At Westfund, we pride ourselves on being there for our members in the moments that matter most. With the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Australian households continuing to grow, we have been working hard to identify any assistance we can offer that will benefit our entire membership.
We’ve introduced a range of measures to support our members who are affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, including a pause on our 1 April 2020 premium increase, hospital coverage for admissions due to COVID-19 (regardless of level of cover, providing the two-month waiting period has been served) and more.
FAQs correct as of 31 March 2020. Due to the rapid changes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, some details may have changed
Nothing. We have made the decision to not increase premiums for at least the next six months for all of our members, on all of our products, to help ease the financial pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For all direct debits and payroll, this change will be automatic.
We just ask any members who may have set up BPAY deductions to ensure these are set at the current rate and not the new 1 April rate.
Any payments that have been made in advance have already been honoured at the current rate. Westfund will continue to honour payments made in advance until at least 30 September 2020.
The Australian Government Rebate will not decrease on 1 April 2020. This means your premium rate will not change at all on 1 April 2020.
Yes. You will have until at least 30 September 2020 to pay your membership in advance at the current rate. You can pay up to a maximum of 18 months in advance.
At this stage, Westfund has committed to defer the premium increase for at least six months for all members. This means the earliest any premium increase will take effect will be 1 October 2020.
When the increase does take effect, Westfund will notify all members via their preferred contact method. You can check or update your contact preferences via the Member Online Area.
We understand that during this time of uncertainty, financial pressures are pushing Australian household to their limits. If you are experiencing financial pressure and would like to know what your options are, please contact us on 1300 937 838 or email enquiries@westfund.com.au
Please be assured we are monitoring every development from the federal government as we do our best to support our members who may be feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yes. All benefit changes will still be made 1 April 2020. These were outlined in your Rate Rise communication sent in February.
Yes. Members who receive treatment in a private hospital as a result of COVID-19 will be covered, regardless of whether admissions due to heart, lung and chest or dialysis are currently excluded from their policy. Members must have held hospital cover for two months to access this treatment.
No. Different levels of cover have different inclusions. Basic Hospital, as the name implies, covers fewer clinical categories than Silver, for example. This system was introduced as part of the federal government reforms of private health insurance to ensure that consumers were able to easily compare similar policies from different health insurers.
Clinical categories are exactly that – categories or types of hospital treatments. For example, if your policy covers ‘joint replacements’, you are covered for any hospital service that is included in that category.
The nature of COVID-19 means that treatment for the virus and/or its complications would fall into the heart, lung and chest or dialysis categories.
If you have not held hospital cover with Westfund for at least two months prior to hospital admission, you will not be covered where a current exclusion/restriction applies to the hospital treatment.
Once you have held hospital cover for two months, you will be covered for hospitalisation due to COVID-19. Any other services will need to be a category covered on your chosen level of cover and the appropriate waiting periods served.
We know that this is a very difficult time and the information we receive changes every day, however our members remain our focus and we’re here to support you however we can. Please call us on 1300 937 838 from 9am-5pm AEDT Monday to Friday, or email enquiries@westfund.com.au Alternatively, you can speak to us via webchat here on our website or send a direct message to us on Facebook.
We have put face-to-face member services on hold to ensure the wellbeing of our staff, members and the wider community.
This temporary closure of our Care Centres is an important measure which we have not taken lightly, however we do fully support the advice of the Department of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) around the important role of social distancing in stopping the spread of COVID-19.
Yes, we are happy to provide our members with a range of ways to still submit their claims.
You can claim:
We are ready to support our members in any way we can during this challenging time. We remain committed to delivering exceptional service to our members and we encourage you to contact us using any of the following options:
We would like to assure our members that claims are operating as normal, and this includes in-hospital procedures as covered by their policy.
We encourage members to speak directly with their doctor and chosen hospital to confirm if their surgery will still be going ahead.
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a new virus. Symptoms include fever, coughing, sore throat and shortness of breath. The virus can spread from person to person, but good hygiene can prevent infection. Find out who is at risk and what you should do if you think you have COVID-19.
If you are sick and think you have symptoms of COVID-19, seek medical attention. If you want to talk to someone about your symptoms first, call the Coronavirus Health Information Line for advice.
Call this line on 1800 020 080 if you are seeking information on coronavirus (COVID-19). The line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Information sourced from the World Health Organisation and Department of Health
