Health Premium increases - here we go again...
Brace yourself because as April 1 approaches, private health insurance policy-holders will have to dig a little deeper to pay for premiums. 
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt revealed that consumers will be slugged with an average 3.95% per cent rise in premiums this year. But that’s just the national average.
Scroll down to see how your fund compares to the others on price hikes, and to read our tips for saving on premiums before April 1.
3.95% doesn’t sound like much and the government is trying to sugar-coat it by saying it’s the lowest premium increase since 2001. But as the Sydney Morning Herald revealed, it is still be nearly twice the rate of general inflation.
This means an average of about $150 more per year for families and possibly a good deal more than that for over-50s.
Last year, a Fiftyup Club survey revealed that half of Private Health Insurance customers aged over 50 received premium increases over 7%. My 82-year-old mother’s premium increased by 13%. One 79-year-old Queensland member was hit with a whopping 14.7% increase.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. The Turnbull government announced changes to the medical devices sector in October and Health Insurance expert Shaun Gath reported back in 2016 that a special committee would look at “regulatory issues that are adding to the cost of premiums and discouraging innovation”.
The reforms were designed to stop people leaving private health insurance but many of the changes do not take effect until later this year, or next year.
So keep an eye on your letter-box for a note from your health fund advising of the increase they will be proposing. Or, have a look below to see where your fund rates.
AVERAGE PREMIUM INCREASE FOR EACH HEALTH FUND
| RANK | HEALTH FUND | AVERAGE INCREASE |
| 1 | Health Care Insurance Ltd | 8.90% |
| 2 | Cessnock District Health Benefits Fund Limited | 6.40% |
| 3 | Defence Health Limited | 5.97% |
| 4 | health.com.au Pty Ltd | 5.87% |
| 5 | Mildura District Hospital Fund Ltd | 5.68% |
| 6 | Health Insurance Fund of Australia Limited | 5.35% |
| 7 | Transport Health Pty Ltd | 5.16% |
| 8 | Railway & Transport Health Fund Ltd | 4.47% |
| 9 | Queensland Teachers' Union Health Fund Limited | 4.40% |
| 10 | Queensland Country Health Fund Ltd | 4.39% |
| 11 | GMHBA Limited | 4.34% |
| 12 | Latrobe Health Services Limited | 4.25% |
| 13 | St Luke's Medical and Hospital Benefits Association | 4.23% |
| 14 | Peoplecare Health Limited | 4.19% |
| 15 | Phoenix Health Fund Limited | 4.19% |
| 16 | BUPA HI Pty Ltd | 3.99% |
| 17 | National Health Benefits Australia Pty Ltd | 3.97% |
| 18 | Reserve Bank Health Society Ltd | 3.97% |
| 19 | Health Partners Limited | 3.95% |
| 20 | Navy Health Ltd | 3.94% |
| 21 | NIB Health Funds Ltd | 3.93% |
| 22 | MO Health Pty Ltd | 3.90% |
| 23 | Australian Unity Health Limited | 3.89% |
| 24 | Medibank Private Limited | 3.88% |
| 25 | HBF Health Limited | 3.75% |
| 26 | Police Health Limited | 3.72% |
| 27 | Westfund Limited | 3.43% |
| 28 | Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia Ltd, The (HCF) | 3.39% |
| 29 | Emergency Services Health Pty Ltd | 3.36% |
| 30 | CUA Health Limited | 3.29% |
| 31 | Nurses & Midwives Health Pty Ltd | 3.22% |
| 32 | Grand United Corporate Health Limited | 2.84% |
| 33 | Teachers Federation Health Ltd | 2.84% |
| 34 | CBHS Health Fund Limited | 2.73% |
| 35 | ACA Health Benefits Fund Limited | 2.72% |
| 36 | CBHS Corporate Health Pty Ltd | 2.38% |
| 37 | Doctors' Health Fund Pty Ltd, The | 2.28% |
OUR TOP TIPS TO SAVE:
Private Health Insurance is important to FiftyUps so here are a few tips if you want to stay with private health insurance but you’re worried about this latest increase:
- If you can afford to pre-pay your health insurance for 12 months then do it and get it locked in at the cheaper rate.
- The Club has teamed up with a comparison service called HealthInsuranceComparison.com.au that targets older policyholders and saved 100 older customers an average of $375^ on their premium last year.
- Click here to see the members’ offer from HCF, or call the hotline for a quote: 1800 345 044
- At privatehealth.gov.au, you can see every policy on the market if you want to do the work yourself. But the government website won’t answer your questions over the phone, which is where commercial comparison sites have an advantage.
- Don’t just accept gap payments. Try one of these websites to find a specialist in your suburb or town and find out if they have an agreement with your health fund not to charge these infuriating costs:
^ Savings figure is based on data from 100 customers of Choosewell/HealthInsuranceComparison.com.au, analysis conducted Jan-Mar 2016.
