Health Funds Revenue Unhealthy For Members

Health Funds Benefits Unhealthy Returns For Aussies

If there ever was a time to compare health insurance Australia, this is it! Health funds raked in a record breaking $4.5bn more in premiums than they paid out in benefits last financial year. But how does this impact me, we hear you ask. Well, it impacts every day Aussies a lot. We’ll delve a little deeper into this, and why it pays to compare health insurance and how to do a private health insurance comparison through Billy Explores.

Why Have Private Health Insurance

We all know the reason to have private health insurance is to cover you and your family should the unexpected happen. This is normally covered by hospital cover and extras health insurance. The intent is that you can be properly covered for any hospital visits and treated in the private system, not the public system. We have a great blog about the differences between Medicare and private health insurance here.

Private Health Insurance Benefits – Where It Fails

Analysis of Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data by Catholic Health Australia (CHA) shows that all of the major funds are failing to meet the gold standard of returning 90 percent of premiums to their members. In fact, in 2022, the industry as a whole returned only 83 percent of its $26.6bn premium revenue to its members. It definitely is enough to make you want to compare health insurance to get a better health fund!

Why Compare Health Insurance Australia?

Catholic Health Australia found insurers have increased their management expenses by 18 percent since 2019 and are sitting on $2bn cash due to reduced claims during COVID lockdowns.

“If private health funds don’t provide good value, more people will simply go without health insurance, which would heap extra pressure on public hospitals, further lengthening hospital waiting times,” CHA health policy director Caitlin O’Dea said.

Of course, Billy Explores knows that many people will also compare health insurance to ensure they are getting the best value first!

Family Makes The Switch To Save Money

45 year old Gold Coast mum Louisa H did a private health insurance comparison last year and switched health insurers to save money and get a better deal on her policy.

“We actually changed policies last time there was a price rise so that we could get a better deal,” she said.

She originally took out health insurance because government policies forced them to do so to avoid the Medicare levy surcharge.

“We have a 10 year old and an 11 year old, and my daughter is getting braces at the moment, so we actually increased our policy to cover for orthodontics,” she said. Despite paying for health cover, she said she still faces out of pocket expenses.

How To Do A Private Health Insurance Comparison

So we’ve seen how much revenue the health funds are making and how a mum has done a private health insurance comparison, switched and shaved. Just your everyday health comparison Australia! The quickest and easiest way to do a private health insurance comparison is through Billy Explores. You can save time and effort and explore potential savings and make sure you’re getting the best deal on your policy. So come on – it’s time to compare health insurance Australia!

Important Links For Health Insurance Comparison

Insurance Comparison
Compare Health Insurance
Compare Life Insurance
Difference Between Medicare and Private Health Insurance
Compare Private Health Insurance
Compare Health Insurance In Australia