Smart Starter Bronze Plus & Starter Extras
A Bronze Plus hospital and extras policy from Doctors' Health Fund.
- Doctors' Health Fund only takes medical and allied health professionals, their families, medical students and AMA employees.
Premiums for every state, cover type and excess this policy is sold with, and what it covers, from the statement Doctors' Health Fund files with the government. Monthly, before the rebate and any Lifetime Health Cover loading.
From
Single, NT, $750 excess, before the rebate.
- Medicare levy surcharge
- Exempts you
- Excess options
- $500, $750
- Ambulance
- Emergency and non-emergency, call-out fees included, no limit
- Who can join
- Restricted
The Private Health Information Statement for this price, on PrivateHealth.gov.au.
Doctors' Health Fund's page for this policyAgainst every other Bronze hospital and extras policy in NSW & ACT
Single cover, each policy at its cheapest excess, corporate and restricted policies included.
- Bronze95 policies$197.0427th cheapest of 95
Monthly premium by state and cover type
NSW prices also apply in the ACT. Each price in the tables opens its official Private Health Information Statement on PrivateHealth.gov.au, with a PDF to download.
Single premium in each state
To the nearest dollar, a month before the rebate. The tables below have every price to the cent.
What a higher excess saves
Single cover in NSW & ACT, a month. The excess is what you pay towards a hospital stay before the policy pays.
- $500 excess$207.77
- $750 excess$10.73 less than $500 excess$197.04
$500 excessat most $1,000 a year for couples and families
25 of 38 clinical categories covered in full, 2 restricted
Restricted means the policy pays only the minimum, about what a public hospital charges, so a private hospital stay can leave a large bill. Not covered means the policy pays nothing for that treatment in hospital.
- Covered in full25
- Restricted2
- Not covered11
Covered 25
- Blood
- Bone, joint and muscle
- Brain and nervous system
- Breast surgery (medically necessary)
- Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy for cancer
- Dental surgery
- Diabetes management (excluding insulin pumps)
- Digestive system
- Ear, nose and throat
- Eye (not cataracts)
- Gastrointestinal endoscopy
- Gynaecology
- Hernia and appendix
- Joint reconstructions
- Kidney and bladder
- Lung and chest
- Male reproductive system
- Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
- Pain management
- Palliative care
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery (medically necessary)
- Podiatric surgery (provided by a registered podiatric surgeon)
- Skin
- Sleep studies
- Tonsils, adenoids and grommets
Restricted 2
- Hospital psychiatric services
- Rehabilitation
Not covered 11
- Assisted reproductive services
- Back, neck and spine
- Cataracts
- Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
- Heart and vascular system
- Implantation of hearing devices
- Insulin pumps
- Joint replacements
- Pain management with device
- Pregnancy and birth
- Weight loss surgery
Waiting periods
- Pre-existing conditions
- 12 months
- Psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care
- 2 months
- All other hospital treatment
- 2 months
Excess and other costs
Excess options: $500, $750, paid when you are admitted.
Offers the age-based discount for people who join between 18 and 29.
From the insurer: This cover is categorised as Bronze Plus as the services covered exceed the minimum requirements for Bronze level cover. Smart Starter Bronze Plus has Silver inclusions such as lung and chest, blood, medically necessary plastic and reconstructive surgery, dental surgery, and podiatric surgery. It also includes cover for sleep studies which is generally only included in Gold level cover.
