| Publication: | news.com.au |
|---|---|
| Date: | 19 February 2010 |
| Section: | Money & Me |
Article excerpt:
HEALTH premiums are tipped to rise by an estimated 6-7 per cent this year, or up to $195 for a family.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said customers shouldn't expect good news when she reveals the 2010 private health insurance premium rises next week. "We've been able to go through a negotiation process of saying 'no, that's too high'," she said. "But I do, unfortunately, have to say to the public there's never really good news in these."
The Minister said the Government had forensically examined proposed fee rises by insurers after a 6.02 per cent rise last year. It's believed a dozen health funds were told to go back to the drawing board and reassess their cases.
But the industry has warned of tough conditions for insurers, who have been hit with rising costs as medical technology improves.
Article summary:
Australian Health Insurance Association chief executive Michael Armitage said premium rises are minimal compared to rising costs: "There is a history of the premium increases going up by 3-4 per cent less than the benefit outlays. No one likes paying out more, but when you point out to people that the benefits they are receiving in one year have increased by 10 per cent, they tend to say 'I don't like it, but I understand'."
Health costs are rising faster than the base rate of inflation because of rapidly improving medical technology and improving life expectancy.
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