Understanding Flip

Medicare covers many health-related costs, but not always everything you might need if you have an injury. It covers:

• Treatment in public hospitals
• All (if it’s bulk-billed) or some of the cost of a GP visit
• Tests like X-rays and blood tests in some hospitals
• Some of the cost for most prescription medication.

Medicare doesn’t cover:

• Treatment in private hospitals
• Treatments like private dental
• Ambulances (but some state governments do)
• Some post-injury care costs (like gaps between Medicare coverage and the full cost of an eligible physio appointment)

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If you have private health insurance, it covers some costs that Medicare doesn’t, but you still might be left with out-of-pocket expenses. Depending on the product, it can cover:

• Treatment in a private hospital
• A range of extras like dental, optical and physio (depending on your type and level of cover and only for some services and only up to certain limits)
• Ambulance cover (if you aren’t already covered by a state-based scheme).

Private health insurance doesn’t cover:

• GP visits
• Consultations with specialists in their rooms
• Out-of-hospital diagnostic imaging and tests
• Lost income from missing work
• Your excess (an amount you might need to pay your health insurer if you’re admitted to hospital. You may be able to select this amount, depending on your policy)
• Any treatment you need during a waiting period (the time you need to wait after you get your health insurance before you can get treated and claim on specific things).

If you’re traveling overseas, it’s wise to consider travel insurance to protect you while you’re away, but travel insurance also has coverage gaps. It usually covers:

• A wide variety of travel-related costs, like cancellations, damaged or lost luggage and medical costs while you are overseas. The insurance cost can change depending on the level of cover you choose.

Travel insurance policies will often:

• Not cover all adventure activities
• Charge higher premiums for activity add-ons like snowsports
• Ask you to disclose what activities you will be participating in
• Require you to pay an excess for claims
• Not cover medical costs once you are back in Australia.

Flip offers cash payouts for eligible claims if you're injured in an accident. You can use that cash however you like. It could, for instance, be used to bridge the gaps in your Medicare and private health cover or travel insurance if you have it, such as:

• Medicare gaps (like payments to doctors that don’t bulk bill)
• Private health insurance gaps (like specialist appointments or out-of-hospital diagnostic tests)
• Private hospital treatment related to your injury (if you don’t have private health insurance)
• Private health insurance excess payments when getting treatments related to your injury
• Post-injury care that’s not covered by Medicare or has private health insurance gaps (like dental and physio)
• Costs of injuries that occur during your private health insurance waiting period (while you’re covered by Flip)
• All the hidden costs of injury like pain relief medication, wound dressings, mobility aids, parking, taxis, babysitting and takeaway food.