Why do premiums go up each year?
Each year on April 1, health insurers raise premium rates on existing Hospital and Extras policies to ensure funds can continue to cover the cost of healthcare.
These costs continue to rise due to an increase in health-related expenses, new equipment and technology being utilised and an aging and heavier population that has resulted in more claims by health fund members.
Why is my premium increasing by more than HIF's average increase?
The average percentage increase is an average across all policies, states and territories, but each product is priced individually depending on the increasing health care costs associated with that product in each state or territory.
For that reason, some of our rates have gone up less than the average and some more – depending on the costs associated with the particular product or location.
How will the premium increase affect me if I’ve paid my contributions in advance?
If you pay your premiums prior to the 31st of March, you'll enjoy rate protection for that time. That means that you will pay your premiums at the current rate (2020 rate) for the duration of that upfront payment, which can be 12 months’ worth of premiums, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month or one fortnight.
If you do choose to make an upfront payment of 12 months, you will also receive an additional bonus discount of 4% (or 2% for six monthly payments).
By paying an advanced rate protection amount you will also retain the rebate that is relevant to your situation prior to the April 1st changes.
Does HIF profit directly from premium increases?
No. HIF is a member-owned, not-for-profit health fund. That means that HIF has no shareholders to factor in or distribute profit to, so any net operating margin earned as a result of this year's premium increase will be directly added to HIF's reserves to ensure the future payment of claims, and reduce pressure on any future premium increases.
HIF would not be acting in the best interest of its members future health, if an appropriate increase wasn't passed on.
I’m currently with another fund but I’d like to switch to HIF. What do I need to do?
Switching to HIF is easy as. Simply join online (it only takes a few minutes) or call us on 1300 13 40 60 to sign up.
During the online application process, we’ll ask for the name of your current fund, your previous member number and your authorisation to contact your previous fund on your behalf - then we do everything else! No forms to fill in, no paperwork, nothing. If you transfer to HIF on an equivalent or lower level of cover, you won't need to re-serve any waiting periods already served with your previous fund for those services for which you were already covered.
Why should I stay with HIF?
We’re here for the long haul, which means we want to make sure that our members have access to high quality healthcare, without having to wait a long period of time.
While many people only consider the strain on elective surgery wait times, public hospital emergency departments are also affected by increased waits.
Having private health insurance provides access to the private health system and the choice to select your own hospital, specialist or provider, all freedoms that aren't necessarily available through the public health system.
Why are you increasing the premiums, when we could hardly use our services due to lockdown?
The aftermath of COVID-19 saw any surgeries and specialist appointments that were canceled, being reinstated to ensure Australians were getting the care that they needed. If anything, more health appointments were scheduled. The increase in this time period and the general rise in health costs, means health funds, like HIF, needed to pass this rate change onto members.
Why has HIF’s annual rate risen twice in the past six months?
Due to COVID-19 HIF pushed its annual rate change back to October 2020 to help those who may have been suffering financial hardship during this period. Once both the public and private systems were functioning as normal once again, private health insurers passed on the annual increase in October.
What are the new Australian Government Private Health Rebate rates from 1 April 2021?
POLICY TYPE | BASE TIER | TIER 1 | TIER 2 | TIER 3 |
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SINGLE | $90,000 or less | $90,001 - $105,000 | $105,001 - $140,000 | $140,001 or more |
COUPLE / FAMILY | $180,000 or less | $180,001 - $210,000 | $210,001 - $280,000 | $280,001 or more |
AGE | APPLICABLE PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE REBATE |
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UNDER 65 | 24.608% | 16.405% | 8.202% | 0% |
65 - 69 | 28.710% | 20.507% | 12.303% | 0% |
OVER 70 | 32.812% | 24.608% | 16.405% | 0% |