Pays towards 17 of 27 standard services
Yearly limits, per person, against the typical policy
- General dental$800typical policy $800
- Optical$300typical policy $220
- Physiotherapyshared with 9 other services$600typical policy $450
- Psychologyshared with 9 other services$600typical policy $400
What it pays on common claims, against the typical policy
- Periodic oral exam (item 012)100% of the feetypical policy $35.20
- Scale and clean (item 114)100% of the feetypical policy $66.85
- Single vision lenses and frames100% of the feetypical policy $220.00
- Physiotherapy, first visit$45.00typical policy $42.00
- Psychology, first visit$100.00typical policy $75.00
| Service | Waiting period | Yearly limit, per person | Per policy | Example benefits (all states) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General dentalconditions apply | 2 months | $800 | - | Periodic oral exam (item 012): 100%Scale and clean (item 114): 100%Fluoride treatment (item 121): 100% |
| Opticalconditions apply | 2 months | $300 | - | Multifocal lenses and frames: 100%Single vision lenses and frames: 100% |
| Non-PBS medicines | 2 months | $150shared with blood glucose monitors, vaccinations | - | Non-PBS prescription: 85% |
| Physiotherapyconditions apply | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Physiotherapy, first visit: $45.00Physiotherapy, later visit: $35.00 |
| Podiatry | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Podiatry, first visit: $40.00Podiatry, later visit: $30.00 |
| Psychology | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Psychology, first visit: $100.00Psychology, later visit: $100.00 |
| Acupunctureconditions apply | 2 months | $150shared with health management programs | $300 | Acupuncture, first visit: 75%Acupuncture, later visit: 75% |
| Remedial massage | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Remedial massage, first visit: $35.00Remedial massage, later visit: $25.00 |
| Blood glucose monitors | 12 months | $150shared with non-pbs medicines, vaccinations | - | Blood glucose monitor: 75% |
| Dietetics | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Dietetics, first visit: $35.00Dietetics, later visit: $30.00 |
| Exercise physiology | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Exercise physiology, first visit: $25.00Exercise physiology, later visit: $25.00 |
| Orthoptics | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Orthoptics, first visit: $30.00Orthoptics, later visit: $30.00 |
| Health management programs | 2 months | $150shared with acupuncture | $300 | Health management program: 75% |
| Occupational therapy | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Occupational therapy, first visit: $45.00Occupational therapy, later visit: $35.00 |
| Orthotics | 12 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Orthotics: $100.00 |
| Speech therapy | 2 months | $600shared with 9 other services | - | Speech therapy, first visit: $45.00Speech therapy, later visit: $35.00 |
| Vaccinations | 2 months | $150shared with non-pbs medicines, blood glucose monitors | - | Vaccination: 85% |
Not covered: major dental, endodontic (root canals), orthodontics, chiropractic, hearing aids, audiology, antenatal and postnatal, chinese herbal medicine, home nursing, osteopathy.
Other services: Combined annual limit of $600 for physiotherapy, exercise physiology, dietetics, occupational therapy, speech therapy, mental health services, podiatry, massage and more ($100 per pair for orthotics up to 2 pairs per year). Group physiotherapy and hydrotherapy $15 per session. Pharmacy benefits paid at 85% of charge above the PBS co-payment to a maximum of $20 per prescription (sub-limit applies for weight loss medications).
From the insurer: Affordable entry-level extras cover perfectly suited to young singles and couples. 100% back for one dental checkup per year (50% thereafter) at the provider of your choice. No sub-limits on optical benefits – use the full $300 limit on your choice of contact lenses or frames fitted with prescription lenses. Health management includes services such as acupuncture, weight loss classes and class physiotherapy for the treatment of a specific diagnosed condition.
General dental limit excludes tooth whitening and extractions. $300 optical limit every 2 years. Individual and group physiotherapy and hydrotherapy claimable under physiotherapy. Class physiotherapy and acupuncture claimable through health management when prescribed by your medical practitioner.
Example benefits are what the policy pays for that item at a provider without a special arrangement with the insurer; a percentage is of the fee charged. The typical policy is the middle one of the 708 extras policies on the market that aren't sold only through employers.
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Source: PrivateHealth.gov.au data (Private Health Insurance Ombudsman) via data.gov.au, licensed CC BY 3.0 AU. Normalised by The Finance Algorithm from the extract dated 1 Oct 2026, read on 23 Oct 2026.
Premiums are monthly and shown before the Australian Government rebate and any Lifetime Health Cover loading or age-based discount. Confirm the price and the cover with the insurer before you buy; the official statement for every policy is on PrivateHealth.gov.au. This is general information, not advice, and no insurer pays to be listed or ranked here.