Publication: Courier Mail

Date: 27 July 20098

Section: Money

Insurance health check ahead for many

By Alex Tilbury | July 27, 2008

Article excerpt:

CAN you think of better ways to spend the $1200 on average each member pays each year for private hospital cover?  Will you dump your health insurance if there's no tax incentive to keep it?

Forking out for the annual premium can seem like such a waste of money if you are fit and healthy... But soon the decision of whether or not to stay with your health fund is going to get a lot harder for the 44.6 per cent of Australians with cover, across the 44 various open and restricted funds.

The Rudd Government wants to lift the threshold for those paying the extra 1 per cent in tax to $100,000 from $50,000 for singles and $150,000 from $100,000 for families.

Article summary:

• The insurance industry predicts 913,000 Australians will drop their insurance because of changes to the tax system, resulting in a $1.8 billion patient surge into public hospitals.
• David Miller, founder of moneytime.com.au - which compares health funds for consumers free - says "This is a great opportunity to have a look at your cover and see that you are in the right fund, and work out which funds offer the best value for the things you want cover for."
• He also says, "Insurance protects you against surprises and the odds are that you have no idea what is going to happen when you step outside the front door," he says. "Health insurers don't try and profit from people's misfortunes but are there when people need it."
• Shadow health minister Joe Hockey says Treasury failed to determine the impact on public hospitals as this was considered a second-round effect, meaning it was the responsibility of state and territory governments.
• Consumer group Choice argues the AMA and the insurers have overstated the risk to consumers, concluding that changes to the Medicare levy surcharge are fair.

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