Overseas Student Health Cover - OSHC

What is Overseas Student Health Cover ?

It is a private Health Insurance offered by many companies across Australia to international students who intend to study in Australia. It covers everything, including hospital treatments, specialist consultations, prescribed medicines, virtual doctor services, surgeries, emergency ambulance transportation, etc. The coverage is almost at par with General Medical provided by the Australian government to its residents and citizens.

Is OSHC required for Australia Student Visa ?

Yes, It is a requirement set by the Home Affairs of the Australian Government for Student Visa to protect and insure immigrants from exorbitant hospital bills and complete treatment in case of mishappening. The Student has to purchase the OSHC policy equal to their entire length of course in Australia.

Can I pay in Indian Rupees for Australia OSHC Insurance?

Yes, An applicant can pay the OSHC Insurance premium in Indian Rupees through UPI, IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT and save on International Transactions fees. This feature is exclusively available on Abroad Cube to maximize your savings on OSHC Insurance and earn up to Rs 7500 cashback.

What is MBS in Health Insurance of Australia?

The MBS stands for Medicare Benefits Schedule, published by the Universal Health Care System of Australia named Medicare. The MBS list has prices for each medical service (e.g., doctor appointments or blood tests, etc.) that the government considers reasonable for patients as a rebate. So, it would be best if you did not assume that a doctor will charge the same fees as mentioned in MBS. They may have additional charges over the MBS fee at their discretion.

For example, the doctor appointment fee per MBS Schedule is A$100, but the specific doctor may charge A$140 for the same. Usually, insurance companies cover only the MBS schedule fee, and you have to pay the difference between the doctor's actual fee and the MBS schedule fee. To check the MBS Schedule fee, visit Medicare Medical Costs Finder and enter your item number or details about the medical treatment.

Which OSHC provider is the best ?

The leading providers of OSHC policy are CBHS, AHM, Nib, Allianz Care, Medi Bank, and Bupa. They are approved by Australian immigration and are eligible to provide health insurance to overseas students. The CBHS is the cheapest, and Bupa is the most expensive. It's hard to compare the providers based only on pricing as they have different benefits in their policies. You can choose any provider based on your needs as all are considered best for their services.

How to apply for OSHC policy?

To purchase OSHC policy online, you have to follow the below mentioned process

1. Open our OSHC partner Website
2. Select the number of Adults and Children
3. Choose the Start date and End date
4. Click on Get Quote Now button
5. Click on Buy Now button
6. Enter your details and Continue
7. You can choose to pay through Credit Card, Local Bank Transfer (NEFT, RTGS) and International Bank Transfer (extra A$30 as processing fee)

In-Hospital Medical Services

You are covered 100% of MBS in all Public and Private hospitals for most of the insurers. The Nib, Allianz Care and Bupa cover only Public and Contracted-Private hospitals.

Out of Hospital Medical Services

The visits to General Practitioner is covered up to 100% of the MBS fee, while CBHS cover 100% of the costs if you visit their contracted practitioners. The CBHS and Bupa cover 100% of the MBS fee for Specialist consultations, pathology (e.g. blood tests) and radiology(e.g. X-rays, MRI) and other providers cover only 85%.

Accident and Emergency Department Facility Fees

In the scenario of an accident, you are admitted to a public hospital. Your treatment costs are covered 100% by AHM and Medi Bank, which other OSHC providers choose to provide coverage of 100% MBS. For contracted private hospitals, the AHM covers 100% of the cost, and other providers cover only 100% of MBS. In non-contracted hospitals, you might have limited coverage with the bar on room choice and type of treatment. Emergency Ambulance cover and Surgically implanted prostheses are covered 100% of the cost by all OSHC providers.

Virtual Doctor or Tele-Medicine

You may choose not to visit the hospital for minor problems and spend a few hours. So in this situation, you can consult a doctor or general physician over a call from your place of comfort. You may visit the hospital if a doctor recommends it. CBHS, Nib and Bupa cover 100% of the MBS fee, while AHM, Allianz Care and Medi Bank cover only 85% of MBS.

For example, if your insurer is Medi Bank, a doctor charges A$120 for a virtual consultation, and the MBS fee is A$100. Your insurer will pay A$85 (85% of A$100), and you have to pay A$35 (15% of A$100 + A$20) from your pocket.

Coverage of Prescription medicines

If your doctor prescribes any medicines for your treatment, they are covered by your OSHC provider. The maximum coverage provided by all OSHC providers for Single Cover is A$300 per annum and A$600 for Family cover. The Medibank maximum limit for medicine is A$70 per item, while other providers only cover up to A$50 per item. All providers require a Co-payment of A$ 42.50 in the prescription bill, except Medi Bank, which has a A$30 requirement. For example, if the bill amount is A$100 and your OSHC provider is Bupa, you have to pay A$42.5, and the rest of A$ 57.5 will be paid by them.

What are Waiting periods?

The waiting period in OSHC is when the insurance provider does not cover the specific treatment. For pre-existing conditions, pregnancy and birth-related services, the waiting period is 12 months as conditioned by all providers. The Psychiatric Conditions are covered after two months of waiting for CBHS, AHM, Nib and Allianz Care, while Medi Bank and Bupa have no waiting period for these conditions.

Support Services

Some OSHC providers have a Multilingual Customer Support team available 24/7 to answer your queries and help you look into network hospitals and doctors. In an emergency, you can choose to visit the doctor in their Home clinic or hospital outside their business hours. To make insurance policies more lucrative, some insurers like Bupa and Medi Bank provide their members with discount coupons for various brands.

Refund and Cancellation

If your student visa application gets rejected, you are eligible for a refund of the insurance premium you paid. Except for Nib and Bupa, all providers deduct some processing time before initiating the refund. Suppose you are planning to re-apply for a visa application in future, it's best to notify the concerned insurer and get an extension of the same insurance policy. Cancelling and re-applying the OSHC will take a lot of time, and you may have to pay some cancellation charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions usually asked by people