What To Know About The 2019 Health Insurance Reforms

[AUSTRALIAN HEALTH INSURANCE CHANGES][1] **What To Know About The 2019 Health Insurance Reforms** Australia is always consistent in ranking as one of the world’s best places to live in, work in, and retire in. If you give yourself the chance to ask others where they’d like to live, Australia would always make it to the top of the list—and for good reason. Because of an excellent government and public system in Australia, numerous benefits and changes are coming in almost annually. Some may be positive, while for others, there might be reforms that they aren’t exactly happy about. But, opinions aside, the best interests of the citizens are always at hand. Indeed, [Australian health insurance changes][1] are for the better. Now that 2019 is reaching the middle of the year, there are many things about the health insurance program that you should expect and be aware of. What are these? Find out more below. **1. Choosing the right health insurance is now a much simpler process.** Gone are the days when the process of selecting the right health insurance is a complicated process. With the health reforms, it’s expected to simplify the selection process. With the improvements, there will now be 38 categories for you to choose from, wherein every class shows the following: The extent of the coverage The specific kinds of hospital treatments that belong to each category This is an excellent start as it can speed up the process of filing health insurance claims. Because it’s now categorized in a more detailed fashion, you’re lessening the chances of committing an error that can cause your application to be denied. **2. Choosing hospitals and combination products are now also simplified.** Most of the changes in the health reforms will already have taken place by April 1, 2019. But some changes are set to be effective over the next 12-month period or beginning April 1, 2020. One of these changes has to do with the much-simplified product tiers of hospital and combination products. How so? These are grouped into the following product levels: **Basic Bronze Silver Gold** This tiered system is in place to make a distinction between each level easier. Each of this level will show the essential minimum requirement and the base products that will be offered. Anything that goes beyond the minimum requirement but still falls within the same level will be labeled with a “Plus,” such as “Silver Plus.” This applies to all levels, except the highest, which is Gold. **3. Extra policies no longer have coverage for specific natural therapies.** As aptly mentioned earlier, the health reforms do not only provide additions to the services that you can gain, but there are also some treatments that aren’t covered anymore. One of these has to do with natural therapies. Hence, for those of you who may be reliant on natural therapies, you have to expect that this will no longer be covered in your health insurance. Why so? This is because there is little to no evidence at all that can definitively conclude that these natural therapies do have healing properties despite their widespread demand. Examples of these include: *Aromatherapy *Herbalism *Naturopathy *Pilates *Taichi *Shiatsu *Yoga *Reflexology *Alexander technique *Bowen therapy *Buteyko *Homeopathy *Iridology *Feldenkrais *Kinesiology *Rolfing The only natural therapies that haven’t been removed from this government reform include remedial massage, Chinese medicine, and acupuncture. **4. Paying for health insurance policies are now friendlier to your pocket and your choice.** Before the health reforms, there wasn’t a provision that allows an increase in the maximum level of premiums that are going to be paid for. But since the change has taken effect, however, you now have the option to pay even more for your health insurance or medical bill should you wish to or have the capacity to do so. Members of health insurance policies now have the option to pay more or in excess when they are charged by the hospital so that they will be paying for lesser monthly premiums. If this option makes it better for your budget, consider this an advantage. Think of the same situation as paying for your car insurance in Australia: the same system now holds for the health insurance sector. The more that you pay the hospital, the higher the chance for you to enjoy lower premiums. Here’s an example: Before the health reform, the maximum excess that any single individual can pay at the hospital for a claim is 500 Australian dollars. Effective April 1, 2019, after the health reforms, you can now pay as high as 750 Australian dollars in excess for single individuals, and 1,500 Australian dollars in excess for married individuals and families. With this flexibility of financial choice, now you have no reason as to why you wouldn’t take out a private insurance policy in Australia. This insurance policy, after all, is for your own benefit. **5. Discounts are now available for Australian citizens below thirty years old.** If you’re under 30 years old, then here’s some good news for you: Some discounts are offered for your hospital policies annually before you reach 30. The amount of your discount will also be dependent on your age. Here’s a breakdown: 10% discount for those aged 18 to 25 years old 8% discount for those who are 26 years old 6% discount for those who are 27 years old 4% discount for those who are 28 years old 2% discount for those who are 29 years old These discounts are offered only if your insurer chooses to do so, as these are not mandatory or required by law. But, for your benefit, numerous insurance companies are providing this as well; hence, you need only to double check, or ask for these discounts from your health provider. **Conclusion** For every citizen, health insurance is always one of the best reforms that any government, in this case, the Australian government, can offer. When you get sick, it is quite comforting to know that you will no longer have to worry about the bill, as this is already taken care of through the health insurance premiums that you have been paying for. Information is power, and as an Aussie, it is to your benefit to know about these and more. That being said, Australia continues to be one of the world’s best and most developed countries, for all these reasons and many more. FOR MORE ON THIS SEE: https://insurance.qantas.com/health-insurance/2019-changes [1]: https://www.marketsandfairs.com.au/Admin/Blog-Article-Details?blog-article-id=1