With the COVID-19 crisis continuing to impact everyone’s lives, you probably think that people would be more interested in taking out health insurance to protect themselves from pandemic-related health issues. But that is not the case, as the Federal Government reports an increasing number of young Australians cancelling their private health insurance.
The Federal Government revealed that over 29,000 Australians cancelled their private health insurance from March to June. It turns out many young Australians feel that their insurance is not worth it anymore as they do not have access to services that their policy would cover.
Even before the pandemic hit the country, young Australians had been ditching health insurance – with year to June figures showing that 56,000 Australians aged 20 to 49 cancelled their cover, according to ZME Science.
Meanwhile, last quarter, insurers paid out around $3.3 billion in hospital benefits, which is around 12.9% less than the previous three months, ABC Australia reported.
As a result, the government announced funding for a review of the issues preventing young Australians from taking out private health insurance. It also set aside $2.4 million for a review into the community rating system, which is part of a wider $20 million budget meant to help struggling private health insurers.
