Private health insurers shuffle deck chairs on Titanic

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The latest private health insurance coverage data from APRA revealed that the private health hospital coverage of adults fell to a new low of 43.8%, and has fallen by 3.3% since the Coalition took office in 2013:

Separate annual data from APRA also shows that coverage has collapsed amongst healthy young cohorts while rising among the elderly:

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The above charts add weight to the claim that Australia’s private health insurance industry is facing a ‘death spiral’. Young and healthy people (the so-called “invincibles”) continue to leave system, thus leaving a larger proportion of unhealthier, older, expensive users.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.