Medical Technology savings deliver lowest premium increase in 18 years
The Medical Technology Association of Australia welcomes today’s announcement of the lowest private health insurance premium increase in 18 years.
The medical technology industry was the major contributor to these savings through its Agreement with the Commonwealth signed in 2017.
The medical technology industry’s Agreement to cut prices on the Prostheses List was the major driver behind last year’s premium increase being the lowest in 17 years, and is again a key factor in this year’s premium announcement.
The Agreement signed in October 2017 will save health insurers $1.1 billion in payments for medical devices over four years.
This year’s September APRA data shows that private health insurers are paying out less for prostheses – both in total amount paid and also the average amount per medical device.
At the same time, the latest APRA data shows private health insurers enjoying continued strong profitability, with profit before tax of $1.9 billion across the PHI industry - an increase of 35% over the last three years.
Despite private health insurers’ record profits and significant savings, the average family will still be hit with a premium increase of over $120.
The PHI industry need to step up to the plate and offer Australian families a better deal rather than just blame everybody else.
Ian Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Technology Association of Australia said:
“Today’s announcement delivers the lowest premium change in 18 years, which can be attributed to the $1.1 billion in savings from the medical device industry.
“MTAA strongly supports the need for a healthy and viable private health insurance sector in Australia. “Despite representing only 10% of private health insurers’ overall costs, the Prostheses List contributes significantly to the key value proposition of private health insurance for consumers over the public hospital sector – choice of medical device.
“The private health insurance industry should embrace an expansion of the Prostheses List, particularly around access to life-saving non-implantable technology such as ablation catheters, which would greatly increase the value proposition to its 13.5 million customers.”
ENDS
Media contact: 02 9900 0600 | media@mtaa.org.au
