Bupa expands hardship support for health insurance customers impacted by COVID-19
As COVID-19 continues to have devastating impacts across Australia, Bupa has a range of support measures for health insurance customers who may be experiencing financial hardship.
Emily Amos, Bupa Health Insurance Managing Director, encouraged customers who have been impacted by lockdowns to reach out to discuss the support available.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit Australians hard with 13 million of us now in hard lockdown. In such an uncertain time, we are committed to supporting our customers and working to ease their financial and mental wellbeing concerns wherever we can,” Ms Amos said.
“Whether it’s temporarily suspending their policy or helping them to better understand the mental health support available to them, we encourage customers to discuss the options we have available to help.
“While our Health Insurance stores in parts of NSW, Victoria and South Australia are temporarily closed, we’ve been able to redeploy our team members to provide additional support for our contact centres to make sure they can manage an increase in customers reaching out to us over the phone and online,” Ms Amos said.
Ms Amos said since the beginning of the pandemic, Bupa has been committed to supporting customers both financially and as they grapple with the mental health effects of the ongoing uncertainty.
“While we know financial concerns are hugely important to our customers, the mental health challenges are just as significant and we continue to work hard to make sure our customers have access to the support they need,” Ms Amos said.
“This year we’ve upped mental health Extras limits for the year by $200 for more than 2.2 million customers and after expanding cover to include telehealth last year, we continue to see our customers taking up the digital option for psychology and counselling consultations.”
Ms Amos said that customers should continue to prioritise their health during lockdowns, and not avoid important medical and wellbeing appointments.
“While some healthcare services will be closed, many remain open so it’s important to speak with your provider to understand what your options are. Many services are being offered through telehealth consultations, and we expect to see these claims increase as we did during last year’s lockdowns,” she said.
In 2020, Bupa provided more than $184 million in benefits to customers through hardship support and by deferring premium increases.
Customers can access the financial hardship by contacting Bupa on 1300 884 285.
