Butler tackled on health fund premium hikes, opposition demands ‘early, transparent’ news

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston says a delayed release of the raised prices will leave ‘Australians with minimal time to plan for the cost hike’.

Health Minister Mark Butler. Picture: Simon Bullard/NewsWire

The Coalition has challenged Health Minister Mark Butler to be “early and transparent” and unveil this year’s private health insurance premium rises so households can prepare budgets in advance of the price hike.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the government’s delayed release of the hikes in 2024 – which were unveiled after the Dunkley by-election – left “more than 14 million Australians with minimal time to plan for the cost hike”.

Mr Butler on Sunday said the government was “going through the usual process” and private health insurers had been asked to remake their submissions for the process.

“After I received that late last year, I wrote to all health insurance companies, effectively asking them to sharpen their pencils and to look at their submissions again and provide us with one that was more in the interests of their members,” he said.

“They were due to do that, but by the first few days of January; I assume that they’ve been received and are being processed right now by the department.

“As soon as I’m confident that I’ve got the best deal for Australia’s consumers, those members of private health insurance funds, while also, of course, having an eye on the sustainability and viability of the private health insurance system, I’ll make that ­announcement.”

He said he wanted to announce the expected price hikes “as soon as I responsibly can”.

The premium increases are expected to be amplified by a new deal between the NSW government and private health insurers.

In December, the state abandoned plans to raise its levy on insurers after striking an agreement about who would pay for the use of beds in public hospitals by privately insured patients.

The levy alone was expected to increase premiums by 2-3 per cent for NSW residents, or 1 per cent across the whole country depending on how insurers passed on costs, the commonwealth Health Department told a Senate estimates hearing last year.

It is not known how much of a cost increase the deal would now cost members but industry association Private Healthcare Australia has estimated 2.5 per cent for NSW members.

Senator Ruston said there would be an “upward price impact felt across the country specifically from NSW Labor’s iron-fisted approach to private health insurance, which minister Butler has refused to call out”.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

“When this is considered on top of the inflationary impact from Labor’s cost-of-living crisis, we have serious concerns about the upcoming premium increase minister Butler must announce early this year,” she said.

“Higher premium increases for the more than 14 million Australians with private health insurance would be another cost-of-living blow, at a time when families are already struggling to afford the rising cost of healthcare.

“Minister Butler’s lack of engagement on Australia’s private health system could have a ­serious impact on households in the middle of a cost-of-living ­crisis.

Mr Butler said it was “not finally clear yet” how much the NSW deal would affect premium rises.

“One of the things that we are keen to ensure is that as private health insurance companies are making their submissions for approval of a private health insurance premium rise for 2025 that they’re very clear about what the impact of that deal that was struck … between the NSW government and health insurance companies operating in that jurisdiction are,” he said.

Mr Butler said the deal was a “matter between the NSW government and private health insurance companies” but he would “prefer not to have any further pressure on private health insurance premiums”.