Side by side

Where the five current insurers actually differ

The statutory floor is identical everywhere, so comparing "coverage" as a single number is meaningless. This table only lists the fields where approved policies are genuinely allowed to differ from one another.

Identical at all five — don't pay extra for it

Public hospital care: Admitted shared-ward, intensive care, same-day, post-operative, emergency and outpatient services in a public hospital, benefits paid at 100% of the charges raised by the public hospital. Identical floor at every approved insurer.
Out-of-hospital medical: GP, specialist, pathology and imaging benefits at a minimum of 85% of the MBS fee. A gap between the 85% minimum and the fee your provider charges is possible, and that gap is yours to pay.
Prescription medicines: Benefits toward PBS-listed prescriptions, subject to a per-item cap and an annual maximum that differs by insurer.
Emergency ambulance: Emergency ambulance transport is covered. Non-emergency transport is not guaranteed and varies by insurer.
Waiting periods: Capped by the Deed: nil for specified outpatient MBS items and emergency treatment, 2 months for hospital and psychiatric care, 12 months for pre-existing conditions. Pregnancy: up to 12 months on products under 2 years, nil on products of 2 years or more. No insurer may exceed these caps.

Feature	Allianz Care Australia	Medibank	Bupa	ahm (Australian Health Management)	nib
Extras add-on (dental / optical / physio)	Yes — optional add-on	Not offered	Yes — optional add-on	Not offered	Not offered
Prescription benefit	Up to $50 per prescription, annual max $300 (single) / $600 (family)	Up to $50 per prescription item, annual max $300 (single) / $600 (family)	Up to $50 per prescription item, annual max $300 (single) / $600 (family)	Up to $50 per prescription, annual max $300 (single) / $600 (family)	Up to $50 per prescription, annual max $300 (single) / $600 (family)
Ambulance	100% emergency and non-emergency ambulance cover	100% emergency ambulance cover	100% emergency ambulance cover	100% emergency ambulance cover	100% emergency ambulance cover
Gap arrangement	No gap for GP at Allianz direct-billing clinics; specialist gap may apply	No gap for GP visits at Medibank Members' Choice providers; gap may apply for specialists	Gap-free at Bupa Members First network providers for standard GP consultations	Gap may apply for specialist visits; GP gap depends on whether provider bulk-bills	Gap may apply; nib has a First Choice network for reduced out-of-pocket costs
Mental health support	Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric; 24/7 multilingual health and wellbeing support	Included under hospital and medical cover; 24/7 Student Health Line for counseling support	Inpatient psychiatric services covered; Bupa Blua Health app includes virtual mental health support	Covered under hospital and medical benefits	Covered; nib mental health support programs available

Who each one suits

Derived from the published product facts above — never from our opinion, and never from a score. Each line names the field it came from, so you can check it against the insurer's own page.

The same rules run over all five, so the number of lines differs. An insurer with no "look elsewhere" line is not the better product — it only means it publishes something on each of the four fields we check (extras, gap-free network, app claiming, support line). Silence in a brochure is not the same as a benefit, and a field we don't compare may matter more to you than all four of these.

Allianz Care Australia

Good fit if

Students who want dental, optical or physio cover sells an optional extras add-on
Students who expect to see a GP regularly publishes a named gap-free / direct-billing GP network
Students who would rather claim in an app than phone anyone publishes app-based claiming or telehealth access

Look elsewhere if

No published gaps against the fields we compare.

Medibank

Good fit if

Students who expect to see a GP regularly publishes a named gap-free / direct-billing GP network
Students who would rather claim in an app than phone anyone publishes app-based claiming or telehealth access
Students who want a support line they can actually reach publishes a 24/7 or multilingual student support channel

Look elsewhere if

Students who want dental, optical or physio no extras add-on published — hospital and medical cover only

Bupa

Good fit if

Students who want dental, optical or physio cover sells an optional extras add-on
Students who expect to see a GP regularly publishes a named gap-free / direct-billing GP network
Students who would rather claim in an app than phone anyone publishes app-based claiming or telehealth access

Look elsewhere if

No published gaps against the fields we compare.

ahm (Australian Health Management)

Good fit if

Students who would rather claim in an app than phone anyone publishes app-based claiming or telehealth access
Students who want a support line they can actually reach publishes a 24/7 or multilingual student support channel

Look elsewhere if

Students who want dental, optical or physio no extras add-on published — hospital and medical cover only
Students who want to pay nothing at the GP counter no named gap-free network published — expect to claim back a gap

nib

Good fit if

Students who expect to see a GP regularly publishes a named gap-free / direct-billing GP network
Students who would rather claim in an app than phone anyone publishes app-based claiming or telehealth access

Look elsewhere if

Students who want dental, optical or physio no extras add-on published — hospital and medical cover only
Students who want out-of-hours or non-English support no 24/7 or multilingual student line published

Compiled from each insurer's public product pages and the Department of Health OSHC Deed, collected 1 Oct 2026. No premiums are shown here on purpose: they are reviewed annually and depend on your exact dates, so a table of stale prices would be worse than none. Get live quotes from your shortlist.

How to price your shortlist Read the full provider profiles