Experts say the private health sector needs surgery to cut costs and premiums. Health industry experts are warning Australia’s private health insurance industry could be in terminal decline as consumers abandon their private health cover in droves. More than 64,000 people dropped out of private health insurance in 2018, APRA figures show Experts say a rise in premiums, which is outpacing inflation and wage growth, is to blame Health economist Professor Stephen Duckett says the entire industry has reached a “tipping point” The Federal Government subsidised industry is facing a crisis as thousands of people, especially 25- to 29-year-olds, dump their private health insurance policies as annual premiums increase well above the cost of living and wages. Less than half the population has private health insurance, despite incentives for those who opt in and higher taxes for many of those who opt out. Fifty-year-old Michael Ferrier is a case […]