HealthyCover: Getting Better Value Health Insurance

DEAKIN, Australia, Feb. 13 -- The Consumers Health Forum of Australia issued the following news release:

The latest rise in health insurance premiums makes it more important than ever that people check they are paying for the right cover, the Consumers Health Forum says.

"Now that a typical family policy can cost more than $4,000 a year, we owe it to ourselves to ensure we have the cost-effective policy that best suits our needs," says the CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells.

"The Consumers Health Forum today launches our simple HealthyCover checklist and survey to promote a better health insurance outcome for people.

"Consumers need to think twice about 'set and forget' health insurance. Steadily rising premiums and changes to your needs and to the cover provided by the health fund, make it vital to check your insurance.

"The best time to assess your insurance choice is in the next few weeks as health funds release details of their new premiums and policies before the changes take effect on April 1.

"While reviewing health insurance can seem tiresome, the effort is worthwhile and may well mean savings and certainty that you have the right cover.

"We have provided a five-question check list that you can use as a starting point for evaluating your cover.

"And under the portability provisions governing health insurance, you can change health funds without losing existing entitlements in terms of waiting times.

"Once you have followed the check list, reviewed your cover and decided whether to change funds, switch or drop cover, we encourage you to participate in our brief survey.

"Your answers help the Consumers Health Forum put the consumer's voice to Government.

"We have been urging the Government for more than a year to reform health insurance so that policies are simplified, made more certain and easier to compare between different funds. There are currently an estimated 58,000 different health insurance policies on the Australian market.

"We have argued that the health insurance rebate should only be available for those policies which meet consumer-friendly criteria of simplicity and certainty.

"In the meantime, you can help efforts for better health insurance by participating in our survey."

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