About Overseas Student Health Cover
We're one of Australia's largest private health insurers, covering more than three million Australian residents and visitors to Australia.Our experienced staff and affordable prices make Medibank's Overseas Student Health Cover a leading choice for international students.
Overseas Student Health Cover at a glance
With Medibank's Overseas Student Health Cover you'll get:
- Cover if you need to go to hospital
- Cover if you need to visit a doctor or specialist
- Ambulance services
- Benefits for some of your prescription medicines
- Access to Mi Health, a range of health support services including:
- Medibank Nurses 24/7 on our health advice line
- In Hospital Support*
- Online Health Hub
- Mobile Health Apps
- Special offers and discounts
* For overnight stays in participating Members' Choice Hospitals. Not available in all areas. Please call us on 134 190 for details.
Cover for hospital treatment
Medibank Overseas Student Health Cover helps with the cost of treatment in a private hospital or in a public hospital as a private patient. It also allows you to choose your own doctor and which hospital you'd prefer to attend.
What benefits are paid?
For the services included under Overseas Student Health Cover we'll pay benefits towards:
- Private hospital accommodation
- Overnight admissions in a private or shared room
- Same day admissions
- Intensive care
- Theatre fees
- Public hospital accommodation as a private patient
- Overnight admissions (shared room only)
- Same day admissions (shared room only)
- Outpatient accidents and emergency department fees, including outpatient medical and post-operative services (fees raised by the hospital for treatment where you are not an admitted patient)
- Choice of doctor or specialist for medical treatment in hospital
- Doctors’ fees for in-hospital medical services when you are treated as a private patient
- Surgically implanted prostheses and other items on the Federal Government's Prostheses Schedule
- Ambulance – for eligible services where immediate professional attention is required.
Members' Choice hospitals
Generally when you visit any hospital, there will be additional costs that you will not be covered for. We call these out-of-pocket expenses. However if you visit one of our Members' Choice private hospitals you can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.
Our Members' Choice hospital network is one of the largest in Australia, covering more private hospitals than any other health fund.
Plus, at most Members' Choice hospitals you can expect to be covered for things that you wouldn't generally be covered for at a non Members' Choice hospital like in-hospital physiotherapy to aid your recovery, local phone calls, TV and newspapers.
What's covered?
Service: |
Included: |
| Ambulance services (see below for more info) |
 |
| Knee reconstruction surgery and investigations |
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| Shoulder reconstruction surgery and investigations |
|
| Appendicitis treatment |
|
| Removal of tonsils and adenoids |
|
| Surgical removal of wisdom teeth (for hospital charges only) |
|
| Psychiatric treatment |
|
| Rehabilitation treatment |
|
| Obstetrics and pregnancy-related services |
|
| Fertility treatment eg. IVF & GIFT programs |
 |
| Cosmetic surgery/procedures |
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| All other in-hospital services recognised for Medicare benefit purposes |
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| Access to Mi Health support services |
Medibank Nurse 24/7,
Hospital Support, Online Health Hub,
Mobile Health Apps |
Waiting periods apply including:
Services we pay benefits for
Services we don't pay benefits for.
Medical cover
What benefits are paid
The MBS fee is the amount declared by the Australian Government as the standard fee for most medical procedures.
The amount of benefit you can expect to receive from us is calculated as a percentage of the MBS fee.
If the doctor charges more than the benefits we pay, you will have to pay the additional costs.
The benefits you receive for medical services under Medibank Overseas Student Health Cover are:
| |
Service |
Benefit |
| Medical services received out-of-hospital (eg: doctors' visits, pathology, medical services at a public hospital emergency department where you're not admitted): |
General practitioners |
100% of the MBS fee |
| Specialists (including pathology & x-rays) |
The published 85% MBS fee^ |
| Medical services received when admitted to hospital: |
Doctors & specialists (including pathology & x-rays) |
Benefits equivalent to 100% of the MBS fee |
^The published 85% MBS fee may not equal exactly 85% of the total MBS fee but an amount published in the MBS as set by the Australian Government.
See our Overseas Student Health Cover Product brochure and Overseas Student Health Cover Membership Guide for more details.
Prescription Medicines
We'll pay benefits of up to $50 for each prescription-only item (excluding oral contraceptives and medicines prescribed for cosmetic purposes).
Benefits are subject to the following calendar year limits:
- for a single membership - $300
- for couple or family membership - $600 (annual sub-limit of $300 per person).
You're required to pay a contribution towards the cost of each prescription item before we'll pay any benefits. You will also need to pay any charges (if any) above the benefits we pay.
