Government approves health insurance premium increase

Medibank today announced its health insurance premiums will increase by an average of 3.99% on 1 April 2025, following approval by the Federal Health Minister.

The premium increase, which applies to Medibank and ahm health insurance policies, equates to a $1.42 rise per week for a single on a bronze hospital and extras policy or $6.38 per week for a family on a silver hospital and extras policy.

Due to recent changes made by the NSW State Government, the amount that we pay for our customers to stay overnight in a single room in a public hospital has increased substantially. This unfortunately means that customers in NSW will see a higher than average premium increase of 4.81%.

Medibank Chief Customer Officer Milosh Milisavljevic said Medibank is committed to keeping premiums as low as we can while also acknowledging the rising cost of healthcare which is outpacing general inflation.

“We are committed to do what we can to make healthcare affordable and accessible for our customers,” said Mr Milisavljevic.

“We know that cost of living remains a real issue for many people, and our focus has been to balance rising health costs with the need to keep premiums affordable for our customers. Over the past 12 months, we have returned more than $300 million to our customers through our COVID-19 give back and support program, taking the total amount we’ve returned to our customers to a record $1.46 billion – to date this is the largest of any health insurer in Australia.

“There is no doubt that there is pressure in the health system. Many private hospitals are doing it tough, and we have been supporting them to address cost pressures.

“We know nobody likes to see their health insurance premiums go up, which is why we have worked hard to ensure this year’s is as low as it can be despite rising costs. It’s also significantly lower than the price rises for other insurance types, such as car and house. Over the past seven years, we have taken out more than $100 million in expenses to keep our own costs down which we can pass onto our customers through lower premium rises.

“We also are focused on making sure our customers can get great value through our products and services. That might be a family getting 100% back on up to two dental check-ups each year through their Members’ Choice Advantage dentist, or a customer having a knee replacement and saving an average of $1,900 in out-of-pocket costs through our no gap network.

“All Medibank health insurance customers have unlimited access to our 24/7 Nurse and Mental Health support lines and webchat services, where they can speak to a nurse or mental health professional any time of the day to discuss any health questions and get guidance on what to do next.

“We also offer value through our Live Better rewards program, which offers customers ways to earn up to $400 of value a year while looking after their health and wellbeing.”

Customer hardship support

Customers who need financial support can contact us to apply for hardship support or to review whether a lower level of cover would meet their health needs.

Further information

• The premiums charged for each product are influenced by several factors such as the state/territory a product is offered in and the costs associated with health treatments (e.g. hospital stays), the type of cover (e.g. family, single), the excess levels and the general claiming pattern on that product.
• The average premium increase is an overall figure. Customers may experience a premium change above or below the average.
• Medibank and ahm customers will be formally notified of their new premium via post or email from mid-March.
• Medibank customers can also find more information about premiums on the Medibank website or by calling Medibank on 132 331, and ahm customers can visit the ahm website or call ahm on 134 246.