Posted by Michael Wonder on 05 Apr 2018
The alternative to private health insurance proposed by dentists
5 April 2018 - If you are among the 13 million Australians with private health insurance as of Easter Sunday - April Fool’s Day as it was – you are paying more each month for the pleasure.
Private health insurers were entitled to lift their premiums by an average of 3.95% from April 1. While this constitutes the lowest change in annual premiums in nearly two decades (yes, really), it will cost the average single Australian an extra $73 a year and $143 a year for families. Considering wage growth and inflation rose by roughly 2 per cent last year, premiums rising by almost 4 per cent is steep.
In approving the price hike earlier this year, the federal health minister Greg Hunt flagged that delivering the lowest annual premium change in 17 years was proof the Turnbull government is taking the pressure off private health insurance. But the minister conceded there was plenty more work to do to ensure private health cover is affordable and provides value for money.
