PHI Hikes

23 January 2015

In an interview with Ross Greenwood on Sydney's 2GB today, ADA President Dr. Rick Olive criticised the latest round of PHI premium increases as "profiteering", pointing out that the percentage increase of 6.18% is well in excess of both the CPI and Health CPI.

"We think the increases are primarily profit driven."

He went on to note that PHI surpluses, that is the difference between the premiums PHI funds charge their contributors and what they pay out to them, has been steadily increasing for a number of years now.

Aiding this growth in profit margins is that fact that the money paid back to contributors have remained at roughly the same level.

The ADA is calling for closer scrutiny of premium increases, concerned that the regulatory bodies charged with oversight of PHI have made no moves to scale back the ever-growing premium increases.