Switching Health Funds FAQs

You do not need to re-serve your waiting periods provided you join Medibank Private within two months of the date to which you are paid up to with your former Australian registered health fund. You can transfer to Medibank Private and immediately be eligible for Benefits under your new cover for services for which benefits were payable under your former fund cover (provided you have served waiting periods equivalent to Medibank Private's Waiting Periods with the former fund). However, Medibank Private's Waiting Periods apply to services which have a higher benefit than your former level of cover.

This is sometimes referred to as portability between health funds. Medibank Private allows portability for hospital and extras covers.

When you take out cover with Medibank Private, it’s important you take out the cover that meets your health and lifestyle needs – and that may mean upgrading, downgrading or maintaining an equivalent level of cover.

If you do decide to upgrade your cover, you should be aware that Medibank Private waiting periods may apply to services which have a higher Benefit than your former level of cover.

However, during those Waiting Periods, you will be entitled to benefits under either your new cover or under your old cover, whichever are the lesser.

Yes, you will need to resubmit your Federal Government Rebate form when you switch to Medibank Private. You can print off the Federal Government Rebate form when you join online. Because we need your signature, you will have to fax or mail this to us, or drop it into a Medibank Store. Medibank Private will also provide you with a Federal Government Rebate form in your Welcome Kit.

If you would like to receive the Federal Government Rebate as a reduction to your premiums it is important that you return your completed Federal Government Rebate form to us as soon as possible.

You can transfer your Lifetime Health Cover ‘Certified Age at Entry rating’. It’s important to note, however, that any days you are without hospital cover (for example, any days between the date your hospital cover is paid up to with your former fund and the date your cover starts with Medibank Private), you will you will use up some of your 'permitted days without hospital cover ' under Lifetime Health Cover.

We therefore recommend that you be paid up to the date you switch to Medibank Private if you are transferring your hospital cover.

Unless otherwise permitted, you will not be able to transfer any loyalty bonus or equity entitlements (for example, increased annual limits for dentures and crowns) built up with your former fund to your cover with Medibank Private.

To find out more about transferring, see the section on transferring from another fund, call Medibank Private on 132 331 or see our product brochure.

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman has developed a brochure called ‘The Right to Change’ which covers portability in more detail. A copy of this brochure is available from Medibank Store.