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NewsAustralia second in the World for Health Cover costs
Australia second in the World for Health Cover costs

Australia second in the World for Health Cover costs

Tags: Private Health Insurance Sticking Up for FiftyUps
Last updated by Someone on

You would all be familiar with the old saying; there are two things certain in life … death and taxes!

Here at the FiftyUp Club we thought we’d add another … that your private health insurance will go up in the New Year, and there’s nothing you can do about it short of quitting your insurer.

We did some research and discovered Australians pay for the second most expensive basic private health cover in the world after the USA. According to an international survey by Deutsche Bank we pay an average of $US2042 ($2394).

PHIworldcomparison

Without wishing to state the obvious, that means a retired couple who have done the right thing all of their lives, and paid their fair share of taxes, must shell out more than $4500 a year just to have the peace of mind they have adequate health coverage.

And it will go up in the New Year by an average 6.2% if we see a repeat of last year’s Christmas Eve announcement. In the case of FiftyUps, we’ve found the increases are more like around 8 or 9 per cent, depending on your cover.

Many of you would remember that earlier this year we formed a petition calling for more transparency when it comes to health insurance increases. We attracted 15,000 signatures in three days and I took them to the Federal Health Minister, Peter Dutton.

In fairness, we got a good hearing on this issue and that of the controversial GP co-payments (which is dead and buried according to reports), but we are still waiting for a definitive response on why the hikes are so large for over-50s, and why there isn’t more transparency when it comes to comparisons between the various insurers.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not a whinger. But we do believe health insurance is becoming simply unaffordable for many older Australians who need it most. And we are entitled to seek more clarity when it comes to cost comparisons between private health insurers so we can make informed choices.

For those of you who have begun preparing some holiday time, good luck and enjoy. We’ll take a short break here at the FiftyUp Club too, but we will continue to fight the good fight when it comes to you and a better deal on private health insurance.

Originally posted on .

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Debra
Debra from QLD commented:

Debra from QLD. Had health insurance for most of our working life, but won't be able to afford it once on a pension. Not fair. Age nearly 55 27 No 

Susanne
Susanne from VIC commented:

Had health insurance all my working life, but won't be able to afford it once on a pension. Not fair. Age nearly 60. 

Rosemary
Rosemary from NSW commented:

Am upset that private health ins is getting so expensive. Am wondering wether to cancel our cover which we had for 40yrs and go in the public system like most people and take ambulance cover only. Many very wealthy people I know do not take out private cover and are far better than us financially. Where would the health system be if ALL Australians relied on public health. 

Kevin
Kevin from VIC commented:

Why would our costs be so high? It cant be (dis) economies of scale or the Kiwis would be paying more than us. It's time we asked some serious questions of the Health Funds. The 'Cash Cow' says "NO MORE" 

Cheryl
Cheryl from NSW commented:

My father dropped out of private health insurance - got good care (including hip replacement) 

warren
warren from NSW commented:

I though any 'Private Health Insurance' so called premium hike required Health Minister approval and we know they never get what requested anyway. 

margaret
margaret from NSW commented:

Might be more to the point if we did not just ask, but demand, more transparency in the pricing of all medical services. I am not interested in hearing another comparison of doctors and plumbers, unless one is referring to that plummer whose door you sit outside, drainpipe, lavatory bowl,or kitchen sink in hand, waiting for 4 to 6 minutes of his precious time. 

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