Due to your hectic schedule, you were still unable to get a health insurance for you and your family, you can no longer afford to delay it. Beginning April this year, the premiums of private health insurance will increase by an average of 5.78%. This increase is believed to be lower than what the health insurance industry had anticipated.
This almost 6% increase is a lower than the 6.02% increase of last year, although it is higher than the 4.99% of 2008. Health Minister Nicola Roxon, who receives the premium requests of insurance companies every year, approved the increase. More than half of those who requested were asked by Ms. Roxon to re-submit, making the process a tedious and thorough one. She stressed that it is the government’s objective to evaluate private health insurance premiums and ensure that the increase is tolerable, without compromising the solvency of the providers. In the end, 8.5 million Australians will have minimal premium increase.
This year’s figure is substantially less as compared to the last five years of the coalition government. The average increase at that time was 6.63%. The said increase is not altogether just dismal news for the buyers. Upon review, those covered in the previous financial year have received an increase of 9.3% or $11 billion worth of benefits. Moreover, the benefits to be paid for the next 12 months up to March 2011 is forecasted to increase by 7.94%. This will affect 44.7% of Australians who presently have private health insurance.
The said increase is still considerably small as compared to the benefits provided by your coverage. It is not only in time of sickness or medical emergency that you reap the benefits of your health insurance, the relief and comfort in knowing that you are covered contributes greatly to our well-being. There is no doubt that health insurance is very important for as the saying goes “health is wealth.” We do need to protect and safeguard our treasures or our wealth, which includes our health.