Amid escalating public debate over the value of private health insurance (PHI), the government and key industry bodies are scrambling to take steps to reduce premium increases and counter the decline in membership. Out-of-pocket expenses have taken centre stage. Half of all Australian patients faced out-of-pocket costs for non-hospital Medicare services in the last year. A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found this equates to around $3 billion in out-of-pocket expenses annually. There is a growing perception that members are not receiving value for money from their premiums, having been left out of pocket for a service that would have been free in the public system. For example, it is common for parents having babies in the private system to incur out-of-pocket expenses of up to $10,000. A third (35%) of out-of-pocket expenses is spent on specialist services, 1 while almost a quarter goes to […]