2026 premium increase
+4.96%
Industry average: +4.41%(+0.55 pts vs avg)
Effective 1 April 2026.
About HCF
HCF (Hospital Contribution Fund) is the country's largest not-for-profit insurer. Member-owned mutual structure means surpluses go back to members rather than shareholders.
Typical strengths
- More Choice agreement hospital network
- Strong eyecare and dental centres
- Consistently competitive on hospital claims paid
Things to weigh up
- Extras limits can be lower on entry-level products
Premium increases — last 5 years
How HCF's gazetted average increase has tracked against the industry each April.
HCF has beaten the industry average 1 of the last 5 years.
Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, gazetted premium rounds 2022–2026. Years without a published figure are shown as gaps, not zero.
How HCF performs for members
Size, complaints, retention and how much of a hospital bill members actually see covered — from the Ombudsman's 2023–24 report.
Complaints share
9.7%
Fewer complaints than HCF's size would suggest.
Market share
12.6%
Share of all Australians with private health cover.
Member retention
87.1%
Members who stayed with the fund across the year.
Charges with no/known gap
88.9%
Hospital-related charges covered with no gap or a gap agreed up front.
Extras charges covered
50.4%
Average share of extras bills the fund's benefits pay.
Premiums returned as benefits
89%
Industry-leading funds return around 89–94% of premiums as benefits; the market typically returns 79–89%.
Agreement private hospitals
507
Private hospitals with agreements, where members are covered with no or known gaps.
Source: Commonwealth Ombudsman, State of the Health Funds Report 2023–24, and Comparify's hospital agreement dataset.
Open policies right now
Every HCF policy currently open to new members, straight from the Government's PHIO dataset.
- Basic6
- Bronze8
- Silver12
- Gold6
18
Extras-only policies
From $7/mo
6
Combined policies
Full hospital and extras coverage bundled together
Cheapest hospital premium
Per month, before rebate
How HCF's hospital cover prices compare
Each row shows the whole market's monthly premiums for that tier, with HCF's own open policies marked in purple.
VIC, single cover, monthly premiums before rebate. Plus variants are folded into their base tier. Combined policies are excluded.
How HCF's extras cover prices compare
Extras-only policies grouped by what they actually cover, using the same VIC single cohort selected above.
- Everyday extras
- General dental and everyday services — no major dental
- Mid extras
- Major dental covered, orthodontics not covered
- Top extras
- Major dental and orthodontics both covered
Compare HCF against the market — with an advisor
Same price as joining HCF direct. No obligation, no upsell — just a clear side-by-side comparison from a real human.
HCF questions, answered honestly
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See all explainersOther funds we compare
Prices shown are PHIO-listed base premiums before the Australian Government Rebate and any age-based discount, sourced from the Government's Private Health Information Statement data (August 2026). Comparify compares a subset of these funds through its advisors.