Benefits Paid by Health Funds
11 June 2011The total benefits paid by private health insurance funds for all types of hospital and general treatment services in the year ending March 2011 was $12.8 billion. This was comprised of $9.5 billion for hospital treatment, and $3.2 billion for general treatment.
Benefits paid increased across all category types, with hospital treatment benefits increasing by 9.1% and total benefits increasing by 8.7%.
Selected statistics from the AHIA Private health insurance Industry Satatistics Quarterly Report for the year ending 31 March 2011 are presented below:
Hospital Treatment Benefits
- Benefits paid for treatment in private hospitals totaled $5.7 billion, an increase of 8.7% on the year ending March 2010.
- Benefits paid for treatment in public hospitals totaled $658 million, an increase of 10.3% on the previous year.
- Benefits paid for treatment in freestanding day surgeries totaled $944 million, an increase of 5.6% on the previous year.
- Private health insurance funds paid benefits of $1.5 billion for medical services (gaps), an increase of 9.4% from the previous year.
- $1.4 billion was paid to insured persons for prostheses services, an increase of 9.9% from the year ending 31 March 2010.
General Treatment Benefits
- A total of $3.2 billion was paid for allied health services in the year ending 31 March 2011, an increase of 6.0% from the previous year.
- Of the $3.2 billion in allied health services benefits, $1.6 billion was paid for dental services (+5.1%), $563 million for optical services (+10.1%), $222 million for chiropractic services (+5.1%), $255 million for physiotherapy services (+8.1%) and $78 million for podiatry services (-1.2%) when compared to the year ending December 2009.
- Benefits paid for treatment provided in a hospital-substitute setting totaled $14 million during the period.
- Private health insurance funds paid $42 million in benefits for chronic disease management programs during the period.
Follow Us