From the end of March to the beginning of April, 11 million Australians with private health care are notified of premium increases.
Premiums will rise by an average of 3.95% from April 1, depending on insurers and products. The increase, which is down from previous years, is still higher than wage increases, raising questions about whether they should give up or step down to save money.
Why buy a private insurance?
Australia has a universal health care system, Medicare.. Everyone has access to health care, part of which is financed by a 2% tax on our wages, or Medicare tax. Universal health care has many benefits, and access to general family doctors and public hospitals is only part of it.
The federal government encourages Australians to buy private health care.
About 45.8% of Australians have private health insurance, up from 31% in 1999.
Australians have different reasons to buy private health care. For some, it is in an economic interest to avoid paying the Medicare surtax by buying private insurance.
Others choose private insurance to avoid waiting too long for selective treatment (mainly surgery). Others buy private insurance in the hope of choosing experts or hospitals on their own, or having private wards, better food and better facilities.
Some people believe that private health care will give them better access to private health care. Many people worry that they will not get the services they need in the public system.
The waiting time is shorter than the public system
The universal health care system provides access to the services needed by those most in need of clinical treatment.
Most emergency treatment is provided by public hospitals. This is different from "non-emergency" or selective surgery, where patients are encouraged to use their private health care, mainly because they wait longer in public hospitals.
The waiting time for elective surgery in public hospitals will vary depending on whether the patient holds a private insurance or a public insurance. In 2015-16, the median waiting time for patients using public health insurance was 42 days, and that for patients using private insurance was 20 days. The waiting time for patients at their own expense is 16 days.
Keep in mind, however, that waiting times can also vary depending on the urgency of clinical treatment. In 2016-17, 98 percent of New York's publicly insured patients were accepted within the clinically recommended time frame.
In addition, waiting times vary depending on the type of operation. In 2015-16, the average waiting time for publicly insured cardiac surgery patients was 18 days, compared with 16 days for all other patients. By contrast, the median waiting time for publicly insured patients requiring total knee replacement was 203 days, compared with 67 days for all other patients.
Selected question
An independent choice of health insurance providers is a major reason why people buy private health care.
Over the years, the government and private health care companies have advocated the idea that consumers should have plenty of choices in the services they receive, and have been hugely successful. Now, many consumers believe that choice is better, and private health care is the "catalyst of choice".
Do people really have a choice? Choices are not evenly distributed, and not everyone with private health care gets the choices they want.
In a recent example, insurer Bupa announced that from Aug. 1, clients will face higher out-of-pocket fees for treatment in private hospitals that have no special relationship with the company, and that some procedures will be excluded from the insurance policy.
If you decide to continue to buy private insurance, make sure your insurance is the best value for you. You want to compare the goods to three, choose the insurance that meets your needs. You can start by visiting the Australian government's website, PrivateHealth.gov.au or Choice Health Insurance Finder.
(translated from abc.net.au Sophie Lewis)
