Bupa delays its 2022 price increase (finally)
Bupa has announced it will delay its annual price increase from 1 April to 1 October.
Took them long enough.
Several health insurance funds are delaying their 2022 price increases including Medibank/ahm, HCF, nib and Teachers Health*. Most of these funds announced their plans in December 2021, or shortly after.
Bupa, however, waited until 11 March 2022, just a few weeks before 1 April, which is when health funds normally increase prices. This made it the last of Australia's major health insurance funds to delay the price rise.
No doubt Bupa was feeling some competitive pressure – being the only big fund to raise prices in April wouldn't have been a great look.
*Including Nurses & Midwives Health and Uni Health, which are both operated by Teachers Health
Why are health funds delaying their price increases?
In a normal year, the federal government has to approve the annual price increase for each fund. The price increase typically happens for every fund at once, on 1 April.
In 2022, many health funds say they are delaying the increase to 'give back' to their members, after several very profitable years. Specifically, the COVID pandemic resulted in increased profits, as Australians were less able to receive non-urgent elective hospital treatments, or claim on extras cover.
The table below outlines all of the health funds that are delaying the 2022 price increases. It also shows how much each fund will increase their price by, and when.
| Fund name | Date of price increase | Price rise |
|---|---|---|
| Medibank | 1 September 2022 | 3.10% |
| ahm | 1 September 2022 | 3.10% |
| Bupa | 1 October 2022 | 3.18% |
| HCF | 1 September 2022 | 2.72% |
| nib | 1 September 2022 | 2.66% |
| Teachers Health | 1 October 2022 | 2.17% |
| Nurses & Midwives | 1 October 2022 | 2.17% |
| UniHealth | 1 October 2022 | 2.17% |
So, should I do anything on 1 April?
The longstanding tradition of health funds charging us more each April has made it Australia's unofficial "Shop Around for Better Health Cover" holiday. But what should you do this year?
Well, you should still shop around for better health cover.
There doesn't need to be a price rise for you to be able to save money on health insurance. Maybe you might want to up or downgrade your cover. Or perhaps you want to see if you can get the same coverage for less.
Whatever the reason, comparing health insurance from multiple funds is generally a good idea, and may help you find better cover for less.
