If you feel your private health cover is a waste of money, take another look at how you use it. Experts say the inclusion of more alternative "extras" therapies means consumers can claim not only on a wider range of treatments but in some cases can even recoup the combined cost of their hospital and extras premium each year.

Health fund broker iSelect says many households that often visit dentists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, homeopaths and other health providers don't realise how many of these treatments they can claim on health insurance. Used wisely, says iSelect's Sue Bowman, you might even find you get back more from your fund than you put in.

Reclaim your costs

You can make your refunds bigger than your repayments by knowing exactly how much your fund pays in each area. Most funds have limits on how much can be paid each year under different categories.

The accompanying table from iSelect takes two scenarios, a young single person and a family, and three policies to suit each, to show how members can recoup much of - or get paid more than - the premium by using the extras.

These funds represent typical policies and items covered, not best or worst value. The premiums, which take into account the 30 per cent rebate, can differ, depending on the state. The premiums are also based on a hospital excess of $400-$500, meaning you pay the first $400-$500 for a hospital visit. Obstetrics is not covered in the young singles cover but it is included in the family policies.

Let's look at the policies for a young single person. On MU's Healthmate Advanced the annual premium is $1223. But in the table you'll see that the maximum payable for dental work (not including orthodontics) is $1400, for optical products it is $225, for physio $600, for chiro $350 and for natural therapies $250 - a total of $2825.

The totals vary on the two other singles policies - both in terms of the potential total benefits payable, as well as the individual limits for different therapies. While this table is not intended as an exhaustive comparison of extras insurance, the differences show how important it is to shop around. Just using the funds in the table, if you use a lot of physio the first two singles policies could be more attractive because their limits are higher, at $600 a year.

But if your teeth are prone to many fillings and repair, you may need the higher limits ($1850) of the last two policies.

In the policies for young families - adults aged between 35 and 45 - iSelect shows the Latrobe policy costs $2080 a year but has the potential to pay $2725 if you use a lot of the extras.

The AHM cover, which costs $2322, could pay out $3030 and the MBF cover, which costs $2775, could recoup $2175. "Most people don't realise they can retrieve the cost of the cover if they use a lot of these services,"Bowman says.

Case study

An extra bonus

Carolyn and Robert Steinman, plus baby Sara see their private health insurance policy as a back-up in case of an emergency. As a nurse, Carolyn says she wants her family to have "all options available" if the need arises, especially being able to avoid sometimes lengthy hospital waiting lists. While the family has thus far not made a hospital claim, they have found the extras cover useful, particularly for alternative therapies. "We find it good because we use it for naturopathy, chiro and acupuncture," Carolyn says. "To get that little bit back - about $20 on a $60 consultation - makes it much easier. It all adds up over the course of a year."

A HEALTHY DEAL HOW YOU CAN GET BACK MORE 
SOURCE: ISELECT.COM.AU (Table not available on database)