Posted by Michael Wonder on 23 Oct 2019
Private health insurers say cost of medical devices putting pressure on premiums
23 October 2019 - After the lowest annual increases in 18 years, relief appears to have been short-lived.
At a presentation to the Actuaries Institute conference in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon, the Private Healthcare Australia chairman, John Hill, will say insurers find it challenging not to pass on the rising costs of medical devices through premium increases.
In December, the health minister, Greg Hunt, boasted that the government’s reforms to make private health insurance simpler and more affordable had delivered the lowest annual premium change in 18 years for 2019. But the relief appears to have been short-lived owing to cost increases for knee and hip replacements and cardiac implants.
