Shorter hospital stays, telehealth, COVID-19 to shake-up health care: NIB

NIB will further delay premium hikes for those on JobKeeper and Jobseeker, despite the virus crisis eating into its bottom line.

Nib Managing Director Mark Fitzgibbon. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

COVID-19 will introduce sweeping changes to healthcare, potentially making the system more efficient, with telehealth and shorter stays in hospital expected to become the norm, according to listed health insurer NIB.

The pandemic has seen emergency department presentations plummet, as people stay clear of hospitals fearing they will spread or catch COVID-19. This has created one of the biggest unknowns of the pandemic and its longer term repercussions as people delay treatment for potentially serious conditions, which can be treated effectively if caught early such as some cancers and heart disorders.

But NIB chief executive Mark Fitzgibbon said it also meant more people were turning to emergency healthcare treatment when they really needed to as opposed to using emergency departments for relatively minor conditions.

“If you have warranted treatment delayed, that’s not good, because you want to pick cancers early etc. What the evidence around the world is showing is that’s a danger, we don’t want people missing out on warranted treatment,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“But what the evidence is also showing is people are not having treatment that wasn’t warranted in the first place. Even in Australia, we know from the Healthcare Atlas of unwarranted variation — our chances of having a stent put in our heart or having a hip replacement vary fourfold depending on where we live. The number of CAT scans and MRI scans can vary fourfold. There is a lot of healthcare that happens that’s not warranted. One thing COVID has done is people are missing out on care that they shouldn’t be having. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the long run — it might make a more efficient system.”

Mr Fitzgibbon’s comments come a month after private hospital operator Healthscope warned Victoria’s harsh lockdown was steering people away from seeking essential medical treatment with emergency department presentations plummeting 20 per cent and cardiology admissions falling as much as 40 per cent.

On Monday, NIB revealed benefits paid last financial year rose 6.7 per cent to $1.9bn. This included a $98.8m provision for deferred claims as a result of COVID-19-enforced elective surgery bans, and was almost double the 3.4 per cent rise in total group revenue of $2.5bn.

Net profit fell 40 per cent to $90.1m with Mr Fitzgibbon citing volatile equity markets and the pandemic. The group’s investment income plummeted 54 per cent to $16.6m.

Following the release of its results, the Newcastle-headquartered company’s shares fell 5.8 per cent to $4.53, compared with a broader sharemarket gain of 0.3 per cent.

NIB joined Bupa in extending the postponement of its premium increase, expected on October 1, another six months for policy holders on JobKeeper and JobSeeker.

NIB reported a 1.9 per cent increase in policyholders, compared with an industry average of 0.4 per cent growth.

The private health insurance industry continues to face the challenge of younger Australians ripping up their policies and growing membership in older age groups. Hospital membership for those aged 20-49 fell by 55,646 people.

NIB will pay a full-year dividend of 14c a share on October 6, compared with 23c last year.