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Date Published : Friday, February 29, 2008
People across Australia may be paying "significantly" more for their private health insurance policies in the future, according to a federal government ministers.
Health insurance companies are wanting increases in the cost of premiums to cover a national rise in the amount of people claiming on such policies.
As a result, federal health minister Nicola Roxon to the ABC that such rises should not go ahead as it would hurt the finances of customers too much.
Ms Roxon said: "Ideally we would all like there to be no increases, but that is not possible in this situation.
"We know that working families are under an extraordinary amount of pressure and I'm going to make sure that I'm convinced these increases are necessary before I give the rubber stamp that the previous government used to do."
As a result, many people may have to reconsider their health insurance policies. Currently, Australian citizens are entitled to a 30 per cent rebate on all private health care from the federal government, which runs alongside federal-funded scheme Medicare.
There are two types of health insurance policies generally available for Australians - hospital and general treatment cover.
Hospital policies help cover the cost of in-hospital treatment by your doctor and other costs such as hospital accommodation.
General treatment policies - also known as ancillary or extras cover - provide benefits for ancillary services such as physiotherapy, dental and optical treatment.
Many insurance providers offer both policies, with federal government advice suggesting citizens should shop around for the right company to insure them, making sure of getting the correct policy.
Compare insurance providers.
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