Every year on April 1, health funds raise their premiums. They do this to combat their own growing costs that occur thanks to inflation, an increased healthcare burden and the costs of new, modern medical equipment.
In March, the 2016 figure was released. Health insurance premiums will rise by an average 5.59 per cent on April 1, 2016.
Australia's private health insurance is a beast with many arms, and they're all flailing in different directions. Focus on your Medicare levy surcharge for too long, and you might get blindsided by lifetime health cover; try and get your head around which health fund to go with, and you might miss important deadlines and end up paying more.
Australians have had their say and many people are concerned over the future of healthcare, with the issue becoming their number-one priority. What's more, they're ready to spend their vote to ensure healthcare stays top of our policymakers' minds.
Australia's health funds have come out in warning against any changes to the private health insurance rebate in the May budget. Medibank Private's Managing Director, George Savvides, said that altering or axing the rebate altogether would be "counterproductive from an economic point of view", and lead to policyholders paying more for the same benefits.
Australia's largest health insurance provider, Medibank, says more Australians are relying on hospital care and are using more services than ever before.
According to a new Medibank press release, the health fund paid out more than $3.47 billion in healthcare benefits to its members in the 2015 financial year, an increase of 3.4 per cent from the previous financial period.
Those who have been following Medibank Private's early steps on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will have noticed a few ups and downs. Since Australia's largest health insurer gave up its public status for stock-market flotation in November 2014, the market has proved highly changeable for shareholders - many of whom are Medibank customers.
On Monday January 11, iSelect Limited (ASX: ISU) issued an earnings downgrade that rocked its share price. Citing "several strategic and operational issues" during the 2015 financial year, which persisted into the first few weeks of 2016, the health insurance comparison service saw its shares dip to a record-low 63.5c.
When you last compared health insurance cover options, how did you find the process? According to the Consumer Health Forum (CHF) of Australia, it could be a lot easier and much clearer.
The group has proposed a new way of doing so, through its MyCover reform.
Christmas famously only comes around once a year - and, unfortunately, so do annual increases to health insurance premiums. As the former approaches, hopefully bringing with it a bit of time off from work, it could be an opportune moment to arrange your health insurance.
The Australian government has long had a focus on ensuring that citizens maintain their health and wellbeing. Naturally, much of this mantra is funnelled to the general population through policies surrounding insurance.
