Inflated Costs Attributed to Greg Hunt’s Health Insurance Overhaul
At the moment in Australia, pregnant women, patients in need of kidney dialysis, cataract surgery, and joint procedures are very unhappy. This is because they may be asked to cough up more money for private health insurance as a result of the recently announced reform by the government.
Greg Hunt, the health minister, revealed a new system where there’s a minimum cover provided by the insurance company as regards hospital treatment insurance. This system has four different covers;
- Gold
- Silver
- Bronze
- Basic
It is designed in such a way that it is now easier to know the different premiums available and what they cover. This new system works such that the bronze policy covers basic procedures which include appendix surgery, vasectomy, chemotherapy, and melanoma treatment.
The bronze policy will also cover breast reconstruction procedures and treatment for ovarian cancer. This might be a relief to the patients as a recently concluded study showed that breast cancer patients spend over £10,000 on medical expenses.
According to Hunt, the aim of this change is to give the customers an overview of what their policy entails on a single page. He spoke to Channel Nine where he reiterated his stance, claiming that there is no increase in price, it’s just a restructuring; categorizing the different policies so consumers can know all that there is to it.
He also stated that this change will stop people from paying for what they do not need. According to him, several men and women above child-bearing age often lament that they are being covered for pregnancy even though there’s no chance of that happening.
However, Catherine King, a spokeswoman for Labor health expressed her dissent. She declared that the reform could cause customers to pay more for certain things. For instance, women who desire private obstetrics would buy the Gold policy. Similarly, joint replacement procedures, IVF, kidney dialysis, and cataract surgery are only covered by expensive policies.
She expressed concern about this development and she averred that, as a body, they will seek further clarification from the government. King went on to say that the reform would, no doubt, mean that customers now have a better breakdown of the policy they are purchasing. However, it doesn’t make it more affordable. In her words, “The announcement was barely tinkering at the edges and it’ll have no effect on bringing down the price.”
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