Medical Insurance Merry-Go-Round

Warning - Rant Alert!

On opening my mail yesterday I had the dreaded letter from my private medical insurance provider. This was to inform me our premiums where going to rise as of April 1.

Now before I go on - I just want to clarify. I REALLY hate the private health care system in this country. There, I said it. While I think Medicare is/was a great system, I am less than impressed with the private providers. I just don't think they give good value for money at all.

We as a nation are forced to join these funds or the government will slap you with extra levies for the rest of your life. Add this to the extra 1% Medicare levy if you are a high income earner (how $50,000 is considered a high income these days is beyond me) and the funds have you at their mercy.

What's the excuse for the rise?

Here is a excerpt from the letter:

Last year, xxxx paid $1.65 billion in Benefits to our customers, an increase of $109 billion on the previous year. To ensure that we have sufficient funds to pay for our customer's increased demands for health care, we are writing to advise you that it is necessary to increase your premium.

* bolding is my addition and I have not identified the provider so they do not get any free advertising!

I really want to send them a letter back saying, "Too bad, not my family's problem! We haven't contributed to your increased costs, in fact we should be eligible for a No Claim Bonus!"

You see, we don't have any kids and are in pretty good health. My DH and I are not fans of going to the doctor unless it is necessary. Now I know families with children or who have health issues are not to blame but a bit of incentive to people in our situation would be nice.

To add salt into the wound the skin cancer clinic I go to doesn't bulk bill anymore and charges a yearly fee of $70.00. And you guessed it, private health insurance doesn't cover it! (I will save the rant about the stupidity of that in a country with our skin cancer rate for another post).

How much is it going up?

Well the increase in dollar terms doesn't seem that much at first glance - from $187.00 to $197.49 a month which is $10.49 a month rise but it is higher than the reported 4.99% reported in the media. It is more like a 5.5% rise! It's another $125.88 a year that should be in my pocket but will now go to them.

Oh, did I mention it has already gone up once before in the last 12 months!

What do you get for the money?

Like most families we currently have a combined policy which includes private hospital and some extras cover. We get some dental, optical and physio for this. I won't bore you with the details of the rebate values as if you are an Aussie you probably have similar cover but they are really low! I don't know if it is worth having this extra cover anymore and have decided to do some research to get the premiums down a bit.

I looked on the internet last night and found I could get with other providers:

• basic hospital cover for $95.00 - $133.00
• comprehensive hospital cover for $127.00 - $162.00

both options a substantial saving on what we are paying now.

I would put the difference into an account to pay for our bi yearly visit to the optometrist and our twice yearly dental check up. Of course I need to find out what a dental visit will cost us to make a fair comparison.

We spent $2244.00 on premiums this year and honestly I really feel ripped off. I know medical insurance is a necessary evil these days but "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"

In fact, they have done themselves a disservice with this rise from my prospective as it has made me look into exactly what I am getting for the money I pay them. Their greed has backfired on them as I will either drop my cover with them or take my business elsewhere. Either way they lose.

What do you think about the rise and rise and rise of private medical insurance these days. Do you have it or are you thinking of dropping out of the system completely?

I'd love to hear your comments on this post

photo credit: Dean Jenkins