The NSW Teachers Federation established Teachers Health Fund in 1954 to provide cost-effective private health care for members and their families. It launched the UniHealth health fund exclusively in 2014 for people in the higher education community and their families. To be eligible members must be employed (past or present) in those sectors and a current or former member of a relevant education union. Teachers Health and UniHealth are part of Members Own Health Funds, an alliance of nonprofit and mutual health funds that promotes the benefits of funds that reward members rather than investors or overseas owners.

Teachers Health

Phone: 1300 728 188

Email: info@teachershealth.com.au

Website: teachershealth.com.au

UniHealth

Phone: 1300 367 906

Email: info@unihealthinsurance.com.au

Website: unihealthinsurance.com.au

Teachers Health eligibility

Current or former teachers and academics (primary to tertiary), teacher aides or non-teaching support staff, with membership in their relevant union.

For further details see their website.

Is Teachers Health nonprofit?

Yes.

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Does Teachers Health get many complaints from members?

Teachers Health complaints rating: Medium

Includes UniHealth.

When we score policies we give each fund a complaints rating, based on the number of complaints and serious disputes the Ombudsman deals with. We take into account the size of the fund, so big funds don't get automatically penalised for having more complaints.

The ratings are Low, Medium and High. A Low rating is better than a High rating – it means the fund has fewer complaints and fewer serious disputes for its size.
The infographic below shows the complaints about the fund to the Ombudsman as a percentage of all complaints. Complaints can be about benefits or customer service. The most serious complaints are escalated for investigation.
The higher the share of complaints a fund receives above its market share, the worse its performance compared to other funds. If its share of complaints is below its market share, that's a better result.

Text-only accessible version of this infographic

Teachers Health accounts for...

2.3% of the health insurance market

2.9% of all complaints about benefit payments

0.8% of all complaints about service

2.4% of all complaints that are escalated to investigations.

How good is Teachers Health's gap cover?

A medical gap is the difference between Medicare's recommended fee and what your doctor actually charges for a treatment or service.

Health funds have agreements with particular doctors and hospitals to cover all of the gap, which are called 'no gap agreements', or part of that gap, which are called 'known gap agreements' (these will have lower out-of-pocket costs, usually less than $500).

Our graphic below displays the CHOICE gap rating, which takes into account the percentage of services where members either paid no gap or a known gap, compared to the state average.

Rating scale

Above average
Average
Below average
Well below average

We also display the percentage of medical services that Teachers Health covers with no gap, and compare it to the industry average. The higher the percentage, the more effective the fund's gap scheme is in a state or territory.

Text-only accessible version of this infographic

Teachers Health gap cover performance by state

New South Wales (NSW)

Above average

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Above average

Victoria (Vic)

Above average

Queensland (Qld)

Above average

South Australia (SA)

Above average

Western Australia (WA)

Average

Tasmania (Tas)

Above average

Northern Territory (NT)

Above average

Percentage of medical services covered with no gap

New South Wales (NSW)

Teachers Health – 90.2%

Industry average – 86.3%

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Teachers Health – 84.6%

Industry average – 76.7%

Victoria (Vic)

Teachers Health – 91.1%

Industry average – 85.0%

Queensland (Qld)

Teachers Health – 92.9%

Industry average – 85.1%

South Australia (SA)

Teachers Health – 91.1%

Industry average – 86.8%

Western Australia (WA)

Teachers Health – 85.4%

Industry average – 90.1%

Tasmania (Tas)

Teachers Health – 94.4%

Industry average – 83.0%

Northern Territory (NT)

Teachers Health – 91.5%

Industry average – 80.1%

How many hospital agreements does Teachers Health have in my state?

The benefit amount your fund pays you for hospital services depends not only on the type of cover you buy, but also whether your fund has an agreement with the hospital where you're treated.

The table below shows how many hospital agreements Teachers Health has in your state compared to the fund with the highest number (the industry maximum). Note that public hospitals don't have agreements with specific funds and are generally treated as though they're agreement hospitals.

Text-only accessible version of this infographic

Teachers Health Fund has

ACT

5 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 7

7 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 8

NSW

100 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 100

89 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 100

NT

2 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 2

1 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 2

Qld

48 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 58

53 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 53

SA

25 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 27

24 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 28

Tas

5 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 8

3 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 6

Vic

78 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 79

74 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 79

WA

22 private hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 23

23 day hospital agreements out of an industry maximum of 29

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Does Teachers Health offer any discounts?

Discount for direct debit: None

Discount for annual prepay: None

Total discount for annual prepay via direct debit: None

Does Teachers Health offer ambulance cover?

All Teachers Health extras, hospital and combined policies have emergency ambulance cover.

Do you need ambulance cover?

Depending on where you live, you may not need a policy with ambulance cover.

In Queensland or Tasmania, emergency ambulance services are covered by your state government.
In NSW and the ACT, all hospital policies come with emergency ambulance cover – so you'll be covered with any hospital or combined policy you select.
In South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory you can buy emergency ambulance cover directly from the ambulance service. Alternatively, some health fund policies will cover ambulance in your state or territory or refund at least part of the cost of the ambulance service cover.
Rural WA: You can buy emergency ambulance cover directly from the ambulance service. Alternatively, some health fund policies will cover ambulance or refund at least part of the cost of the ambulance service cover.
Metropolitan WA: If you want to be covered for ambulance you need to buy a health insurance policy with ambulance cover.

Does Teachers Health let you claim online or in-app?

Can claim using app (iOS and Android) for all services. Can claim online for complementary therapy, chiropractic, general dental, optical, podiatry, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, audiology and dietician services.

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What CHOICE Community says about Teachers Health

The CHOICE Community is the online forum for Australian consumers, open to CHOICE members and supporters. Join the conversation about Teachers Health to share your experiences or gain more insights into this health fund.