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Single parent health insurance with GMHBA

Want peace of mind? Get flexible, affordable single parent health cover with GMHBA.

Single parent health cover

Single parent health cover can be a great way to get health insurance for you and your kids. It’s flexible, lets you choose what’s important to you, and offers the same coverage as a family insurance policy.

Families come in many wonderful shapes and sizes, so our single parent cover is designed for one grown up and as many kids as required. You won’t pay more for adding more kids to the policy, but you will pay more for more cover.

Special Offer:

6 weeks free plus no 2 & 6 month waits on extras*

when joining on combined cover by 2 December

*For new members only joining direct on hospital and extras cover, paying by direct debit. Must pay first months premium to receive discount. Other waits (including hospital waits), annual and sub limits apply. Offer ends 2 December 2024.

^Pricing based on Single Parent, aged 30 living in VIC earning $194,000 or less (Base Tier Australian Government Rebate) and excludes . Prices and displayed products can change if details vary.

Browse and compare some of our single parent covers

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Exploring single parent vs family health insurance

Single parent health insurance with GMHBA offers the same levels of cover, flexibility and value as our family insurance cover. That doesn’t change. The only real difference is that there’s one adult on the policy instead of two and as a result single parent covers are cheaper then family covers.

What to look for when selecting single parent health cover

As a single parent, you can select cover to suit the health needs of you and your kids. When deciding on single parent private health insurance, there are a few factors to consider. Are you worried about hospital protection? Do your kids have any specific health needs or pre-existing conditions? How often do you visit the dentist? How much longer will your kids be legally dependant? All these things might influence the level of cover you choose.

Choosing hospital cover

When picking the right hospital cover for you and your kids it’s a good idea to think about what you want or need.

Do you or your kids need to be covered for a specific service? Do you want entry level cover, are you prepared to exclude services to reduce costs? Or, are you looking for peace of mind? All open GMHBA hospital covers come with accident protection, no excess for hospital day procedures in a private hospital and emergency ambulance. Also available only on our Silver Plus, Silver Plus Premium or Gold Optimum hospital covers is no hospital excess for dependants under 21.

Choosing extras cover

Do your kids need glasses? Regular dental check-ups? Sports physio or massage? If so, you might want to consider taking out extras cover.

When selecting extras, it’s worth considering how often you use a particular service and how many different services you may use across the family. This can help to decide on which level of cover, the benefit type and limits will best suit your needs.

Life changes: What happens to private health insurance when you divorce?

Going through a divorce or separation can be a difficult time. After a divorce or separation, you and your ex-partner will need to decide which one of you will continue to provide health cover for your children, and how you’ll split that cost. One parent might elect to take out a single parent policy, covering themselves and the kids, while the other takes out a singles cover. It’s completely up to you. If you’d like some help working out the most cost-effective solution, give our friendly team a call.

Avoiding the Medicare Levy Surcharge as a single parent

The Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) is essentially an income-tested government tax for those without hospital cover and who are high income earners. As a single parent, you actually fall under the MLS family tier threshold – not the singles tier – which means you’ll only incur MLS if ​as an individual ​you earn $194,000 or more (before tax) plus $1,500 for each dependant child after the first one. It’s important to know that if you are required to pay MLS, all family members (including children) need to have valid hospital cover to avoid paying the MLS. 

To avoid paying this surcharge, you either need to earn under this amount, or take out eligible single parent hospital cover. Any level of hospital cover with GMHBA will do the trick. Just note that extras cover alone won't help you avoid paying the MLS if you are a high income earner, you must hold hospital cover or combined hospital and extras cover.

Australian Government Rebate for single parents

If you have single parent health insurance, you may be eligible for the Australian Government Rebate on private health insurance. This is an income-tested rebate that the government provides that helps cover the cost of private health insurance.

Why choose GMHBA for single parent health insurance?

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Upgraded cover in the event of an accident

Accidents happen. That’s why when you take out any new GMHBA hospital cover you get accident protection.

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Emergency ambulance cover

All GMHBA hospital covers come with emergency ambulance cover as standard for eligible states.

