Health Insurance

Health insurance, also known as medical insurance, is a method of undertaking risk management whenever medical expenses are incurred in the future. Health insurance protects every insured person from bearing financial loss in case of health emergencies.

Also known as health cover, health insurance is a developed financial structure on the part of the insurer to protect health funds and to make sure that funds are available when they are needed by the person who has taken out the insurance. Health insurance in Australian is administered by both private and government agencies. A health insurance policy is a written document that cites the privileges and responsibilities of both the individual and the insurance company. It usually covers health privilege under a certain period of time after which the policy is renewed usually on an annual basis. Some health funds offer lifelong terms and benefits, however such benefits vary depending on a number of factors including age, lifestyle and pre-existing conditions. The costs, benefits and privileges of private health care insurance must be clearly stipulated in a given policy.

The insured person and health care provider, the entity taking care of the insurance, are both held accountable for their obligations. The insured person is obliged to pay the premiums agreed upon whether it is deductible form his/her salary or over-the-counter payments. This does not guarantee however that all services will be covered. The costs of the non-covered services are generally shouldered by the insured person. For individuals with health cover, the insured person holds the policy while in corporate plans, the policy is usually given to the sponsor and the people insured are called members.