, dressing, and other medical supplies
• diagnostic tests.

What is Extra Cover?

In extra cover, the international student will receive some extra benefits, for which they need to pay extra; see below those benefits.

 

• optical (including glasses, eye check-ups and contact lenses)
• dental treatment (including dental check-ups)
• chiropractic treatment
• orthodontic treatment

What's not Covered under OSHC Policy?

Some hospital and medical services not covered under OSHC policy are as follows.

• Treatments not recognized by Medicare or approved by the medical services advisory committee.
• Cosmetic surgeries are not payable by Medicare and are not clinically necessary.
• Non-emergency ambulance transportation
• Experimental treatment
• IVF and assisted reproductive services
• Treatments acquired outside Australia
• Repatriation

Reasons for Cost Difference between Single and Couples 

There is an extreme cost difference between single and couple OSHC policies, but there is no apparent reason. Some of the reasons are as follows.

 

• One might take two different OSHC policies, but the health insurance provider pretexts wrong insurance coverage and does not allow the benefits of the claim.
• The health insurance provider will cover the pregnancy and infant treatment costs, but the OSHC policyholders need to wait for twelve months to get any pregnancy-related services from OSHC.
• If a couple buys two policies to get a visa approved, they could face a problem in bill clearance. Moreover, if one or both couple visits the doctor, the provider will pretext of possessing the wrong insurance to deny the coverage.
• The individual policies will not cover the hospital or medical expenses of the dependent. The person would be unable to claim the insurance and be required to pay for dependent hospital or medical expenses.

Summary

The cost of OSHC for individuals and couples is different. It cannot be cleared because each health insurance provider sets different-different prices for the policies and extra covers. A person should compare OSHC health insurance before buying. If need help determining where to buy, we would like to suggest Budget Policy (a third-party company), one of Australia's trusted and recognised companies. They are associated with world-leading health insurance companies and provide high-quality services to their clients at lower than the market price. Feel free to contact them.