Doorstop interview: Private health insurance premium increases

CATHERINE KING, SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND MEDICARE: Thanks for coming out this afternoon. Reports today that private health insurance premiums are set to go up by another $200 is more disappointing news for people across Australia. We know that wages growth is stagnant, and cost of living pressures have never been higher. The Turnbull Government now will have presided over a 25% increase in private health insurance premiums and for average families that is $1,000. A thousand dollars that private health insurance premiums will have gone up. It means that under this Government they are simply becoming unaffordable for many Australians, and that’s why we've seen over 10,000 people drop their private health insurance cover under this Government. Frankly, the Turnbull Government has not done enough, if this increase is going to be $200, to drive down private health insurance premiums. Either Malcolm Turnbull was lying last year when he said private health insurance was going to be more affordable or he simply thinks that a thousand dollar increase is more affordable. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: They're forecasting it to be under 4%, do you think they’ll be able to deliver on that?

KING: Well I think that they’ve been forecasting all sorts of things. I think that any increase is going to be putting pressure on families. The fact that Malcolm Turnbull thinks that a $200 increase, $1000 over their term in Government, is more affordable shows just how out of touch he is.

JOURNALIST: The rise of 4% is double the rate of inflation, how concerning is that?

KING: Well double the rate of inflation is simply not good enough. The Government has been in bed with the private health insurers trying to negotiate this rather than actually standing up to private health insurers to say that this product is now becoming unaffordable for many Australians and it’s about time we did something about it. Instead of rubber stamping private health insurance premium increases, actually standing up to the private health insurers and saying, with stagnant wages growth, with cost of living pressures, this product is becoming unaffordable for Australians and simply what the Government has done is not good enough.

JOURNALIST: This low-level premium increase; is it a one off or is it going to get worse down the track as well?

KING: Of course it's going to be worse down the track. The Government has negotiated with private health insurers to try to reduce some of the costs in private health insurance and worked with them to try to do that. This is what they’ve delivered this year, we're saying it's not good enough, they're going to have to keep doing that every single year if they’re going to try to reduce the increases in private health insurance premiums and there is no indication that they’re prepared to do that.

JOURNALIST: The expectation of the Government is that it is going to be the lowest private health insurance premium increase in years, is that not welcome news?

KING: Certainly Labor welcomed the initiatives that the Government put in place to work with private health insurance to reduce some of the costs. But if Malcolm Turnbull thinks a $200 increase this year is making private health insurance more affordable then he is kidding himself.

JOURNALIST: On another topic, Linda Burney suggested holding a national public holiday to celebrate Indigenous heritage, possibly replacing the Queen's Birthday, would you support that?

KING: Well, that is not Labor's position, but I respect that Linda as someone who has a long history with these issues is highlighting very simply that as a nation these are complex issues for us to grapple with. I think it's very important that we do understand that for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians there is a lot of healing still to be done. Any way that we can work with Indigenous Elders to work out how we might do that better as a nation, to have truth telling about our stories and our histories, I think are important ones.

JOURNALIST: Back to the premiums, do you think this will encourage more people to stop using private health insurance?

KING: I think two things are happening. We are starting to see more and more people drop out of private health insurance because the product is unaffordable. It is also not value for money for many people. The increase in out of pocket costs that people are having to pay for private health insurance, they’ve been growing so people are finding it not great value. Or people are downgrading their products then finding when they actually have to use their private health insurance they’re not covered for the sorts of things they thought they were. Again, with wages stagnant, with cost of electricity and other utilities going through the roof, and this has all happened under Malcolm Turnbull's watch, with all of those things happening families are having to say 'what can I afford in my budget and what can't I?’ Of course we have a fantastic public system that is Medicare, but it is under strain because the Government has cut so much money out of our public hospitals. The system is under pressure, and the Government is with this latest increase potentially going to put our public system under more pressure as more and more people drop out of private health insurance.

JOURNALIST: Figures show only one in four are able to access top speeds on the fibre-to-the-node NBN roll out, is it too late to change the mix of technology?

KING: Again, what an absolute failure. Malcolm Turnbull who was the Communications Minister, and now as PM, is trying to tell us that the NBN is fantastic under him, what an absolute disgrace. We know that the decision that this Government made to rely on copper is only going to make the system worse. Every time it rains that system fails many, many people. Every time the copper starts to degrade in your neighbourhood, your street or your rural property, then the system gets even worse. This has been a national disaster frankly. They took a decision to go back to old technology and the reason people can’t get the speeds that they were promised they were going to get and the reason that this system is costing more and more is frankly all at the feet of Malcolm Turnbull.