See how much your health insurance premiums will rise

Almost 15 million Australians with private health insurance will see their premiums rise by an average of 3.73 per cent on April 1, Health Minister Mark Butler has revealed, marking the largest increase in seven years.

Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 3.73 per cent on April 1.

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The 100,000 members of restricted-access insurer Police Health Limited – which provides coverage for state, territory and federal police departments, police unions, and their families – are set to be hit with the an average premium hike of 9.56 per cent.

That increase, which is the largest of any insurer, is set to take effect on April 1 and comes after Health Minister Mark Butler on Monday revealed the 15 million Australians with private health cover will see their premiums rise by an average of 3.73 per cent, the largest rise in seven years.

By contrast, members of Health Insurance Fund will experience the smallest increase in their premiums of any provider, with premiums set to rise by just 1.91 per cent, on average.

Medibank, Australia’s largest health insurer, with more than four million members, will deliver an average premium hike of 3.99 per cent.

The insurance giant’s customers in NSW, however, will see a higher increase of 4.81 per cent, which the insurer claimed was due to recent changes made by the Minns government.

Other major insurance firms are set to increase their average premiums by a similar amount, with NIB set to climb 5.79 per cent, BUPA up 5.10 per cent, and HCF rising 4.95 per cent. Premiums at GMHBA will increase by 2.44 per cent, on average.

Health insurers are permitted to raise their premiums annually but the federal health minister must approve any increase.

At 3.73 per cent, the annual premium increase outstrips the current annual rate of wages growth and headline inflation, the benchmark for changes to social security payments.

However, the price hike remains relatively modest by historical standards. Since 1997, when Department of Health records commenced, the average annual health insurance premium increase for all insurers was 4.82 per cent.

Health insurance premiums have more than tripled since 1997, and have far outstripped inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, which rose by 108.4 per cent over that same period.

Similarly, the increase in premiums, at 260.7 per cent, has far exceeded cumulative wage increases, at 129.2 per cent.

The rise in health insurance premiums comes just weeks ahead of the impending federal election, which must be held on or before May 17. Health policy has already featured heavily in the lead-up to the campaign, with Labor last weekend announcing an $8.5bn package to incentivise bulk-billing – a measure that was matched by the Coalition.