HEALTH – AUSTRALIA

Bupa sued for $35m for misleading customers

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 1-Jul-25

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has asked the Federal Court to impose a $35 million fine on health insurer Bupa for allegedly misleading customers over a five-year period. The ACCC alleges that Bupa gave customers incorrect information in regard to claiming benefits in situations where two or more procedures were taking place at the same time, with some customers having to pay thousands of dollars or cancel medical procedures altogether as a result of the incorrect information. Bupa’s Asia Pacific CEO Nick Stone says he is "deeply sorry" that customers were given the wrong information, while ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says Bupa should have invested in the proper training and processes to prevent such mistakes from occurring.

CORPORATES
BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Medibank must release hack reports

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 17 : 8-Apr-25

The Federal Court has ruled that Medibank’s customers should be given access to cyber-security reports that were prepared by Deloitte in the wake of the health insurer’s data breach in October 2022. Medibank had contended that the reports were subject to legal professional privilege. Justice Helen Rofe noted that Medibank had consistently stated that it would share the results of the external review, although she concluded that chairman Mike Wilkins had in fact never intended to do so. Customers who were affected by the cyber-attack are pursuing a class action against Medibank.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Private Health Insurance Switching: HCF, Bupa, and ahm see biggest customer growth

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-25

Data from Roy Morgan shows that despite rising cost-of-living pressures, most Australians are maintaining private health insurance rather than opting out, but they are switching. As of December 2024, over half of Australians aged 14+ (57.2%) hold a private health insurance policy – equivalent to approximately 12.9 million people. This represents steady growth over the past five years, rising from 52.9% in December 2020 to 57.2% in December 2024. Some 6.8% of private health insurance policies were switched to another company in the year to December 2024, while 17.9% were renewed after approaching another company. In total, close to one in four (24.6%) people looked for a better health insurance policy deal, up from 22.3% in the previous year. HCF, Bupa and ahm have been the biggest winners from customer switching in the past 12 months, benefiting from their reputation for competitive pricing. In contrast, Medibank Private saw the largest customer loss due to switching.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL

Labor’s next woe: health premiums

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Oct-24

Sources have indicated that private health insurers will seek approval from the federal government to increase their premiums by 5-6 per cent in 2025. This would be the highest increase since 2016, when premiums rose by an average of 6.18 per cent. Private health insurers are slated to make their final submissions to Health Minister Mark Butler in early November; the size of the premium increases is traditionally announced between December and March, and they take effect from 1 April. With the federal election due by mid-May and the cost-of-living crisis weighing on many voters, the government will be reluctant to approve a large increase in premiums.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE

Medibank to trial four-day work week

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Original article by Jessica Yun
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 23-Oct-23

Health insurer Medibank Private will shortly commence a six-month trial of the 100:80:100 model, whereby employees retain 100 per cent of their salary for 80 per cent of their time, in exchange for a commitment productivity of 100 per cent. Some 250 employees will participate in the four-day working week trial, with a view to eventually rolling it out across the company. Professor Bronwen Dalton from the University of Technology, Sydney has praised Medibank’s initiative, but she believes that the length of the trial and the number of participants should be increased.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Medibank pays back unused $105m

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Original article by Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 30-Jun-21

Private health insurer Medibank expects about two million customers of its flagship and ahm brands to be eligible for a discount on their next premium payment. Medical procedures such as elective surgery were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing policyholders from making full use of their private health coverage. HBF is among the other health funds that have previously revealed plans to return some money to its members.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, HBF HEALTH LIMITED

NEO-Millennials provide hope to health funds

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jul-20

New private health insurance data from Roy Morgan shows that just 44 per cent of Australians had hospital cover at the end of March, the lowest since 2007. With a focus on Millennials, the data shows that 42% of Millennials pay for hospital cover. This rises to 57% in the case of new economic order (NEO) Millennials, compared with just 27% of traditional Millennials. NEO-Millennials spend more, are highly educated and early adopters of technology. In total, 91% of NEO-Millennials have some kind of insurance, compared to just 76% of traditional Millennials. Conversely, traditional Millennials – who give younger Australians a bad name in health insurance – are less educated, unable or unwilling to spend, and technology laggards. These findings are from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 1,000 Australians each week and around 50,000 Australians per year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Medibank mulls cash refunds

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 16 : 7-May-20

Health fund Medibank Private expects its earnings and dividends to be in line with previous guidance, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Customers will save about $120m after Medibank opted to delay premium increases for six months, while CEO Craig Drummond has indicated that it may be open to providing partial refunds due to a fall in claims during the lockdown. NIB Holdings recently flagged the possibility of providing fund members with cash rebates due to the coronavirus.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF

Health funds fear surge in fire claims

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 15-Jan-20

Private health insurers expect the bushfire crisis to result in a sharp increase in insurance claims, particularly from customers who have been affected by the smoke haze. However, they say it is too soon to determine the exact impact of the fires. Latrobe Health Services CEO Ian Whitehead anticipates a big increase in claims related to mental health issues arising from the bushfires, as well as physical health problems. Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone says the longer-term effects of inhaling hazardous smoke will not be known for some time.

CORPORATES
LATROBE HEALTH SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AUSTRALIAN UNITY LIMITED

Call to regulate medical devices

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 2-Jan-20

Sheena Jack, the CEO of health insurance company HCF, has called for the creation of an independent regulator of medical devices. Jack says there should be a review of the ‘clinical efficacy’ of items that are on the prostheses list, similar to what is done for items on the pharmaceuticals list. Research conducted by Private Healthcare Australia indicates big price differences between medical devices in Australia and comparable products provided in other countries, while Jack claims public hospitals often have to pay much less for medical devices than private ones.

CORPORATES
THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED