Drop, suspend, downgrade or keep? Many people are feeling the pinch and wondering if private heath insurance is worth keeping during the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what to consider.
There’s an economic case for scrapping the rebates.
Stephen Postles/AAP
Private health insurance is meant to take pressure off the public system. But with exclusionary policies, people are increasingly avoiding the levies and using the public system anyway.
The government is effectively undermining the power of Medicare as a single payer and the role of Medicare as a universal provider.
Peter Boyle/AAP
In the final instalment of our series, Lesley Russell asks whether Australians need private health insurance, and what a two-tiered systems means for quality, access and equity.
Medicare and private health insurance partly overlap for hospital entitlements. But nobody can purchase full coverage for health-care costs.
Tyler Olson/Shutterstock
Private insurance, by its very nature, suppresses price signals and encourages over-servicing and cost escalation.
The relationship between private health insurance and Medicare has been a problem since the Whitlam government introduced universal health care.
Hadrian/Shutterstock
Some people balk at the cost of private insurance – especially the relatively young and healthy – because they don't see the value of it when they are already covered under Medicare.
The half of Australians who have private health insurance will be face higher bills from Wednesday, as insurance premiums increase by an industry average of 6.18%.
Dental care is the most-used private health insurance ancillary service.
Peter Kyikos/AAP