Reduce dental, physio and optical costs with extras cover

Published December 2024 | 5 min read
Expert contributor Julie Macey, Head of Ancillary Benefits at HCF
Words by Angela Tufvesson

Extras cover can help lower your out-of-pocket expenses when you get your teeth cleaned or your eyes checked. Here’s how to maximise the benefits.

With cost-of-living pressures continuing to eat into family budgets, many of us are looking for strategies to reduce expenses and make long-term savings. Healthcare costs like dental, physio and optical can add to the load, especially if you have a family, wear glasses or have a condition that requires regular care from a physio. 

This is where extras cover comes in. With extras cover, you can reduce out-of-pocket costs associated with dental, physio, optical care and other health services. It’s especially helpful if you know you or your family need to use these services regularly.

“Extras cover is all about prevention and self-care,” explains Julie Macey, Head of Ancillary Benefits at HCF. “It ‘nudges’ you to go to the dentist, to get your eyes tested and generally look after your health.”

Here’s how to use extras cover to reduce your dental, physio and optical costs.

What is extras cover?

Extras cover helps with the cost of day-to-day health services, including dental, physio, optical, remedial massage and chiropractic treatment. Without extras cover, you need to pay the full amount out-of-pocket.

Extras cover typically covers some of the cost of most services – for example, depending on your extras cover, you may get 60% back on the cost of a physio session or a set dollar amount, up to the annual limit.

Taking out extras cover isn’t like health insurance in the traditional sense. It’s a bit like buying a book of discount vouchers that you use for healthcare. Extras cover doesn’t usually cover the total cost of treatment, but it helps you budget and manage out-of-pocket costs – especially if you know you’re likely to spend on things like glasses, dental check-ups and physio sessions. HCF’s More for You program allows eligible members to receive 100% back on a range of no-gap services* through participating providers.

HCF was the first Australian fund to introduce its ancillary product, then called Multicover, to cover a range of services including dental, physio and optical. Extras cover has now become an essential pillar of healthcare across the country.

How to save money on your dental, optical and physio visits

Get regular check-ups

You know what they say about prevention being better than cure? Using your extras cover for regular check-ups can help to identify any problems before they become more serious – and costly. By staying on top of your oral and eye health, you can prevent minor concerns like cavities or vision changes from turning into major, expensive problems down the line.

An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found 30% of Aussies who needed to see a dentist delayed seeing (or did not see) one at least once in the last 12 months – and around one in six reported that cost was a major reason for this delay.

HCF members with eligible extras cover are able to access our More for Teeth program, and get 100% back on one or two check-ups, scale and cleans and a fluoride treatment each calendar year*. In the past financial year, over 2.3 million dental treatments^{^} were covered with no gap through our More for Teeth program through our nationwide network of dentists.

“Getting your teeth looked after is one of the best ways to get an early warning about something more serious,” says Julie. “It’s so much better for the dentist to give you a good scale and clean on a regular basis so you can help avoid abscesses in your gum, wobbly teeth, or even an oral cancer.”

Maintain overall health and wellbeing

Our diet and exercise habits are linked to our oral, optical and physical wellbeing, and taking care of your overall health and wellbeing can reduce the amount of care you need from a dentist, physio or optometrist.

Poor oral health, for example, is significantly associated with common chronic diseases. Being overweight can increase the risk of physical injury. Conditions like diabetes can lead to eye problems. Eye health and vision loss is also linked to more serious conditions, like dementia and stroke.

“Getting an eye health check or an eye test should be a really important part of a self-care routine to look after your health,” says Julie. “It’s not just to see if you need glasses, but to see whether there's anything else going on with your eyes.”

Using your extras cover for other services like chiro, osteo, podiatry and selected natural therapies can also help support overall health and wellbeing.

Explore flexible extras cover

For some people, basic extras cover may be all you need. With HCF’s Flex My Extras, singles and couples get a flexible $650 single limit to spend on any covered extras service, plus a $175 optical limit and $100 remedial massage and myotherapy limit.

“With HCF extras cover there are a lot of options on offer,” says Julie. “It’s all about not assuming one size fits all, as well as reminding people what services are actually available to them to look after their health.”

Flex My Extras also includes 60% back on included extras, up to your annual limit, 100% back* on one dental check-up a year through our More for Teeth program, a gap bonus top-up to reduce or eliminate out-of pocket costs and professional teeth whitening⁺.

Understand your policy

It’s essential to understand what you're covered for as part of your policy, but it’s equally important to know what additional programs you might be eligible for.

For example, eligible members can access:

• discounts on CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet^#, a dietitian-led HCF-approved weight management program
• the HCF Healthful app, which is a free app featuring health tips, recipes and wellbeing resources to help you live your healthiest life
• benefits to see a psychologist (if you don’t have a Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plan or you’ve used it up), an HCF-approved counsellor or an accredited mental health social worker.

Find the right provider

Making the most of your extras cover is one of the best ways to reduce your health costs. Our Find a Provider tool allows you to search for a provider in our network to access no-gap treatment. You can get 100% back* on popular extras through our extensive More for You network of dentists, physios and chiropractors. 

Visit one of our 16 HCF Dental Centres or a More for Teeth provider, for example, to get 100% back* on a range of services each calendar year, including one check-up, scale and clean, fluoride treatment and two mouthguards.

You can use BookNow to book an appointment online 24/7 with selected More for Teeth providers. If they accept online bookings, you'll see a ‘Book now’ button next to their name.

Know when your limits reset

As we near the end of the year it’s important to understand most treatments and services have annual limits – the maximum amount you can claim each year. Annual limits for extras cover reset on 1 January each year, so timing your dental, physio and optical appointments to be scheduled before the end of the year, and making the most of any unused capacity, is a sensible approach.

“We know most members claim only really for one or two things, mainly dental check-ups,” says Julie, “but we want members to use their extras cover, and we encourage them to keep up to date with what they’ve got available to them and to use their extras before it resets each year.”

Get the most out of your extras cover

Our My Membership app makes keeping on top of your extras cover easy. See what you’re covered for, keep track of previous claims, view your remaining limits, and chat with our team if you have any questions. Plus, you can make a claim in minutes with a photo of your invoice – and estimate how much you’ll get back with our handy claims calculator.