The Australian Government has ensured Australians get value for money from their private health insurance.
After asking insurers to resubmit their claims three times, and considering their years of record profits, the Government has approved an average industry premium increase of just 3.73 per cent.
By taking the time and going through a proper process to interrogate the claims of insurers, the Albanese Government has achieved a better deal for Australians.
The contrast could not be starker, when Peter Dutton was Health Minister, he rushed out an increase to private health insurance premiums on Christmas Eve, approving a 6.20 per cent rise that remains the largest premium increase in the last 20 years.
As Health Minister, Peter Dutton also froze the income tiers for private health insurance, which created a bracket creep that meant over 2 million Australians paid higher taxes if they had no insurance and then received lower rebates from the government if they did take out a policy, making their premiums more expensive.
The indexation freeze that Peter Dutton introduced as Health Minister in 2014 remained throughout the entire time the Coalition was in government, until the indexation resumed in July 2023 under the Albanese Government.
Around 15 million Australians hold private health insurance cover, with a total of $29.9 billion paid in premiums in the 12 months to 30 September 2024.
The Albanese Government will provide $7.6 billion this year to Australian policyholders through the private health insurance rebate after our government reintroduced indexation of the rebate threshold last year.
All premium changes will apply from 1 April 2025. Each insurer's average change will be published on health.gov.au. It is each insurer's responsibility to clearly explain to their policy holders any changes to premiums, the reasons why they have made this decision and their policy holders' options.
Consumers are encouraged to carefully consider their insurance needs and use the government website - www.privatehealth.gov.au - to compare the range of products and prices on offer from all insurers.
Insurers must ensure their members are getting value for money and that premiums are contributing to system-wide improvements, like higher wages for nurses and other health workers and sustainable hospital services.
The Government continues to work with the private health sector to achieve better value for policy holders, while ensuring private health cover continues to be well funded. We are looking at long term reforms to strengthen the sector's financial viability.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"It is my responsibility as Health Minister to ensure that any private health insurance premium increase is justified and proportionate.
"In December, I wrote to every single one of the 29 insurers asking that they sharpen their pencils and provide us with an increase that was more in the interests of their members.
"Based on the resubmissions, I was not prepared to tick and flick their asks and instead asked them to resubmit again.
"We've now ensured a better deal for the 15 million Australians with private health insurance."
