Australians are being admitted to hospital and receiving more hospital treatments than ever before, due to an ageing population, increasing prevalence of illness, and advancements in medical technologies.
New analysis of Medibank data shows there were more than 1.2 million claims by members for hospital admissions and procedures in the twelve months to June 2015, and Medibank paid more than $3.47 billion in benefits for these claims – an increase of 3.4 per cent on the previous financial year.
In total, Medibank Group paid a record $5.1 billion in hospital and extras benefits in FY2015 on behalf of Medibank and ahm members. This is 4.3 per cent more than was paid in FY2014 ($4.9 billion).
“Medibank is paying more in claimable benefits than ever before, and working hard to improve affordability, value and transparency of our products and of private healthcare more broadly,” Medibank Managing Director, George Savvides, said.
“We want our members to live healthy and active lives so they don’t have to go to hospital, and, if they are admitted to hospital, we want them to receive the best healthcare so they have the best health outcomes possible.”
“Overall, we know the costs of private healthcare are increasing. We know Australians are going to hospital more often – the number of hospital admissions per member has grown on average 3.7 per cent every year for the last five years,” Mr Savvides said.
“Add to this the rising costs of services, and that patients receive more treatments per admission, and there is increasing pressure across the entire sector.”
The most common overnight hospital procedure in FY2015 was for childbirth. Medibank paid hospital benefits of over $150 million for approximately more than 20,500 childbirth-related admissions.
“I’m delighted that in the last financial year, Medibank was able to support more than 20,500 of our members as they welcomed new additions to their families,” Mr Savvides said.
“The costs of health services are increasing, and we are paying more in benefits each year and ensuring our members receive the best value from their cover,” Mr Savvides said.
“We are also working closely with our partners and the industry to try to improve affordability of services and to reduce waste and inefficiency.”
Following childbirth, the most common overnight procedures in FY2015 among Medibank members were rehabilitation, knee replacements, shoulder procedures and hip replacements.