Consumer group suggests health fund improvements
The Consumers’ Health Forum of Australia (CHF) has suggested three ways for private health funds to improve their products in light of their request for a 4.5% premium increase, which has been approved by Health Minister, Tony Abbott.
“Health funds should not ask consumers to pay more for their insurance without delivering something in return,” Mr Mitch Messer, CHF chairperson said.
“Private health insurance is important for many consumers. In particular, consumers with high health care needs and older Australians need to know that their insurance will look after them when they need health care.
“Unfortunately this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes people hold on to their insurance for many years only to find that it does not provide them with the cover they need when they get sick. Too many consumers also report facing unexpected and unexplained out-of-pocket costs when they return home from hospital and receive their bills.
“If health funds want to put their premiums up, they need to tell consumers how they will improve their products to justify these price increases,” Mr Messer said.
CHF has suggested:
1. Don’t insure people for services they do not need
2. Where possible, provide fund members with information on-line about the average fees and out-of-pocket costs for services and a breakdown of the charges involved (including ‘hidden’ charges such as pathology and anaesthetics)
3. Include standardised and comparable information about out-of-hospital services in the standard product information for each insurance product, so that consumers know what cover they will receive if they have treatment outside of the hospital setting
