Health insurance explained

At HBF, the waiting periods for hospital services are as listed below.

Rehabilitation
2 months

Palliative care
2 months

Hospital psychiatric services
2 months

Pregnancy and birth
12 months

Accident cover
1 day

All other services
2 months^*

Yes. Even if you have a pre-existing condition, you will be able to buy health insurance for your stay in Australia. However, you will need to serve a 12-month waiting period before you can claim on any pre-existing treatments.

All HBF Hospital covers have waiting periods to prevent people from signing up, claiming and leaving without contributing money (premiums) to the fund — which wouldn't be fair to other members.

Waiting periods apply when you:

• Purchase health insurance for the first time
• Change your level of cover and end up with new services that were not on your previous cover. You'll have to serve the relevant waiting periods for the new services before you can claim any benefits.
• Change your level of cover and end up with higher benefits and/or limits. You'll have to serve the relevant waiting periods before you can claim the increased benefits and/or limits. During this waiting period, you may be able to claim as per your previous cover.
• Decrease your hospital excess. You'll have to serve the relevant waiting periods before you can pay the lower excess. During this waiting period, you may be able to claim and the excess on your previous cover will apply.
• Re-join a fund after a break from cover

Where you have continuous hospital cover and change your level of cover or switch to HBF, we'll honour any waiting periods you served on your previous health cover, so you won't have to re-serve them. If you are part-way through a waiting period, you'll just have to serve the remainder before you can claim.

Pre-existing conditions: 12 months
Pregnancy and birth: 12 months
Other in-hospital treatments: 2 months

The Australian Government sets the maximum waiting periods that health funds can impose on hospital insurance before you can make a claim. The maximum amount of time you'll have to wait before making a claim is:

Pre-existing conditions: 12 months
Pregnancy and birth: 12 months
Other in-hospital treatments: Two months

At HBF, a pre-existing condition is an illness or condition which, in the opinion of an independent medical practitioner (appointed by HBF), was known to exist, or where signs or symptoms were evident during the six-month period before you became an HBF member, including on the day you joined. This also applies if you transferred to a level of cover with higher benefits or reduce your excess level. If you proceed with a hospital admission without confirming what benefits you're eligible for and your condition is determined to be pre-existing, you will be required to pay all outstanding hospital and medical charges not covered by Medicare.

It is not necessary for the ailment, illness or condition to have been diagnosed in the six-month period — only that signs or symptoms were, or would have been, evident.

Note: Hospital psychiatric services, Rehabilitation and Palliative care are not considered pre-existing so only the two-month waiting period applies.

At HBF, you can get cover for Orthodontics on HBF Complete 60 and Top 70 extras covers. You will need to serve a 12-month waiting period before you can claim on Orthodontics.