Australians exiting private health insurance as price rises bite

Many people are either abandoning their private health insurance policies or downgrading to lower-cost, lower-benefit products as premium increases continue to outpace inflation and wage growth.

In its annual report into the private health insurance industry, the ACCC found Australians are increasingly dropping their hospital cover, instead opting for just extras cover. Many people are also choosing policies with higher excess payments in an attempt to keep policy premiums to a minimum.