Publication: The Sydney Morning Herald
Section: National
Date: 22 February 2011
Mark Metherell and Danny John
THE number of Australians with hospital insurance has risen to the highest level in 29 years as consumer anxiety about public hospital queues outweighs the rising cost of premiums.
Figures released yesterday show that in January 10,117,522 people, or 44.9 per cent of the population, had hospital insurance policies, an increase of 53,479 on the previous quarter.
This is the first time since 1982 that private hospital cover has passed 10.1 million.
This comes as health insurance premiums have been tipped to rise by between 6 and 6.5 per cent this year as the industry looks to cover increasing health costs.
NIB, the country's only sharemarket listed insurer, forecast an above-inflation increase in premiums from April 1.
Private insurance analysts say much of the continued rise in memberships, despite premium rises well ahead of inflation over the past decade, are largely the result of worries about the state of public hospital waiting lists.
The federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, said yesterday the strength of the private health insurance sector was again clearly evident from results showing private hospital insurance cover grew by 2.5 per cent in 2010, outstripping population growth of 1.7 per cent.
