Your Health Insurance
Private Health Insurance (PHI) premiums went up by an average of 5.59% in April 2016 – more than twice the rate of inflation. Plus changes to the Private Health insurance (PHI) rebate in 2012 have also resulted in a significant, additional tax expense on tax returns for individuals on higher incomes, together these factors have seen PHI costs increase for some taxpayers by 40% in recent years.
Despite the escalating costs of PHI, a lot of people find it hard to look for alternatives because they are bewildered by the terminology, the difficulty in comparing options across funds, and the belief they will have to re-serve waiting periods if they switch funds. Our review and comparison service is designed to take the complexity out of health insurance and deliver you the right policy for your budget and circumstances.
In many households, PHI is now the second or third largest expense after mortgage payments and school fees. Needs change as people get older, yet many people stay with the same policy for years and keep paying for features they no longer need. For example: are you still paying for pregnancy cover when pilates and physio would be of more benefit?
If you’ve been an active sports player, hip and knee cover is probably more appropriate than orthodontics. Even if your policy is right for you and your family, there can be 100’s of dollars difference between providers for the same level of cover!
It makes sense to review PHI cover regularly. If you have had the same policy for a few years, the chances are a review of your policy and situation will save you money.
Switching Funds or levels of cover is Easy and paperless, there are no cancelation fees and there’s usually no need to re-serve waiting periods if you are moving to the same or lower level of hospital cover. All the paperwork will be completed for you. Also there are taxes, the Medicare levy surcharge and Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading can mean additional tax and costs if you do not have PHI.
The good news is there are health insurance policies that can cost the same as the equivalent tax you would be paying if you didn’t have health insurance. So no extra tax and you get health cover as well.