Making it hard to stay insured

HEALTH insurance customers are facing tough times as we approach the peak renewal period in January.

The minister for health has confirmed that the risk equalisation stamp duty will be increasing from Mar 1 by approximately 14%. This levy is payable by all health insurance members and is used to compensate any insurer(s) who is deemed to be carrying a disproportionate level of risk versus the market average.

Due to subsequent increases since its introduction in 2009, in many cases this levy now accounts for approximately one third of your typical premium depending on the plan held. We estimate this measure alone could lead to an increase in health insurance costs of up to 5%.