We may cover the full cost of prescription medicines provided to an inpatient of a Members' Choice Hospital if those medicines are covered by our agreement with the hospital and are directly related to the reason for the hospital admission. In this case the limits listed above don't apply.
Important Information
You may incur significant out-of-pocket expenses if high cost pharmaceuticals are required for your treatment when in hospital. This is because Medibank Overseas Student Health Cover pays limited benefits for prescription medicines and most international students studying in Australia are not eligible for subsidised pharmaceuticals under the Australian Government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Pharmaceuticals used for oncology (cancer) and other treatments can be very expensive for people who do not have access to subsidised pharmaceuticals.
For more information on the PBS visit health.gov.au
Ambulance services
What is covered?
Where you need immediate professional attention and your medical condition is such that you couldn’t be transported any other way, you are covered for services provided by an ambulance provider approved by Medibank, in the following circumstances:
- ambulance transportation to a hospital to receive immediate professional attention
- when an ambulance is called to provide immediate professional attention but transport by ambulance is not needed
- when, as an admitted patient, the hospital requires you to be transferred from one hospital to another (excluding transfers between public hospitals)
- transport by air ambulance, where pre-approval has been obtained from Medibank by the air ambulance provider.
What is not covered?
We don’t pay benefits for any ambulance service that has not been defined above under ‘What is covered’. This includes the following circumstances:
- ambulance services where immediate professional attention is not required (e.g. general patient transfer)
- any ambulance transfer required after discharge from hospital
- inter-hospital transfers when you’re transferred from one public hospital to another public hospital as an admitted patient
- any ambulance costs that are fully covered by a third party arrangement, such as an ambulance subscription or a federal/ state/territory ambulance transportation scheme, Workcover or the Transport Accident Commission
- any air ambulance services that are fully subsidised, such as South Care or NRMA Care Flight.
For more information on ambulance services call us on 134 190.
Waiting periods
All health funds have waiting periods. Basically, a waiting period is a period of time you need to wait after taking out your cover before you can receive benefits for services or items covered. Benefits are not generally payable for services or items obtained while you are serving a waiting period.
The following waiting periods apply:
These waiting periods do not apply where the treating medical practitioner certifies and Medibank agrees that the member required emergency treatment.
What isn't covered?
Overseas Student Health Cover will not pay benefits for any of the following:
Public and Private Hospital:
- Fertility treatment such as IVF and GIFT programs
- Cosmetic surgery/procedures i.e. surgery that isn’t clinically necessary and for which Medicare benefits aren’t payable
- Any part of the accommodation charge raised by a public hospital that exceeds the benefit for a shared room, if you are accommodated in a single room at your request;
- The gap for surgically implanted prostheses and other items on the Federal Government's Prostheses Schedule;
- Any services or items in a Members' Choice Hospital that are not covered by our agreement with the hospital;
- The difference between the charges raised by a non Members' Choice Hospital and the benefit payable by Medibank Private;
- Any items provided to you on discharge from a hospital;
- Any general treatment services provided to you in hospital that are not related to the reason for your hospital stay;
- Outpatient charges (including accident and emergency department charges) raised by private hospitals;
- Surgically implanted prostheses and other items not included on the Federal Government's Prostheses Schedule;
- The cost of newspapers, TV hire and telephone calls, except as covered in some Members' Choice Hospitals.
Medical Services:
- Treatment not considered medically necessary e.g. health screening services and medical examinations, x-rays or pathology required by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) as part of the student visa renewal process.
- Any difference between your doctor's charge and the benefit payable by Medibank Private;
Prescription Medicines:
- Your prescription medicine co-payment for each prescription medicine;
- Costs in excess of the benefit payable for each prescription medicine;
- Costs in excess of the maximum annual benefit payable for prescription medicines, as shown above.
- Medicines other than prescription medicines;
- Medicines prescribed for cosmetic purposes;
- Oral contraceptives.
You will be responsible for paying any costs above the benefits that are payable. This means you may incur significant out-of-pocket expenses if high cost prescription medicines are required for a treatment.
Please see the Overseas Student Health Cover Membership Guide for more information about general items you're not covered for.
Extras Cover
Extras cover isn't included in your Overseas Student Health Cover, but is available for an additional cost.
Medibank extras helps to cover the cost of everyday services like dental care if you get a toothache, physiotherapy for sporting injuries and optical items like prescription glasses and contact lenses.
For more information call 134 190, visit a Medibank store or click here
Useful Links
Government Organisations
International Education Organisations
