Australians Have Started A Petition For More Affordable Private Health Insurance Following The Price Hike

Australians are thinking of cutting down their private health insurances costs to keep up with the premiums’ price hike. Consumer network One Big Switch recently reported that approximately two-thirds of Australian households are having a hard time paying their private insurance bills, on top of the expected 6.18 percent pay rise on April 1.

The survey, which involved 40,000 consumers, also discovered that a high percentage of the population are downgrading their policies, shooting up their excesses and having less money for other things. One Big Switch spokesman Joel Gibson said that health insurance is one of those household bills that people are mostly attached with, but sooner or later, they will have to make sacrifices and completely cut off their private insurances, relying solely on the public health system. He further notes that this year’s premium pay rise was the second price hike of about $300 that Australians have to deal with.

People are now trading away vital medical treatments to cope, according to Gibson. “There’s the danger that if you drop it (private health insurance) altogether, because you can’t afford it, it becomes harder to get back in if you are over 30,” he adds.

According to the rules of the federal government’s Lifetime Health Cover, people after the age of 30 who don’t have hospital coverage acquire a two percent load every year. These people should be penalised up to a 70 percent maximum loading. Other penalty taxes are also imposed for middle- to high-income earners who fail to waive hospital cover.

Medibank Chief Customer Officer Laz Cotsios encourages consumers to read through their insurance policies every year. He said that reviewing their cover empowers the people to make the right decisions based on their individual situations. “Don’t forget that you can prepay your health insurance to lock in your current premium,” he adds.

One Big Switch has already gathered more than 200,000 signatures in support to their petition for more affordable private health insurance. News Corp Australia has also expressed their support to the consumer network by campaigning for a group discount from a health fund, through people power.

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