Private or Public? The declining growth in the use of private healthcare in Australia
Melbourne Institute Research Insight No. 27/20
Date: October 2020
Author(s):
Abstract
The past five years has seen a steady decline in private health insurance (PHI) membership in Australia. With rising premium prices and out-of-pocket costs, private healthcare has become increasingly unaffordable in an era of low wage growth. Given the private health sector relies heavily on PHI funding, this Research Insight explores how the decline in private health membership has affected the private hospital sector in Australia.