SYDNEY, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The rising cost of private health insurance Down Under has seen an estimated 2.23 million Aussies dump their policies over the past five years, putting pressure on the nation's public hospital system, new research on Monday has revealed.
Australians feel they are not getting value for money in comparison to the nation's free public healthcare system, according to the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) Chief Executive Ian Burgess, who commissioned the survey of over 1,000 people.
Despite the country's largest health funds -- Medibank, Bupa, HCF and NIB -- saving around 390 million Australian dollars (273 million U.S. dollars) in medical device cuts over the past few years, Burgess explained the companies are not passing on any of those savings on to their customers.
"Over the past decade the 'Big 4' health insurers increased their premiums at a faster rate than national house prices, while banking billions in profits," he said.
"This is despite the fact private health funds have not paid one extra cent for medical devices in recent years."
With private health cover policies set to rise between 50 Australian dollars (35 U.S. dollars) and 300 Australian dollars (210 U.S. dollars) in 2020, Burgess said this could drive even more people to drop their coverage next year, adding further strain on the public sector.
"Each of these 2 million Australians dumping their private health cover is an extra person joining our already overcrowded public hospital system."
"The only answer left is for prices to go below zero next premium round. That means an actual premium decrease -- not a 'lower' increase."
He said it's time for the government to step in and save private health from itself.
