Medibank Members’ Choice vs Members’ Choice Advantage: A Guide for Perth Patients

Members’ Choice is Medibank’s network of providers with negotiated arrangements for eligible services. Members’ Choice Advantage dentists are part of that network, with additional check-up and mouthguard benefits for eligible members. Neither name is an insurance policy: your own Extras product still determines which benefits and conditions apply.

For practice-specific information, visit our Medibank provider and claiming page. Your membership documents explain your cover; Medibank can confirm how that cover applies to the provider and treatment you choose.

What Members’ Choice means

Medibank’s Members’ Choice network includes providers with negotiated arrangements for eligible services. These can involve capped charges and benefits linked to the member’s cover. A capped charge is not the same thing as a promise that the insurer will pay the entire bill.

What Advantage adds

Members’ Choice Advantage is an enhanced provider arrangement within the network. For eligible products, Medibank describes at least one annual qualifying check-up at a Members’ Choice dentist, excluding X-rays, compared with up to two at an Advantage dentist including clinically required bitewing X-rays. Product exceptions, including Healthy Living Extras and Gold Ultra Health, mean this is not a universal one-versus-two rule. Waiting periods and other conditions apply. See Medibank’s Members’ Choice guide.

This network status is not a specialist dental qualification and does not guarantee a particular treatment result.

Your policy and your provider are separate checks

Start with two questions: ‘Does my cover include the proposed item?’ and ‘What arrangement applies at this provider?’ Knowing the answer to only one leaves an important part of the cost discussion unresolved.

For example, an advertisement about a preventive check-up does not tell you the benefit for a crown. Similarly, a friend’s claim does not establish your entitlement, even if you see the same dentist. Ask Medibank to assess your own membership and proposed services.

How to check a dentist before booking

1. Find the practice using Medibank’s official provider search or the My Medibank app, rather than relying only on an old advertisement.
2. Match the practice name and street address. Similar business names can refer to different clinics.
3. For a treatment estimate, identify the treating dentist as well as the practice and ask which provider number should be used.
4. Confirm the current network arrangement and the benefit for the services you expect to receive.

Medibank notes that provider agreements can change. A recent confirmation is therefore more useful than a screenshot or a claim from a previous year. Its dental procedures information explains where to find participating providers.

Compare the appointment as well as the benefit

Before deciding, ask what the appointment includes, who will provide the care and how additional findings will be discussed. For a routine visit, you can read about our dental examinations and professional teeth cleaning.

If you have a particular dental concern, explain it when booking instead of assuming a standard check-up appointment will address every possible treatment need. Ask for an explanation of costs before agreeing to additional work.

This guide explains network terminology. Medibank must confirm your individual benefits and the provider’s current participation before you rely on a particular arrangement.