As many as 70 per cent of households in Australia now face additional fees of up to 1500 yuan to continue to use their private health insurance, a change that could put pressure on waiting lists for public hospitals.
Many members who had only bought lower levels of private health care were forced to upgrade their insurance by deprive's key surgeries, such as hip and knee replacement, as well as pregnancy insurance, in the April 1 reform, so they faced higher premiums.
ISelect, a health fund broker, analyzed consumer behavior and found that thousands of health foundation members chose to pay a new high surcharge from April 1 to control their annual premiums.
This means that when they go to the hospital, they will have to pay the first 1500 yuan in the bill before they can apply for reimbursement to private health care.
For many people, these costs will be unaffordable, said Warhoven (Alison Verhoeven), president of the (Australian Health and Hospitals Association) of the Australian Medical and Hospital Association. "I think there is no doubt that paying for your own money will turn people to the public system," said Warhoven (Alison Verhoeven), president of the Australian Medical and Hospital Association.
"the trend to increase additional fees may encourage more insured people to choose public hospitals," said Wells (Leanne Wells), head of (Consumers Health Forum) at the Consumer Health Forum.
In the past, the highest surcharge charged by insurance companies was $500 for single persons and $1000 for families.
However, as part of a reform that began on April 1, government raised the maximum single surcharge for single people to 750 yuan, while couples and families raised it to 1500 yuan.
Nearly 1/7 of couples and families between the ages of 31 and 50 have chosen to pay the money, and more than 1/3 of single people have done so, ISelect woman speaker Crowdon (Laura Crowden) told News Corporation.
Those who choose to pay the extra can save 85,212 yuan in the annual premium if they are single and 170,424 yuan if they are already home.
In some cases, this could almost offset the 3.25% price increase effective April 1 st.
"for young members who think they are unlikely to be hospitalized in the next few years, it makes good economic sense to pay an extra 750 yuan because it can reduce the annual premium by 200 yuan a year (for single people). "however, for older customers or those who already have health problems, we recommend paying as little extra as possible because it may do more harm than good," iSelect speaker Crawden said. "she said.
Dr. David (Rachel David), president of (Private Healthcare Australia), an Australian private health care association, said the extra charges had not been raised for 15 years, and younger, healthier people could cut premiums.
Qi Sang (Lucy Cheetham), acting president of (Australian Private Hospitals Association), an Australian private hospital association, said demand for private hospitals was on the rise and the industry was not worried that surcharges would affect business.
Since April 1, government has launched a new system that divides all health fund policies into gold, silver, copper and basic categories to simplify and facilitate people's choices.
However, after the reform, many insurance companies only cover hip and knee arthroplasty and pregnancy and other key medical procedures in the highest level of insurance products, resulting in many people having to improve their insurance.
A YouGov Galaxy poll for iSelect found that only 1/4 of Australians thought the new gold, silver, bronze and basic grade insurance made it easier to understand and compare private health insurance, while 29 per cent opposed it and 28 per cent did not.