Knee and hip replacements topped the list of the most expensive claim items in 2018, according to health insurer Bupa.
Also prominent in the list of the 10 most expensive claim items were eye, back, and cardiac procedures – items directly related to the ageing population and obesity, costing Bupa more than $1.1 billion in insurance payouts.
Meanwhile, caesarean births slotted in at number four with a claim cost of almost $126 million.
“These are all very good and very useful procedures. They are helping us live longer lives and have better quality of life,” said Dwayne Crombie, managing director of Bupa health insurance. “But many of these operations are symptomatic of people getting older and more of the population being overweight or obese. Greater access to more sophisticated technology to improve health outcomes should be celebrated, but we need to understand that these advances come with increased costs.”
Crombie said the data also shows that to put downward pressure on health insurance premiums, the health system should “trial different ways of delivering healthcare which don’t affect quality of care but may reduce cost or give patients more choice.”
“This includes continuing to look at why prosthetics for hips and knees cost significantly more in Australia than other parts of the world,” Crombie said. “It means changing the mindset that a person must stay in hospital for rehabilitation after a knee or hip replacement where all the evidence says the outcome is the same or better if done in their home. And it also means understanding that surgery for many of these conditions could be avoided if appropriate preventative health measures, including weight management, are appropriately promoted and funded.”
