26 January 2017 - Bupa has warned the Turnbull government that affordability con­cerns have driven the private health insurance sector to a tipping point, as it calls for a new lifetime cover discount for young people and an increase in the Medicare levy surcharge for high-income earners.

In its pre-budget submission, sent this week to the government, the insurance giant states that membership growth will probably fall this year and it asks the government to promote public awareness of the benefits of private health insurance.

Dwayne Crombie, the Australian boss of Bupa’s health ­insurance arm, said that as well as recommendations outlined in its pre-budget submission, he had come to the view that the freeze on Medicare payments should be lifted for primary care and ambulatory procedures.

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