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Department staff have faced questioning about how the private health insurance reforms are playing out. Measures introduced by the government include allowing insurers to discount hospital insurance premiums for 18- to 29-year-olds by up to 10%, labelling policies in gold, silver and bronze categories to help consumers identify policies that offer less value for money, and reducing the minimum benefits payable by private health insurers for devices on the prostheses list.

Questioning from the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, revealed that in March there were 11.3 million Australians with hospital cover, an increase of more than 10,000 since December, and the number of people with cover for general treatment increased by 13.5% since December.

Di Natale asked the department how this increase could be explained given there had been an overall downward trend in recent years in the number of people taking out insurance. The department’s Penny Shakespeare said she hoped the increase was because some of the government’s reforms had been looked at favourably by consumers.



The department’s Charles Maskell-Knight says “it’s the most significant upwards movement for a year”.



Except – If you look at the figures for the year to March, 37,000 fewer people had cover compared with the previous year. Most of those who took out cover were the over-55 group (so older, sicker, people), and 98,000 younger people dropped out. Also, people tend to sign up for insurance early in the year before premium rises take effect in April. So the rise in insured people in the March quarter isn’t anything for the government to be excited about.



Meanwhile senator Murray Watt wants to know how much the government’s reforms will keep premiums in check by next year. He asks if the department can guarantee premium rises of less than 4% next year.



The reply is that the government can’t predict the future.



“I’m not sure it’s the role of the department to offer guarantees,” said Shakespeare. So Watt turns his attention to the rural health minister, Bridget McKenzie. Labor, Watt says, if elected would introduce a policy of capping premium rises at 2% for two years. Why won’t the government commit to the same?



“We’re not North Korea, senator Watt. We can’t stipulate exactly what everybody has to pay for the one product that we’ll offer,” said McKenzie.