01 April 2019: Commonwealth Ombudsman launches new version of its Privatehealth.gov.au website

On 1 April 2019, the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman launched a new version of its Privatehealth.gov.au website.

The website is Australia’s leading independent source of consumer information about private health insurance. It is also the only website that allows users to search the features and premium costs of every policy available in Australia.

The website’s new features include:

• Information about the government’s Private Health Insurance Reforms, including new product tiers for hospital policies (Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic).
• An improved search feature that allows users to filter down results based on the services they are most interested in, or the premium they are prepared to pay. Search results can be displayed in a vertical ‘tile’ format, allowing users to compare policies side by side.
• A new, simpler Private Health Insurance Statement (PHIS) which summarises the most important features of every policy. Users can download, print or email PHISs to enable them to consider the information at a time that suits them.
• A new premium estimator so users can decide whether to compare policies according to the base premiums or an estimated premium that takes into account their rebate and/or Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading.
• An updated look and feel, including compatibility with mobile devices.
• Improvements to existing features such as the Agreement Hospitals finder which shows which hospitals are covered by each insurer.

During the reform’s transition period from 1 April 2019 to 1 April 2020, health insurers will be transferring existing policies across to the new tiers gradually. The website will always include all available policies, as health insurers are required to keep information on the Privatehealth.gov.au website up to date at all times.