See how over one million Australians have better health insurance than you

The status quo of private healthcare is changing. The ‘for profit’ way of operating a health fund is not meeting customer needs, while the not-for-profit funds in the Members Own group are growing rapidly.

Here’s what’s going on

Healthcare service providers (such as specialist medical staff, dentists, physiotherapists and so on) are raising their prices. When this happens, insurance companies are forced to raise their premiums to compensate. The same thing would happen in car insurance if car parts manufacturers continuously raised their costs.

But that only explains half the story. It doesn’t explain why health cover benefits are decreasing at disproportional rates for so many Australians.

As it turns out, benefits aren’t decreasing across the board. It’s the customers of the for-profit private health companies who are the most affected.

The well-known for-profit funds (Medibank/ahm, Bupa, and NIB), operate to make money for their investors or overseas owners, and when healthcare service prices go up, their premiums increase and in some instances they are forced to reduce member benefits to maintain shareholder profit.

This means that the member ends up paying more for less, while the investors still get their cut. Customers like you have begun to recognise that the old model of for-profit healthcare doesn’t provide as much value anymore. As a result, data published by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) shows that the for-profit funds have lost market share.

Is there a solution for you, the customer?

Yes. All you have to do is follow the market share. Over one million Australians are already with a Members Own fund, and there’s no reason why you can’t be part of the movement.

The APRA data shows that the not-for-profit Members Own health funds grew their market share in 2016, recording an increase in total policies of 57,661. In a slow- or negative-growth market, this is especially worth paying attention to.

How is this possible?

Members Own Health Funds is comprised of 17 not-for-profit and mutual health funds, each of whom share the belief that the not-for-profit model is a better alternative to for-profit health insurance.

A key advantage of the Members Own Health Funds approach is that there are no shareholders to pander to. The health requirements of members are put first.

The downstream effect of this means that policy benefits aren’t cut to make up for lost shareholder profit margins.

A further look into the statistics reveal that the policyholders of the Members Own funds are able to access a more generous benefits package (as a percentage of contributions) than members of the big for-profit funds.

Held side by side with the for-profits, Australian government data shows that Members Own Health Funds offer a significantly higher benefit to contribution ratio. Where the for-profits managed to provide health benefits equal to just 84.7 per cent of their members’ contributions in 2016, the Members Own health funds achieved an industry high total of 88.7 per cent.

This literally means more bang for your buck.

Members Own funds also achieved a remarkably low share of customer complaints relative to their market share – an offshoot of their members-first approach to operation.

So if a Members Own fund sounds like the sort of health insurer you deserve, jump on our Members Own comparison tool today and find a health fund that gives more back.

Compare online and find great health insurance

Members Own comparison service makes it easy to compare between 100s of health insurance options from most of the Members Own funds. You can browse for cover that suits your needs and budget, create a shortlist of policies you want to compare side-by-side, and save your search.

It’s quick and easy to join online and you get the same great price as buying direct.