We are about to find out by how much our private health insurance premiums will push higher on April 1.
Insurers were all due to be told how much they’d approved by January 31, and we can expect a ministerial press release telling us the average and outlining the exact, within days. It was February 6 last year.
If premiums turn out to be indexed up an average of 4 per cent, the family on a $500 monthly premium would need to find an extra $20 a month. Or $240 a year.
And unlike the last few pandemic-affected years, your fund is unlikely to delay the premium pain until the second half of the year, despite times being so tight.
So – with health costs a big contributor to inflation – an opportunity to lock in this year’s cheaper rates for another 12 months will no doubt be welcome. Well, you can do so by simply prepaying your annual premiums before the April hike hits.
Now, I realise that’s a stretch on a stretched budget. But this is one of the few insurances or services, where pre-paying extends a discount. Think about it. A family might be paying $500 a month for health insurance.
Last year’s increase was 2.9 per cent (2023), the year before it was 2.7 per cent (2022), the one before that was 2.74 per cent (2021) and the previous, 2.92 per cent (2020). The 10-year average increase sits at 4.4 per cent before this year’s cost impost.
Private health insurance could prove priceless. You need to fight the hike.
If premiums turn out to be indexed up an average of 4 per cent, the family on that $500 monthly premium would need to find an extra $20 a month. Or $240 a year.
If they could instead save that money, it could bridge some gaps between what the insurance provider and a medical practitioner pays and charges. Alternatively, it could go towards a hospital excess if such a visit became necessary. And that’s a critical point.
How to turn the looming health insurance hike into a discount
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02.02.2024
We are about to find out by how much our private health insurance premiums will push higher on April 1.
Insurers were all due to be told how much they’d approved by January 31, and we can expect a ministerial press release telling us the average and outlining the exact, within days. It was February 6 last year.
If premiums turn out to be indexed up an average of 4 per cent, the family on a $500 monthly premium would need to find an extra $20 a month. Or $240........
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