Medicare Levy Surcharge

Private health insurance gives consumers more freedom when it comes to health care. As of 31 December 2017, 45.6 per cent of the Australian population were covered by hospital treatment insurance, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). The APRA quarterly report shows that health insurance funds are returning the highest percentage of the premium back to members of all insurance types.

Countless Australians don't concern themselves with private health insurance until they wish they had it. That may be because most believe that Medicare and the public system covers them for ambulance and emergency services as well as specialist care, according to a recent Pureprofile study.

Do you understand the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS)? In order for the health insurance industry to stay viable and for premiums to remain affordable for all Australians, the Howard Coalition government introduced the MLS in the early 2000s. It was a way of encouraging higher income earners who didn't have private health insurance (PHI) to participate in PHI, otherwise they would have to pay a penalty. That's according to Private Health Australia.

If you have used your private health insurance (PHI), you'll understand how valuable it is. In fact, CEO of Private Healthcare Australia Dr Rachel David states that 84 per cent of people with PHI want to keep it, even though the average income of someone with a policy is under $50,000.

Have you recently looked at your private health plan and been disappointed? More than 5 million people reviewed their private health cover in the last 12 months, as stated in a Guardian Australia article from November 2016. As premiums rise but cover remains the same, people become less satisfied that they're getting what they're paying for. The next time your employees review their private health cover, a corporate health insurance could prove very useful.

Have you recently had to change the level of cover in your private health insurance plan, simply because the premiums were becoming too expensive? You're not alone. As premiums are rising, and people are trying to avoid government surcharges for not having appropriate health cover, they're reducing their plans to almost useless levels, according to an article in The Guardian on November 18.

When you're trying to employ the top talent in your industry from overseas, you need to ensure you have everything in order. This is not just applicable on the business end, but also to the employee that you are attempting to bring into Australia.

After extensive research, the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Taskforce (MBS) has released their interim report into the future of Medicare in Australia.

Of particular interest for the average Australian is the priority placed upon adjusting low-value items on the schedule; administrative GP visits among them.

Australian private health insurance customers all over the country are tasked with protecting themselves with a level of cover that is both affordable and high quality.

In a country of more than 23 million, around half of the Australian population have private health insurance. But why, you may ask.

All Australian residents have access to free public health services through Medicare, after all, so what causes such a large portion of Australians to turn to the private system, which is accessible through a health fund?

Here, we take a look at some of the reasons:

For added choice and control