Australia’s largest private health insurers say premiums need to rise significantly, but not their own payments to private hospitals.
Australia’s private health insurers may need to hit customers with a significant rise in premiums to meet the increasing number of claims, amid escalating tension with the struggling private hospital sector over funding for procedures.
The average premium increase over the past decade is around 4.4 per cent. Analysts estimate the number of private health sector claims rose five per cent last year. Koczkar told analysts at Medibank’s full-year results that the group reported 5 per cent fewer overnight procedures this year than five years ago, and the industry could not be expected to fund capacity that is not needed.“Expecting consumers, insurers and governments to provide more funding for the status quo is not sustainable,” he said.
Private hospital operator Healthscope is about to begin a public campaign against private health insurers, saying they are refusing to fund the private hospitals fairly, and this puts Australia’s entire healthcare system at risk. Last month, APRA reported that hospital treatment episodes rose 5.1 per cent in the 12 months to June 2024. This represented a 9.8 per cent rise since the March 2024 quarter.
“We’re now in a period where inflation is high because the pipe is filling again, and with that, our margins are compressing just as we said they would.”
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