Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading is a Government initiative designed to encourage people to get hospital insurance early in life and to keep their cover.

If you take out hospital cover after 1 July following your 31st birthday, your base premium (before any Private Health Insurance Rebate is deducted) may increase by 2% for each year you’re over the age of 30 up to a maximum of 70%. Any other adult on your policy will also have to pay LHC if they join after 1 July following their 31st birthday.

You can avoid paying the LHC loading on top of your insurance premiums by taking out hospital cover before 1 July following your 31st birthday.

The LHC loading ceases once you’ve had private hospital cover for ten continuous years and does not apply for people born on or before 1 July 1934.

If you are a new migrant to Australia, an Australian citizen or a permanent resident who is overseas on 1 July following your 31st birthday special circumstances will apply. We will need to assess your International Movement Records from the Department of Home Affairs and any relevant Medicare documents such as your Medicare Eligibility letter to determine your LHC loading.

Helpful terms

Absent days - to cover small gaps, such as switching from one fund to another, you are able to be without hospital cover for periods totalling 1094 days (i.e. three years less one day) during your lifetime, without affecting your LHC.

CAE (Certified Age of Entry) - the age at which you first took out hospital cover, which is used to calculate how much LHC loading you need to pay.

Combined Lifetime Health Cover Loading - For a family policy the average age (CAE) of the two adults will be used to calculate the LHC loading that will apply.

For further information visit privatehealth.gov.au.