Private health insurance for young adults explained

Under 30? Have a body? Then you need to know about health insurance.

Why health insurance?

More choice

With hospital cover, you could choose your specialist in a private hospital. You’ll also be treated as soon as you and your doctors are ready (after you’ve served any waiting periods).

Peace of mind

Cover with ahm means we’ll help out with bills for included services and treatments. So if you need new glasses, to see a physio, or if you’re admitted to hospital as a private patient. That means you can live your life with less worry about what might happen, and how much it might cost if it does.

Person holding up peace sign with fingers

Medicare Levy Surcharge

If you earn more than the specified income threshold, having private hospital cover could possibly mean that you don’t have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS).

The MLS is a levy you may need to pay if you don't have an appropriate level of private hospital cover for you and all your dependants and earn over $90,000 (for singles) and $180,000 (couples, families and single parents). (The income threshold for families goes up by $1,500 for each child born after the first child.) We have more info here on the Medicare Levy Surcharge.

Extras extras

Extras cover means we can help you with the bill for things like the cost of glasses, frames, prescription lenses and repairs, dental check-ups, remedial massage, physio, osteo or chiro (up to your annual limits on your included extras, waiting periods apply).

sign post of good and also good things written

Perks and discounts

As soon as you become an ahm member, you’ll get handy perks from partners like Goodlife Health Clubs, OPSM and Specsavers, plus discounts on all the other insurances we offer: life, travel, car, home, contents, pet. Existing members can get $100 when their friend joins on hospital and extras after their first 60 days. Win. Find out how to refer a friend.

How does the Youth Discount work?

1 Choose any hospital product

We have a range of different types of cover to suit different needs and budget.

View our range of cover

2 Lock in your discount

If you’re between 18 and 29, we’ll take up to 10% off the part of your premium that applies to hospital cover. The younger you are when you first take out hospital cover, the bigger the discount.

3 Keep your discount

Youth fades but discounts are forever, right? Kind of. If you maintain continuous hospital cover, the Youth Discount you get when you first become eligible will stay the same every year until you turn 41.

Billboard stating "Got questions? We’ve got the answers"

Common questions

In a couple or family scenario, the ahm Youth Discount applies when the main policy holder or partner is aged between 18-29 when first taking out hospital cover.

The discount will be calculated by averaging the Youth Discount applied to Principal Members and Partners on the hospital cover. So, if the Principal member has a 10% Youth Discount and their partner has no discount, or 0%, the discount applied overall to the hospital cover is 5% (10% ÷ 2).

Yes, if you were already an ahm member before 1 April 2019, and eligible for a Youth Discount, it was automatically applied to your hospital cover based on your age on 1 April 2019.

If you took out ahm hospital cover after 1 April 2019, your Youth Discount will have been automatically applied based on your age at joining.

And if you already have a youth discount on health insurance from another private health fund, and want to transfer to ahm, we’re happy to recognise it – this is sometimes referred to as ‘retained age-based discount.’

The ahm Youth Discount applies when you take up hospital cover aged between 18-29. You’ll get the maximum discount (10%) when you’re aged 18-25 at joining, reducing the older you are when you first join.

Keep in mind that if you’re under 25 and your parents have a family private health insurance policy, that will usually cover you. When you turn 25, you’ll need to choose your own policy. So if that’s you, it’s best to join us sooner than later, to maximise your Youth Discount.

Find cover that suits your needs

Tell us what you need and we’ll show you cover that suits. You can even choose your payment frequency and excess.

Find cover