Introduction

The health care costs in Australia are rising more than ever and it wasn’t a surprise for anyone when Sussan Ley, the health minister, announced in 2016, the average rise of private health insurance premiums by 5.59 percent.

What is the government doing to minimize the Medical care costs?

The government aims for an improved health care and reduce its costs, wherever possible. In this process, it has contemplated many new ideas, such as-

• To enroll its 7 million Australians who are suffering from complex and chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, diabetes, mental illness etc., with a single GP practice.
• The Possibility of entirely scraping out the subsidy. Instead of this subsidy, the government can pay 40% of the costs a patient incurs due to his private or public hospital treatment.
• Revamp the e-health record system of the government to include the summary authored by a GP, the data of medication and allergy, and the results of blood test and scans.
• The mental health system is also going through reforms and will lead to an integrated care package for the people suffering from a severe mental illness.
• Making changes in the payment process of GPs by guiding the patients through health care system by using paid care coordinators will eliminate the burden of red tape on doctors.

Why are the Healthcare costs rising at a faster pace?

Health care expenses take up a large portion of the government budgets and have grown by 74%. Some of the categories in this health spending are more expensive than others, especially, medical services (incl. Medicare), hospitals, and pharmaceuticals

Besides, other factors also have their role in the increasing health costs. For example- the rapidly growing population is also aging, proportionally, which contributes to the rising health inflation even more and faster than the Consumer price index.

However, these factors are just the tip of the iceberg. If we go deep down to find the prominent reason behind the rise of health care costs, you will that the Australian people, regardless of their age group, are accessing more expensive medical services now and they are doing it frequently.

The rise in the health care costs has made health care service more effective than ever

The rising health care costs are,to an extent, justified by the advancements in healthcare facilities, technology, and medical training. It is now possible for the people to get medications or treatments that weren’t there 10-15 years ago.

You can understand it in this way, the medical services, such as visiting the physician frequently, consuming more prescribed medications, taking diagnostic tests and undergoing surgical procedures, received by a 55-year-old today are considerably more than the what a typical 55 years old got a decade ago.

Therefore, the prominent reason behind the rising health costs is that we are going for medical services more often and on the other hand those services are also upgrading and improving in terms of quality,leading to their higher price.

Is the rise in medical care costs bad?

It is not a bad thing at all, as it is something that is expected from the prosperous economy of first-world. The extra costs of health care bring along the benefits of a fantastic life expectancy of Australia. The high standard of health care in Australia is also something that is envied upon by other countries.

And, since these benefits are derived from the advancements in the healthcare industry, they usually don’t come cheap, and therefore, the citizens have to pay for them to

How can you bring your Health Care Costs down?

• The first thing which is the golden rule of a healthy life- prevention is better than cure– should be actively followed. The easiest and the simplest way to keep your health care costs down is by keeping oneself free from ailments to stay fit and healthy.

You will have a less need to go for the health services this way, and consequently, you would be spending much less than ever on your health care services.

Adopting the healthier lifestyle choices will keep the diseases and complications at bay that in turn will lessen the economic burden on the national health system.

• The next thing is to get yourself checked in time if you experience any unusual signals from your body. The screening for health issues including cancer is quite easy- just go to your doctor and get it sorted out in time.

It is better to get checked sooner rather than later, and in this way, you would be saving much of your expenses by treating your disease in its early stage rather than letting it grow and develop until it becomes life-threatening requiring an economically unaffordable treatment.

• Pre-planning for your uncertain future is the next thing to keep your health care costs down. Life is a gamble and doesn’t come with guarantees. Even after you are doing all possible things to stay healthy, you can’t ever be sure of what your future has in it for you.

Accidents and unexpected illnesses have their hidden part in our lives, and therefore, we should plan to deal with such incidents.

Online health insurance like Qantas Assure, provide financial support to relieve you of your financial pressures that you face in such conditions. An insurance covers your expenses associated with your health services such as your stay in thehospital, surgery, and many other troublesome surprises.

A private health insurance also helps you in maintaining your health by covering your payments for the specialist health care services such as chiropractors, dentists, podiatrists, physiotherapists, optometrists, psychologists and more.

What can you do to reduce your insurance premium costs?

Health insurance premiums are rising every year and leave negligible room to do anything about it, but there are other things that can pare down the costs of your individual health insurances.

You need to assess your needs and the insurance cover you have opted for. Do you really need it? If yes, are you getting the cover for which you are paying?

Health insurance industry is highly competitive now and you can easily find one that better suits your needs on the basis of your requirements, the one that brings along the bonus deals, policy add-ons, sign up discounts and many other incentives.