Health Insurance Claims Top $2 Million Mark

Health Insurance Claims Top $2 Million Mark

Leading heath insurance fund Medibank Private has released a list of the most expensive benefit claims made by members.

Melbourne, VIC (PRWEB) February 27, 2009 -- A hospital bill of $364,859 for complex bowel surgery heads the annual Medibank Private "Chart Toppers" list of the most expensive health insurance (http://www.medibank.com.au/) benefit claims made by members of the fund.

The bowel surgery claim, costing 20 per cent more than last year's most expensive claim, helped push the total value of Medibank Private's top ten claims for the year (to 30 June 2008) to almost $2.4 million.

Second on the Chart Toppers list was a claim for neurosurgery which came in at $276,595. Third place was for 469 days of neonatal hospital care for which Medibank Private paid a benefit of $256,451 on behalf of the baby's parents.

Overall the number of very high cost claims on hospital cover (http://www.medibank.com.au/Health-Covers.aspx) has leapt, with Medibank Private covering 73 per cent more claims over $100,000, which increased from 86 to 149 during the period.

Medibank Private Industry Affairs Manager, Craig Bosworth, says the rising number of high cost claims indicates that the private health sector is increasingly carrying the burden of an ageing population and the complex, technologically intensive hospital care older people often require.

"The Medibank Private Chart Toppers list shows that providing quality healthcare is very expensive. With eight of the top ten claims for people aged 54 or over, it also illustrates that private health insurance (http://www.medibank.com.au/Health-Covers/About-Health-Insurance.aspx) is not just for elective surgery lumps and bumps, and members are increasingly using their private health insurance (http://www.medibank.com.au/Health-Covers.aspx) to cover themselves for the cost of complicated and potentially life saving surgery.

"Traditionally the high end surgeries would be borne by the public system. Now we are seeing people electing to use their private health insurance for these types of procedures, and enjoying the clear benefits it brings. These include choice of doctor, choice of hospital, and greater control over how soon the surgery can occur.

"This trend has been reflected in Medibank Private's hospital admission figures for 2007/08, which grew by 8 per cent over the previous year. In total we funded 810,000 hospital admissions, and as the Chart Toppers list shows, some of these are very expensive.

"Clearly the only way for most Australians to afford these type of medical procedures in a private hospital is with private health insurance", Mr Bosworth observed.

During 2006/07 Medibank Private spent $2.13 billion in benefit payments for hospital treatment. Overall the fund paid out $2.9 billion in hospital and ancillary benefits, an increase of 8.7 per cent on the previous year.

About Medibank Private:

Medibank Private is the largest Australian-owned provider of private health insurance covering more than three million people. Medibank Private offers health insurance to all Australians through retail and corporate products, as well as catering for overseas students and visitors.

Medibank Private has a 'Members Choice' network of contracted health providers consisting of over 449 private hospitals and day surgeries and 4,038 ancillary providers nationally. It has approximately 1,500 staff and 105 retail centres nationally, a national call centre and online access at www.medibank.com.au.

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Contact Information Nick Aridas

Medibank Private Health Insurance

http://www.medibank.com.au/

+613-8622-5132