In December 2019, the Federal Minister for Health announced that health insurance premiums were set to increase by an industry-weighted average of 2.92% on 1 April 2020.
However, on the 29th of March 2020, Private Healthcare Australia announced that this year’s rate change would be delayed for all member health funds (i.e. insurers) in an attempt to provide relief to their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The specific amount that the price of policies change after a typical April rate rise depends on your health insurer and the type of cover you hold.
According to the Minister for Health, singles would have paid an extra $35.36 per year on average for their health insurance following a 2.92% increase to premiums, while families would have paid $103.48 more.
Your own premium might have gone up by more or less than 2.92%, or it might have decreased.
Following the announcement in March, your policy may not have changed in price at all. In addition, some funds planned to decrease premiums on specific policies on the 1st of April; many applied the decrease to those products but not the planned increases to others.
This rate rise delay was introduced to alleviate stress on Australians struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was for member funds – not-for-profit health insurers (or roughly 27 funds) – to delay the rate change for at least six months. Later in the year, the decision will be reviewed, and it will be decided whether the delay will be extended further.
Other non-member funds also delayed their rate rise, and at least one fund independently moved to postpone the rate change by a full 12 months.
The value of health insurance remains stronger than ever, with benefits including:
Plus, you’ll have peace of mind that if something goes wrong for you (or your family), you’ll be well-positioned to get the care you need, as fast as possible.
Review your current policy to see if it still fits your needs, budget and lifestyle. If you haven't done this in a while, it's likely your policy is no longer suitable.
Reconsider services you may not need. Policies bundle up cover for different procedures under one policy. This means you might be paying for services you don't need (e.g. birth-related services).
Update your cover. Has your life changed since you took out your current policy? Are you planning on having a family? Or maybe you've recently suffered a health scare? Whatever it may be, switching to a different policy could make the difference in safeguarding your future health and save you much needed money.
Your health fund will notify you in writing about your premiums increasing, decreasing, or staying the same through the post, email or SMS. This way, you can check over any updated policy information and make an informed decision about what to do next.
Before health funds can raise their premiums, they must submit their proposed increases to the Federal Government for approval. The Federal Government checks all the proposed increases to ensure they’re sustainable, fair and necessary. Some factors that lead to rate rises include:
These proposed changes are reviewed, and if the insurer can’t sufficiently justify why they need to increase their premiums, the proposal will be rejected.
As the health insurance premium rate rise is a weighted average, some health funds increase their prices more than others. This weighted average is based on changes to a health fund’s entire portfolio of policies; this means the cost of some policies may go up a substantial amount, some may increase slightly, some may not go up at all, and some could even decrease.
For example, in 2020, one provider was set to raise their premiums by as much as 5.63%, whereas another would have raised theirs by as little as 1.98%.*
* Source: Department of Health, Average premium increases by insurer by year (updated 07/12/2019)
For over 15 years, the Department of Health has approved private health insurance rate rises. Since 2010, health insurance has increased by an industry-weighted average of 52% in total (excluding any increase in this year, for now). This means if your health cover cost $1,040 to maintain in 2010 (i.e. $20 per week), it will cost, on average, $1580.80 following the 1 April 2019 increase.
Take a look to see how health insurance rates have changed over the past decade.
With so many options available and differing levels of cover to choose between, it can be daunting to compare and find the most suitable policy for your needs. We take the stress out of the process by offering a free health insurance comparison service, where you can easily see if there’s an outstanding alternative to your existing policy.
Our health insurance professionals are here to help you find the value in your health insurance again.
| Health insurance rate increase by year | |
| Year of average private health insurance rate rise | Rate rise (%)* |
| 2020 (delayed for many funds) | 2.92% |
| 2019 | 3.25% |
| 2018 | 3.95% |
| 2017 | 4.84% |
| 2016 | 5.59% |
| 2015 | 6.18% |
| 2014 | 6.20% |
| 2013 | 5.60% |
| 2012 | 5.06% |
| 2011 | 5.56% |
| 2010 | 5.78% |
| Total increase (excluding 2020) | 52.01% |
| * Industry average, as taken from health.gov.au | |
