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Compare Bronze Health Insurance
Compare Bronze Health Insurance
Written by
Madeline Pettet
Edited by
Laura Crowden
Reviewed by
Dr Jill GambergCheck out our range of private health funds
iSelect does not compare all providers in the market or all policies offered by our partners in your area. Not all policies or special offers are available to all customers and some may only be available over the phone or on the website. Learn more.
What is bronze health insurance?
Bronze cover is the second lowest of the four tiers of private hospital cover. It’s generally a more affordable option than silver or gold but also provides less cover. It’s really important that you’re absolutely clear on what a bronze policy will cover you for, and, just as importantly, what it won’t.
Is bronze health insurance worth it?
Bronze hospital cover could be more than worth it if you ever need treatment for the categories it covers, like a joint reconstruction or an appendectomy. However, if you need a greater level of cover, it might not be up to scratch. For some people, though, bronze could offer a nice balance of both peace of mind and tax incentives, like avoiding the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).
How does bronze health insurance compare to the other tiers?
In Australia, there are four tiers of private hospital insurance: gold, silver, bronze, and basic. The Australian Government decides these. All health insurers have to stick to these tiers for hospital cover, and each tier includes specific minimum requirements.
Each tier offers the same cover as the one before it, along with some additional categories. Therefore, bronze cover includes what you’d get on basic cover and more. Silver and gold come with more cover than bronze, and gold offers the most protection.
Want to know about the other tiers of hospital cover?
What does bronze health cover include?
The table shows the different categories each tier must include.
Those marked unrestricted mean you’ll be treated as a private patient in a private hospital and most or all of your treatment will be covered. On the other hand, those marked restricted mean you’ll have some out-of-pocket expenses, and you’ll usually be treated as a private patient but in a public hospital.
Insurers can choose to cover categories marked as optional for that tier, but they don’t have to. Bronze has quite a few optional categories, compared to silver and gold, but far less optional and restricted cover than basic policies.
How much does bronze health insurance cost?
As a rule of thumb, a bronze policy will cost more than a basic policy but less than a silver policy. However, different health insurers have different prices for their bronze cover. In fact, the price of bronze policies can vary quite a bit between insurers, which is why it pays to shop around.
But that’s just one factor that could change your premium. Opting for more cover, as in a bronze plus policy, could increase the price. Similarly, your premium could go up or down depending on the state you live in or how much you earn. To give you an idea of what this could look like, the map shows how the average monthly premium for available bronze and bronze plus policies changed between states in October 2024.
Helpful tip
Bronze cover offers unrestricted cover for 18 clinical categories and restricted cover for three treatment categories: rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services, and palliative care. Restricted cover means that if you receive any of these treatments as a private patient at a public hospital, your insurance will cover some of your costs – but not all. If you anticipate needing any of the restricted treatments, it’s important to carefully review the fine print and clarify with your provider exactly what they will cover. For comprehensive coverage of all three, you’ll need to opt for gold cover.
Dr. Jill Gamberg
GP, Coach and Lifestyle Medicine Physician
Who is bronze health insurance suitable for?
Young people with no pressing health concerns
For those lucky ducks with both youth and health on their side, bronze can offer enough cover to give peace of mind without breaking the bank.
People who want some coverage but aren’t planning on growing their family soon
You might have plans for a bigger brood in the future, but if you aren’t quite ready to pick a nursery colour, a lower-tier policy without pregnancy-related cover may be all you’re after for now.
People looking for cover for broken bones and other surprise hospital visits
Accidents happen and so do burst appendixes. If you’re only interested in being treated as a private patient for the kinds of injuries or illnesses that come with little forewarning, like muscle tears or kidney stones, bronze may be all that you need.
People looking to trim down their tax bill
Keep more of your taxable income if you’re a higher income earner (above the MLS income threshold), plus enjoy some private patient benefits, thanks to a bronze health insurance policy. Just make sure your excess is either $750 or less if you’ve picked a singles policy, or $1,500 or less if you’re covering your partner or family too.
Frequently asked questions
What’s not included in bronze health insurance?
While the bronze tier includes more treatments than basic, it doesn’t cover as much as the silver or gold tiers.
Bronze usually doesn’t include cover for:
- heart and vascular system
- lung and chest
- blood
- back, neck and spine
- plastic and reconstructive surgery (medically necessary)
- dental surgery
- podiatric surgery (provided by a registered podiatric surgeon)
- implantation of hearing devices
- cataracts
- joint replacements
- dialysis for chronic kidney failure
- pregnancy and birth
- assisted reproductive services
- weight loss surgery
- insulin pumps
- pain management with device
- sleep studies.
Insurers have the option to include any of the above additional treatment categories in a bronze policy if they want to, but they’re not required to.
What is bronze plus cover?
While insurers have a required list of services they must include under each policy tier, they are welcome to add extra services at their discretion. If they take that route, then generally they’ll add a ‘plus’ to the policy name. As a result, you might spot bronze plus policies that offer more cover than you’d typically see with bronze but less so than silver.
FYI: there are no rules about which additional treatments insurers can include when making a plus policy. So, what’s covered under one fund’s bronze plus option could be quite different from another funds.
How do I switch to a bronze health insurance policy?
Before you switch, make sure you know what your health needs are, along with your budget. Keeping these facts in mind can help you find a bronze policy you like.
Then it’s simply a matter of signing up to the policy.
Remember, if you intend to up your cover (or get any kind of hospital cover for the first time or after a break), you’ll need to sit through some waiting periods. These vary from two months to a maximum of an entire year. It depends on the treatment and if you have any related pre-existing conditions.1For more information, see Department of Health and Aged Care – Waiting periods and exemptions
Where can I compare bronze health insurance?
It might not be the Bronze Age anymore, but bronze health cover still has its place in modern life.
Try our online comparison tool to search a range of policies from different providers, or speak with one of our health insurance comparison experts on 1800 784 772.
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Health Insurance & Tax
Tax Implications on Health Insurance
How to save on Health Insurance
About the Medicare Levy Surcharge
About the Life Time Health Cover Loading
Government Rebate & Means Testing
iSelect does not compare all health insurance providers or policies in the market. The availability of policies will change from time to time. Not all policies available from its providers are compared by iSelect and due to commercial arrangements, your stated needs and circumstances, not all policies compared by iSelect are available to all customers. Some policies and special offers are available only from iSelect’s contact centre or website. Click here to view iSelect’s range of providers