Private Medical Health

Ministry of Health private health plan reforms: Change in cover for some naturopathic treatments

As of April 1, 2019, the following naturopathic treatments will be exempted from the general private health care coverage and will no longer benefit from the private health care discount under a general medical care policy: Regulations have been enacted to exempt these naturopathic treatments from the general care definitions under section 121-10 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

As a result, the insurer will not be in a position to provide health care coverage for these treatments. Providers may provide private health insurer buyers with an incentive as long as it meets the criteria of the private health insurer's (Complying Product) regulations. This incentive could also involve the provision of nature therapists' work.

The consumer can continue to opt for accessing these treatments outside private health cover. An investigation under the chairmanship of the former Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer revealed that there is no clear proof of the validity of the excluded cures. These reviews were conducted by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which was commissioned to conduct a peer reviewed study of the academic research papers investigating the potency and, where available, health, cost-effectiveness and security of 17 cures.

A change in cover for the ruled out naturopathic treatments will make sure that taxpayers' money is used adequately and is not targeted at treatments that do not provide proof of clinically effective use. Approximately 54 percent of the Aussie people are insured for general medical care (extras). The change in cover for the exclusions of naturopathic treatments will eliminate the cost from the system and help to reduce the rate increase of private health premiums.

How will this amendment affect private health insurances? These changes will help to reduce private health premiums.

2017 AMA Private Health Insurance Report Card

AMA Private Health Insurances Reports cards give clear and easy information to the consumer on how health insurances really work. In this year the survey shows that there are many polices that have very different coverage heights, gap sizes and administrative cost ratios. Parliament also stressed that we need simplification of private health care and that we need more transparency, but we also need it to recover the actual cost of care.

Private health insurances should not interfere with a patient's capacity to select the right physician and to receive care in a suitable institution.