Private Health Insurance for Family of 4

Increased private health insurance to Cost $200 per year additional median family, ALP says

Australia's households are being struck with another blow to their budgets as the private health insurance premiums are increased today. The federal administration says the yearly migration is "far lower than any year under the Rudd and Guillard administrations. The federal opposition has carried out model calculations suggesting that the 3.95 percent compound rate raise will cause an additional $200 per year for Australians and older people.

This corresponds to about $1 billion in additional cost for the 13 million individuals across the nation with private health insurance. "But I don't think it's a good result to have Australia having a family that is already making it hard, when salaries are stagnant, when salaries are going up and other utility billings are going up, when they're really fighting with expenses, so they'll have to find almost $1 billion more out of their bags next year alone," said Melbourne shadows health secretary Catherine King to tell journalists.

It has been suggested by the federal government that the 3.95 percent rise is the lowest annual rise in prices in 17 years, both among liberal and workers' government, and below the 4 percent rise in health care outlays. "It is far lower than any year under the Rudd and Guillard governments," Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a declaration.

"so our guidelines focus on lower premiums." Opposition parties are continuing their efforts to limit private health insurance contributions to 2 percent for the first two years of short-time work by a federal state. "Governments want a big slap on the back, they want the bubbly cork to pop when they announce the increase in private health insurance for 2018," Ms King said.

Coalition has sharply criticized the proposed upper limit, saying that it is a "policy on the run" and would not help insurance companies pay for health services. The industrial group that represents the health insurance market, Private Healthcare Australia, proposed that increases in prices were outside its sphere of influence. "There' s only one good excuse why health insurance companies are increasing premium rates, and that is because they are funding more healthcare," said Rachel David, CEC.

"Moreover, a number of public household hiring measures that have been implemented over the past seven years have had a significant negative effect on the affordable nature of [private health insurance] for many Australians. "The health insurance companies don't hide a pan of gold."