14 November 2019 - Australia's health insurers are putting pressure on the federal government to overhaul how much they pay for knee and hip replacements and other devices in private hospitals, after saying attempts to rein in those costs have failed.

The peak health insurance lobby group, Private Healthcare Australia, says the amount its members pay for common prostheses is often two or three times higher than in comparable countries, and they could save at least $700 million a year if prices here were brought into line with an international benchmark.

The dispute comes as the private health insurance industry faces what has been called a "death spiral", with funds paying rising hospital costs and members leaving the system due to the resulting above-inflation increases in membership fees.

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