Australian young people are starting to forgo private insurance, or not to buy it in the first place, as they find it worth it, according to the Australian News website.
The article is summarized as follows:
(APRA), Australia's prudential regulator, recently released official data for the September quarter, showing a growing number of young people choosing not to buy private health insurance.
Between 2015 and 2016, the overall number of Australians with health insurance or higher insurance declined, with the largest number under 35.
Meanwhile, according to a survey of about 50, 000 people released by, Roy Morgan Research, the number of people who think it's not worth paying for private insurance has increased.
According to the survey, people who have bought private health insurance in the past say they agree that private health insurance is important, but that proportion has fallen nearly 9 percent over the past four years.
More respondents to the Roy Morgan survey said it was difficult to understand what their coverage was and that it was not worth much compared with answering those questions four years ago.
Some interviewees said the only reason they had private health insurance was to avoid paying extra taxes, which referred to health insurance surcharges. This is Australia's government policy to encourage high-income people and families to buy private health insurance.
This is a problem for insurers, because the business model relies on younger insurers to fund older insurers, who are more likely to file claims.