Each year on the 1st April, the premiums for private health insurance increase. This year there is going to be a lot more than premium increases. The Australian Government is making changes that will impact on the cover held by members.

Not only are significant changes being made to the way hospital cover is structured, but a number of ‘extras’ type items are being removed. This is mainly in the area of natural therapies, like naturopathy, homoeopathy, pilates, reflexology, yoga and the like.

In order to try and simplify the comparison of cover between health insurers, hospital cover will be categorised as ‘basic’, ‘bronze’, ‘silver’ and ‘gold’. Naturally, the gold cover will offer the broadest cover and will also be the most expensive.

The basic policies will cover very little indeed. These have previously been described as ‘junk policies’. That is policies that allow people to avoid paying the Medicare surcharge, but which offer very little cover at all.

Bronze policies will cover 18 categories of services in a private hospital including breast, skin and prostate cancer surgery, broken bones, joint reconstruction (but not joint replacement), and ear, nose and throat surgery.

Silver will cover all the services offered under the basic and bronze cover levels plus an additional 8 categories of cover including heart surgery, surgery for lung cancer, bone marrow transplants and medically necessary plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Gold is the top cover and if you are planning on having a baby and you want the expenses covered by your private health insurance, the ‘gold’ policy is the one you will need.

Private health insurance has always been a bit of a ‘dark science’. For many of us, selecting the cover we think is appropriate for our needs is a bit of a stab in the dark. We sign up and hope like mad that if we ever have a claim, our private health insurance will cover us.

So, if you have private health insurance, or are thinking of taking it out, spend a little time exploring the options, and how your cover may change from April this year.
For more information, particularly in relation to the changes to hospital cover, have a look at the following link: Health Insurance Reforms – April 2019.

 

Source: Peter Kelly | Centrepoint Alliance