Government critics say changes to health insurance rebates will strain the public health system. But the evidence shows the impact might not be what you think.
Articles on Private health insurance rebate
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New research shows what happens if the extra health insurance rebate for over-65s is scrapped, as planned. Here’s why the sky won’t fall in.
Yes, savings from increased participation in private insurance outweigh the costs the government incurs by subsidising private health insurance rebates. But rebates can be better targeted.
We found rebates don’t do much to encourage older people to sign up for private health insurance.
The government has spent $100 billion on the private health insurance rebate. Why? And does it represent value for money?
Young people should pay less for private health insurance. So should people who are healthy, as they’re less likely to access private health care.
Young people continue to cancel their private health insurance despite discounts to entice them to stay. Instead, we should reduce their premiums based on their likelihood of needing health care.
Private health insurance is meant to take pressure off the public system. But with exclusionary policies, people are increasingly avoiding the levies and using the public system anyway.
The AMA are pushing for simplified insurance packages that would see gold, silver and bronze products offered. This won’t solve the overall problem with private health insurance.
Leaked documents of a secret ‘taskforce’ to reform public hospital funding reveal some controversial proposals. So how are hospitals funded and why might this need changing?
The 30% subsidy for private health insurance was predicted to be a bad and costly policy many years ago. And 20 years later, the only thing that’s changed is the $6 billion-plus hole in the budget.
Top contributors
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Professor of Health Economics, The University of Melbourne
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Phd Candidate (Economics), University of Newcastle
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Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Health Economics, University of Bologna, University of Newcastle
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Associate Professor, School of Economics and Marketing, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University
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Professor of Health Economics, University of Technology Sydney
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Adjunct Associate Professor, Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, University of Sydney
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Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma
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Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University
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Associate Professor, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University
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Associate Professor in Economics, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, University of Newcastle