Health insurance giant Bupa has made changes to its gap cover policy and it’s set to leave some customers with higher out-of-pocket costs.

Gap cover will no longer apply to customers who are with doctors or medical professionals outside Bupa’s approved providers.

The changes were meant to come into force on July 1 this year but were pushed back after Health Minister Greg Hunt intervened.

Now, in a matter of weeks, Australians with Bupa private health insurance could face a spike in costs.

Bupa customer Chris has called in to tell Ray Hadley his 35-year-old wife is suffering from an aggressive form of breast cancer and is undergoing treatment.

She’s being treated at the highly respected Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, a centre which will no longer be on Bupa’s list of providers.

The couple is now bracing for higher fees because they have “nowhere else to turn”.

“I’d happily move to another insurer but I can’t because who’s going to take on a 35-year-old woman with an aggressive breast cancer?” Chris says.

“You’re kind of stumped, you’ve got nowhere else to turn really except try and find the money for the procedures.”

Ray Hadley has vowed to take the matter up with Minister Hunt, saying the health insurer shouldn’t “change the rules halfway through the game.”

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Bupa has since contacted Ray Hadley’s program saying they will look into Chris’s options.