19 November 2017 - The ageing population in Australia has been a strong structural factor driving demand for hospital services. To help pay for this the government has promoted private health insurance with a carrot and a stick.

The carrot of private health insurance rebates has been augmented by the stick of Medicare levy surcharges and lifetime healthcare loading for non-participants. These policies have helped drive private health insurance participation higher and has been a boon for private hospital operators and the private health insurers alike.

However, this dynamic is under threat as affordability issues have seen people start to downgrade their policy cover or drop out altogether.

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