The Australian insurance and private health system is a complex beast, and you'd be forgiven for not knowing its ins and outs. However, regardless of where you live, who you are, and what you do, you should understand Lifetime Health Cover and how it could affect you.
Private health insurance has always been a volatile business, with consumers becoming increasingly critical of price increases that happen like clockwork every year. Since 2013 the average price of private health insurance has increased by roughly 23 per cent according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, and that's having a profound effect on coverage levels.
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.
There's no doubt health insurance premiums are a necessary cost for millions of Australians. In fact, a total of 13.5 million people have health insurance in our country, according to the most recent statistics provided by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
That's why it's such exciting news that a new initiative by the Government could put downward pressure on premium increases in 2017 and beyond. We've had a closer look.
When it comes to choosing a health insurance provider, you want be assured that you'll have access to quality healthcare, without any smoke and mirrors. However, according to legal watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), some Australians aren't getting the service they deserve.
Here's an overview of what the ACCC is looking to target this year, and what you should consider when choosing your health insurance.
Greg Hunt has taken on the role of Health Minister from the outbound Sussan Ley after she resigned last week amid an expenses scandal relating to her recent property purchase. Mr Hunt is Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's fourth appointee to the role of Health Minister since he took office in September 2015.
Australia's two largest hospital operators want to remove the private health insurance sector, and allow consumers to establish medical savings accounts, according to an Australian Financial Review article from October 2016. The medical savings accounts would empower people to deal directly with private hospitals, and Ramsay Health Care and Healthscope are leading the charge for the initiative.
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.
On October 19, the Federal Government released a statement about the incorrect pricing of medical devices to private Australian patients. This correction is being touted as a major step toward a sustainable private health insurance industry, according to an October 19 media release from Private Healthcare Australia (PHA).
Australian start-up Curo Technologies has received $1 million from the Hospitals Contribution Fund (HCF) to promote the use of advanced health monitoring systems in the homes of elderly Australians. Could it be the start of a new direction for your health insurance?
