We’re about to mail all members information about their policies and pricing.
Private Health Information Statements (PHIS), available for all private health insurance policies in Australia, is an overview of the cover you’ve purchased and must be sent to members annually.
Your statement allows you to review the cover that you have and to compare policies if you wish to – but you don’t actually need to do anything.
Will I get a statement?
If you’re a Latrobe Health member, it’s a Federal Government requirement that you receive a copy of your PHIS every year. We send our members their PHIS by email or post, depending on their preference. In 2020, this is happening during December.
What information does the statement provide?
The statement summarises the key product features, allowing members to see if their needs are covered and where products differ in price and features. It does not provide all details about the product.
There are three types of PHIS:
- Hospital - describes the clinical categories covered by the policy, identifying those with restrictions, plus waiting periods and any additional payments (excesses, co-payments and gaps);
- Extras - describes the features and limitations of extras cover, including which services are covered, waiting periods and benefit limits;
- Combined - describes the features and limitations of a combined hospital and extras cover.
We suggest you refer to your policy documents if you want additional information.
What do I need to do?
The statement is provided for information only - you do not need to do anything. We’re making sure you have the most up-to-date policy information on hand.
It’s usual for us to send out the statement with rate change in April, but as rate change was deferred this year, we’re sending it out now.
If you want to, you can review your cover, but you don’t need to do anything if you’re happy with the cover you have.
Your policy and pricing has not changed
It can be confusing to receive your statement out of the blue when there have been no changes to your policy, but we assure you that’s the case.
However, you may notice that the premiums shown on your statement are different to the premiums you pay. This is because PHIS must show standard premium amounts without any Government rebate, Lifetime Health Cover loading, age-based discounts or any other discounts. The premiums you pay have all of these amounts applied and will therefore differ to what’s on your statement.
For those who have an Ambulance Victoria membership as part of their cover, your statement also excludes this amount.
In the letter we send you, we’re including your actual premium amounts so you can see what you pay as well as the standard pricing included on the PHIS.
More information
If you want to know more about Private Health Information Statements, head to the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Private Health website and search PHIS. You can also compare Latrobe Health’s hospital covers and extras covers.
If you’d like to review your cover with one of our Member Experience Consultants, please phone 1300 362 144.