The short answer
Extras cover after 60 lives or dies on four categories: dental (especially major dental), optical, hearing aids and physiotherapy. If you use two or more of these in a normal year, mid-level extras usually pays for itself — provided the annual limits on the policy match how you actually claim. If you mostly don''t, extras is a slow leak that deserves an honest cancellation conversation, even while you keep your hospital cover.
Hospital and extras are separate products. You can keep one and change or drop the other — the decision should be made separately for each.
Why the maths changes after 60
The general test doesn''t change — add up your last 12 months of out-of-pocket dental, optical and physio, and compare it to the premium — but the numbers feeding it do. Dental work shifts from check-ups toward crowns, bridges, dentures and implants (major dental, with its own higher limits and longer waits). Multifocal prescriptions cost more than single-vision. Physio becomes maintenance, not injury recovery. And hearing aids enter the picture — the single most expensive extras category there is.
The four categories that matter, honestly
Dental: the workhorse
Routine dental (check-ups, cleans, fillings) is where most over-60s claim most often — but major dental is where the money is. Crowns and dentures run into the thousands, and policies cap major dental separately, sometimes with a 12-month waiting period. If major work is plausible in the next couple of years, the annual major dental limit matters far more than the advertised rebate percentage. Check whether the limit is per person or shared on a couples policy — for two sets of 60-something teeth, that difference is real money.
Optical: reliable but capped low
Optical limits are typically modest and most people exhaust them every year or two. Reliable value if you update glasses regularly; never a reason on its own to hold extras.
Hearing aids: the category that picks the policy
Hearing aids can cost as much as a decent used car, and extras policies treat them accordingly: long waiting periods (often 12 months or more), replacement cycles measured in years, and limits that vary enormously between policies. If hearing aids are in your future, this single category should drive which extras policy you choose — compare the hearing aid limit and waiting period first, everything else second. And crucially: start the waiting period clock before you need them, not after the audiologist''s quote.
Physio and friends: the frequency test
Physio, podiatry and remedial massage pay off on frequency — three or more visits a year makes the category worthwhile, occasional use doesn''t. Podiatry deserves a special mention for over-60s: regular foot care is one of the quietly valuable, quietly under-used categories on seniors'' policies.
What you''re probably paying for and not using
Many extras policies bundle categories that skew young — orthodontics for the kids who left home fifteen years ago, gym memberships, antenatal classes. You can''t usually strip categories individually, but you can choose a policy whose weighting matches your life. A policy with a big hearing aid limit and strong major dental will suit you better than a top-shelf policy padded with categories you''ll never claim, even at the same premium.
Switching extras without losing ground
Served waiting periods transfer on equivalent cover when you switch — same portability principle as hospital cover, which matters enormously for the long waits on major dental and hearing aids. If you''ve already served a 12-month major dental wait, you don''t restart it by moving to a comparable policy. The same myth-busting applies: age and existing conditions are no barrier.
The Comparify view
Extras is the half of the premium people audit least and complain about most. Run the 12-month test, then check the three numbers that actually decide value for over-60s: the major dental limit, the hearing aid limit and wait, and the physio limit. Our extras calculator does the arithmetic for your actual usage, and the extras cover guide explains the basic/mid/top ladder. If extras isn''t earning its keep, we''ll say so — keeping hospital cover and dropping extras is a perfectly respectable outcome.
FAQ
Are hearing aids covered by private health insurance?
Through extras cover, yes — on mid-to-top policies, subject to a specific hearing aid limit, a long waiting period (often 12+ months) and a multi-year replacement cycle. Limits vary more between policies than almost any other category, so compare this line item specifically.
Is extras cover worth it for pensioners?
If you claim regularly on two or more of dental, optical, physio or hearing aids, usually yes at the right level. If not, it''s reasonable to keep hospital cover and drop or downgrade extras.
Do waiting periods carry over if I switch extras policies?
Yes — served waiting periods transfer on equivalent cover, including major dental and hearing aid waits. You only wait on genuinely new benefits.
Does extras cover affect the Medicare Levy Surcharge or LHC loading?
No. Only hospital cover matters for the Medicare Levy Surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover loading. Extras is purely a value-for-usage decision.