Chronic pain sufferers and pregnant women could be forced to pay for more expensive private health insurance under reforms announced by the government on Sunday.

On Sunday the health minister, Greg Hunt, unveiled a new tiered system of minimum hospital treatments covered by private health insurance policies.

The system includes four bands of coverage – gold, silver, bronze and basic – designed to make it easier for consumers to know what their private health insurance premiums will cover.

Under the proposed band system, 20 basic hospital procedures such as appendix surgeries, vasectomies, melanoma treatment and chemotherapy will be covered by bronze policies.

Women’s health services such as breast reconstruction and breast and ovarian cancer treatments will also be included in bronze policies. In April, a study found breast cancer patients frequently incur more than $10,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Hunt said on Sunday that the overhaul was designed to allow consumers to know what their policies cover “on a single page”.

“For the first time, people will be able to see on a single page what is included and what isn’t,” he told Channel Nine. “There’s no increase in prices as a result of this.

“We’re not changing policies, we’re categorising them so that everybody can see very simply what’s in, what’s out. Exactly what they are personally covered for.”

He said the changes would allow people to avoid purchasing insurance for things they did not need.

“One of the great complaints that we have is that many males, many women beyond child-bearing age, will say, I’ve only just discovered I’m being covered for pregnancy when of course there’s no need for that,” he said.

But Labor’s health spokeswoman, Catherine King, warned on Sunday that the reforms could mean people will have to pay higher premiums for some things.

For example, women who want private obstetrics covered in their insurance policies would need to purchase “gold” polices. Joint replacement procedures, IVF, kidney dialysis and cataract surgeries would also all require top-tier coverage.

“We are also concerned by reports that pregnant women will need to have [the] expensive top tier of premium if they want to be covered for obstetrics,” she said. “We will be seeking more information from the government on this point.”

King said that while the reforms would “provide better information to consumers” they were “not designed to bring down the cost of private health insurance at all”.

“This will do nothing to deal with private health insurance affordability,” she said.



She said the announcement was “just tinkering at the edges” and “won’t actually bring down prices”.