Our Position – Private health insurance premiums

The primary purpose of the private health sector is to provide value and choice to patients while alleviating strain on the public sector. In recent years, the rules and regulations governing private health services have not sufficiently protected patients from hospital closures, which are on track to deteriorate further. The current system has neither prevented private health insurers from banking huge profits nor ensured an adequate flow of funding to private hospitals.

The annual private health insurance premium round process is where private health insurers submit their proposed premium increases to the federal government for approval. It’s a crucial mechanism that determines how much Australians will pay for their private health insurance in the coming year. It also affects the financial sustainability of hospitals, as it influences the contract negotiation process between hospitals and insurers. The annual premium round offers a unique opportunity to ensure accountability is being appropriately shared by health insurers, decision makers, and hospital operators to address the challenges collectively facing the sector and to make thoughtful, sensible, and sustainable funding