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Student dependants

Children under the age or 25 who are single and studying full time can stay on their parent’s policy for no additional cost.

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We’re for people, not profit

For over 90 years, we’ve believed that health insurance should be run to benefit members, not shareholders.

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Supporting ​the ​life you live

Join the GMHBA family with our Healthier Together newsletter, podcast and community events.

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60 day money back guarantee

Unsure? We offer new members 60 days to get to know us and we’ll refund any premiums as long as you haven’t made a claim.

How to switch health insurance providers

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Find the right cover for you

View our range of hospital and extras products, and choose the cover that best suits you and your children’s needs.

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We’ll do the paperwork

If you’re moving from another health insurance fund we’ll take care of the paperwork for you. When you join, let us know who you’re insured with and we’ll get in touch with your old insurer to cancel your cover and ask for a transfer certificate.

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You won’t re-serve waiting periods*

*We'll recognise any waiting periods you have already served with your previous fund, provided you don’t have a gap in cover of more than 30 days and transfer to the same or lower level of cover.

Frequently asked questions about single parent health insurance

With single parent health insurance, you and your kids are all covered on the same policy. The number of children doesn’t affect your premiums.

Single parent health cover is a great way to achieve peace of mind when it comes to your family’s health. You need to consider factors like your budget, your lifestyle, your health needs, if you want hospital cover and what clinical categories are important to you, as well as any extras like dental, optical and physio or a combination of both hospital and extras. It’s really up to you!

At GMHBA, dependant children are included on your single parent health cover until they turn 21, unless they’re studying full-time, in which case they may be a student dependant. Student dependants can be covered on your single parent cover until they turn 25, you just need to complete a student declaration each year, otherwise they will be removed from your policy on 1 April.

Yes, if you wish to have a different level of cover to your partner or for one of the adults to not be covered. We suggest you contact us as it may be cheaper to have both adults and children on the higher level of cover than having separate policies.

Of course, at GMHBA, we try to keep things as flexible as possible, so you can move between single parent, couple and family policies, depending on your needs. You’re never locked in to one type of cover forever. But remember, when upgrading cover or adding people, waiting periods and Lifetime Health Cover loading may apply.

You can add additional children to a single parent health insurance cover without affecting your premium. However, if you’d like to add a partner, your cover will change to a family policy, which will increase your premium. In either case, it’s best to let us know as soon as possible if your family circumstances change. We’ll be able to make sure you get the right level of cover.

If you are required to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS), it sure will, but only if you have hospital cover! To avoid paying the MLS you’ll need either hospital cover, or a combination of hospital and extras cover. Any level of GMHBA hospital cover will do, but keep in mind that extras-only policies will not exempt you from the Medicare Levy Surcharge. Remember also that single parents fall under the MLS family income thresholds – not the singles thresholds – so you’ll only incur MLS if you earn $194,000 or more (plus $1,500 for each dependant child after the first one) per annum.

With our eligible Silver Plus, Silver Plus Premium or Gold Optimum single parent hospital covers, you won’t pay any excess for dependants under the age of 21. For all other covers, all members are required to pay an excess if admitted to hospital as a private patient. All GMHBA hospital covers currently for sale have no excess for same-day hospital visits.

Of course. Single parent health insurance is for everyone, regardless of their health status. Just be aware though, private health insurance hospital cover has waiting periods for pre-existing conditions (PEC). In general, new and upgrading members with pre-existing health conditions must wait 12 months before claiming benefits relating to the hospital treatments or services relating to that condition. Extras cover has no pre-existing conditions waiting periods, just the standard extras waiting periods.

Empowering parents with GMHBA Health Insurance

Single-parent health insurance can help provide flexible coverage and peace of mind for busy parents (and busy kids!). While there are many benefits to single-parent health insurance, it’s important to explore your options for you and your family, since every single family is unique. At GMHBA, we’re committed to supporting the long-term health and wellbeing of you and your loved ones, and we can’t wait to help you find the cover and support you need.

Need some help?

Can't find what you are looking for? Visit our help page or contact our friendly customer service team.