OSHC will help you to cover for the medical care you might need while in Australia. However, it covers basic medical and hospital care, and limited cover for pharmaceutical and ambulance services.
As well, you will have to serve the waiting period, that is the period of time that you have to be with the insurer before you are able to make any medical claims. In general, this waiting period is one year. You won’t be able to claim any medical expenses during that year and if you need medical attention, you will have to cover the full cost of the treatment.
OSHC benefits are based on the Medical Benefit Scheme (MBS). Some medical services will have a gap fee. This gap fee is the difference between the amount charged by the doctor and the MBS benefit. The student will have to pay for this cost and it can’t be claimed back to the insurer.
When making the payment, you can either pay for the full amount to the medical provider and with the tax invoice/receipt, you can submit the claim to the insurance provider; or you can request the insurance company to make the payment on your behalf.
With regards to the type of treatment that will be covered, dental, optical or physiotherapy are not usually included in the insurance for international students. Therefore, if the student would like to have dental coverage, they will need to contact the insurer directly and add that as an extra.