Edition 66
March 2010
Message from the Manager
Contribution Rates from 1st April 2010
The Fund will be increasing the Contribution Rates for both the Hospital and Ancillary Tables as detailed in the personal letter accompanying this edition of Healthlinks.
The Fund continues to work with our industry partners to contain the increases in our costs, with the increase overall slightly less than last year. The increase has been determined with the best advice available, and approved by the federal Minister for Health as being the minimum required to ensure continued ability to pay benefits as needed, and to ensure the ongoing viability of the Fund.
Benefits paid from the Hospital Table in 2009 totalled over $12,247,000, with over $5,097,000 paid from the Ancillary Table.
YoungSavers
We have increased the Contribution Rate for YoungSavers for the first time since inception, January 2007 – up from $60 per month to $61.20.
Updated Item Benefits from 1st April 2010
We have increased a considerable number of Item Benefits in the Ancillary Table—comparing well to benefits available from other funds.
Health Fund Brochure
In the next few months we will be issuing a revised Health Fund Brochure, and in the meantime included in this mail-out is an insert showing the new contribution rates, with Rates after applying the Federal Government Rebates on private health insurance.
30% Rebate applies to most members, with the 35% and 40% Rebates applying when an individual on a membership reaches their 65th or 70th birthday.
The contribution rates leaflet does not include any Lifetime Health Cover loadings. These are available on request to our office on Freecall 1800 02 8817
The accompanying letter takes the Rebates and Lifetime Health Cover loadings (if applicable) into account.
If you have arranged Periodical Payments of your Contributions to Phoenix Health Fund, please advise your financial institution of the new rates.
William Beaton
Chief Executive Officer
The Back Page
We often have people ask “What are the advantages of private health insurance”?
People who have private health insurance have the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are covered for the best available medical treatments if and when they become necessary. And with public hospital waiting lists at record highs, you may be risking a long wait to gain the treatment you need if you’re not covered privately.
Private health insurance has many advantages that could well come in handy should you run into bad health, including:
- Giving you the option of being treated by your doctor of choice
- Shorter waiting times for elective surgery
- Allows you more control over when and where to be treated
- Helps with services not covered by Medicare such as dental, optical, chiropractic, physiotherapy, etc.
In the last few years the Australian Government has introduced initiatives designed to make private hospital insurance more attractive to the everyday Australian.
The Medicare Levy Surcharge
The Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) is levied on Australian Taxpayers who do not have private hospital cover and who earn above a certain income. To be exempt from the surcharge, your hospital cover must be held with a registered health fund and cover some or all of the fees and charges for a stay in hospital. General treatment cover without hospital cover will not provide an exemption from the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
Federal Government 30% Rebate
The Federal Government 30% Rebate on private health insurance makes it more affordable by reducing your contributions. For every dollar that you contribute to your private health insurance premium, the Government will give you back at least 30 cents as a Private Health Insurance Rebate. So as you can see, there really are great reasons to take up private health insurance and with the added benefit of government inventive, there’s no better time to join.
For more information, call our friendly team on Freecall 1800 028 817.
Travel Insurance
From 8th February 2010 Phoenix Health Fund will be changing the way in which we offer members travel insurance with our partners at QBE. In an effort to reduce administrative costs and application approval times, Phoenix Health Fund will no longer give Travel Insurance quotes on behalf of QBE, but will instead require you to contact QBE directly. To apply for discounted travel insurance with QBE, simply jump onto our website and follow the prompts into the QBE website to gain a quote and apply, or call QBE on 1300 555 017.
