How a missing name on your health policy could cost you thousands

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Are all your dependants insured for private hospital? Are they all listed by name on your card including newborns? These are questions you may never have contemplated, but they are crucial if you want to avoid the costly Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS).

If you are single without dependants and your income is over $101,000 you will need private hospital cover to avoid the surcharge. If you have a spouse and/or dependants and your combined family income is over $202,000 you need to make sure all your dependants have private hospital cover to avoid the surcharge.

The surcharge can be as much as 1.5 per cent of your income for surcharge purposes, not just the amount that exceeds the threshold, and even your low-income spouse will have to pay it.

All of this sounds fairly straightforward, but there are a number of caveats that can make it more complicated than it seems.

This includes your spouse, any children........

© The Sydney Morning Herald