Your Tax and Lifetime Health Cover Statements

At the end of each financial year, we’re required to mail important information you may need when lodging your tax return.

Each policy that was active during the 2009-2010 financial year will receive a Private Health Insurance (PHI) statement. All policies that include hospital cover will also receive a Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) statement.

Important information about your tax statement: Some members may have experienced a delay in receiving their annual tax and Lifetime Health Cover statements due to a technical issue with the mailing database. We're currently in the process of sending these packs out and this will be completed by 2 August 2010. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused by this delay.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. When will I receive my statements?
  2. Why do I need a PHI statement?
  3. Why do I need a LHC statement?
  4. How is the loading applied to my policy?
  5. When is the loading removed from my policy?
  6. What is a Standard Information Statement and why did you send it to me?
  7. What do I need to claim the net medical expenses tax offset?
  8. How do I claim my donations to the Health and Medical Research Fund?
  9. What if I need another copy of my statements?

  1. When will I receive my statements?

    All statements will be mailed by 14 July. If you haven’t received yours by the end of July, please call us on 134 246 or email info@ahm.com.au

  2. Why do I need a Private Health Insurance (PHI) statement?

    You need this statement to complete your 2009-2010 tax return. It details your premiums paid during the 2009-2010 financial year and how much of the Federal Government rebate you can claim in your tax return.

    It also includes details relating to the Medicare Levy Surcharge, which will assist those people who qualify as high-income earners by the Tax Office.

    Important things to note on your PHI statement:
    • Tax return health fund ID – if you’re using TaxPack 2010, the three-letter code you need for your tax return is AHM.
    • Your contributions – your statement is current to 30 June 2010 and includes all premiums paid up to that date.

      If you pay your premiums by payroll deduction and you’ll be claiming the rebate as a tax deduction, we’ve made projections on your contributions between your last processed date of payment and 30 June 2010 (because of the difference between when your premiums are deducted from your pay and when we receive and process your payment). By projecting your premiums, it means you won’t be disadvantaged and you can claim your full entitlement.

    • What you’re entitled to claim – box ‘G’ displays the Federal Government rebate amount you’re entitled to claim in your tax return. If the  amount shown in the box is zero, it means you’ve already claimed your full rebate entitlement as a reduced premium.
    • Your type of cover – this box will show the highest level of cover you held during the year so it may not be your current level of cover (as shown on your Lifetime Health Cover statement, if applicable). The code will either show as Hospital, General (Extras) or Combined.
    • Medicare Levy Surcharge – box ‘A’ shows the number of days you held an appropriate private hospital cover. If you’re classed as a high-income earner and you didn’t have private hospital cover for the full year, you may have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge. If you have any questions about the Surcharge, we encourage you to contact the Tax Office or your accountant.

  3. Why do I need a Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) statement?

    This statement details important information about your policy. It’s a legislative requirement that we send this to all members who have hospital cover with us. It’s for your records only and isn't needed for your tax return. Statement details include:
    • Your partner (if applicable)
    • Your current policy
    • The extras and hospital components of your policy (where applicable)
    • Any LHC loading that applies to you or your partner
    • The number of days you or your partner haven’t had hospital cover since 1 July 2000. (You'll need this information if you need to use the ‘period of absence’ provision of the Lifetime Health Cover legislation).

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  4. How is the loading applied to my policy?

    If you don’t have hospital cover on the 1st of July following your 31st birthday, or you stop holding hospital cover after this date, you will be charged 2% more on your share of the ‘base rate premium’ for each year without hospital cover, up to a maximum of 70% more. If you’re the only adult on the policy, the loading applies to the whole ‘base rate premium’.

    For example, if you have a single policy and take out hospital cover when you turn 40, you will pay 20% more on the ‘base rate premium’.


  5. When is the loading removed from my policy?

    The loading will be automatically removed from your policy once you’ve held appropriate hospital cover for 10 continuous years (or a cumulative period of 10 years that’s only interrupted by permitted days* without hospital cover).

    The good news is there’s no need for you to do anything to have it removed. Once you reach this date, we’ll send you a letter to let you know that loading has been reduced and to confirm your new premium.

    *Permitted days without hospital cover
    You’re permitted a maximum of 1094 days without hospital cover with a registered health fund. Periods of authorised suspension aren’t included in this figure.


  6. What is a Standard Information Statement (SIS) and why did you send it to me?

    The SIS provides you with a summary of the key benefits and product features on your policy. The price shown is the monthly premium with the 30% Federal Government rebate deducted so if you have a LHC loading or a higher level of rebate on your policy, the price listed on the SIS will be different to your actual premium.

    If a SIS is included in your pack, it’s because changes to your cover which we told you about in March became effective on 1 July 2010.

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  7. What do I need to claim the net medical expenses tax offset?

    If you’re claiming out-of-pocket medical expenses in your tax return, you can call us for a claims statement listing all the benefits paid to you during the year. If you’d like further information about claiming out-of-pocket medical expenses, visit http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/19181.htm.

    If you just want to see a list of benefits paid, you can also log in as an ahm member on the ahm health insurance home page and download a list of your transactions. However, this list isn’t sufficient for ATO claiming purposes so you’ll still need to call and get a claims statement from us.


  8. How do I claim my donations to ahm's Health and Medical Research Fund?

    If you make donations to ahm's Health and Medical Research Fund, your letter will contain a summary of your payments for the 2009-2010 financial year. You can use the letter as proof of your donations when you submit your tax return. Remember to quote 55 147 033 961 as the reference number.

  9. What if I need another copy of my statements?

    Call us on 134 246 if you need another copy of your statement.

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Useful contact details

Do you have any more questions about the information you’ve received?

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