Medibank Private

[Julia]

I don't think the numbers have been published yet but private health insurance is currently strongly incentivised through the tax system by the federal government.

A long term question is the extent to which that will remain the case.

Yes. And why I'd not be making any commitment until more detail is known. Government incentives have an understandable basis in terms of reducing pressure on the public health system, but that is completely not applicable when the company is run on a private, for-profit basis.

With all the other cost of living pressures at present, if the subsidy were to be removed I'd guess the membership would fall quite dramatically.
At this stage, just too much we don't know.

 

[drsmith]

With all the other cost of living pressures at present, if the subsidy were to be removed I'd guess the membership would fall quite dramatically.
At this stage, just too much we don't know.

The tax incentives aren't all subsidy. There's a carrot element in the private health insurance and a stick element in the Medicare levy surcharge.

If the tax incentives were removed and membership fell dramatically, there's only one other place for them to go. That in itself is a complex question for government.

 

[Julia]

The tax incentives aren't all subsidy. There's a carrot element in the private health insurance and a stick element in the Medicare levy surcharge.

Quite. The point, however, is that no private company will have to take into account the various factors that currently influence government policy on M. Private.

 

[SirRumpole]

Premiums across the board are sure to rise after the sale. The restraint of the government owned M.B.P. was the deciding factor in keeping the premiums down.