Private Health Insurance Reforms

In late 2017 the Health Minister announced a number of wide ranging private health insurance (PHI) reforms that came into effect in 2019. These reforms focussed on improving affordability and reducing the complexity of private health insurance products. They centre around making private health insurance easier to understand and encouraging younger people to consider taking it out.

During September and October 2018 the Government finalised the legislation and rules that govern these changes. The reforms came in to place on 1 April 2019 changes and we’ve put together a table which provides a brief update on some of the key changes to Members cover can as a result of the reforms.

Will there be any changes to my cover?

Throughout this process our main focus was our Members and we were determined to keep any changes to products to a minimum for existing Members.

The majority of our Members will not be impacted however unfortunately there are some small changes for some Members as a result of these reforms. There are also a number of positive changes to products as well. There are a mixture of changes to hospital products as a result of the new clinical categories. These changes were communicated to Members at the same time as our premium rate notifications in February 2019. 

There were also some required changes made to our extras products with the removal of natural therapies, however the introduction of Chinese Medicine into some of our extras products is a great addition. We have also increased our dental benefits for a scale and clean for all Members.

What's changed?

The Private Health Insurance Reforms means a lot has changed in our industry and we have worked hard to ensure positive outcomes for Members of Territory Health Fund. To review what's changed, read our guide here or click on a section that's relevant or of interest to you below.

You may also like to visit the Australian Government - Department of Health website to learn more.

What are my options?

1. You don't have to do anything, these changes have automatically occurred.

2. Contact our friendly team if you'd like to have a chat.

3. Ask us for a cover review.