Upcoming Changes to Private Health Insurance for Bariatric Surgery

At the start of April, 2019, the Australian Government is introducing changes to private health insurance.

These changes have been created by the government to give greater clarity around health insurance and the services covered. The purpose is to make it easier to compare hospital products so individuals can find the cover which best suits their needs. The proposed changes will see insurance to be classified into four tiers – Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic.

What does this mean and how does this affect me?

• Depending on you level of your health insurance cover you may be affected by these changes.
• The private health insurance forms may push patients onto public hospital waiting lists or change the care they offer to people at different levels of cover.
• These changes will see bariatric, spinal, cataract and some orthopaedic surgery all insured at the highest priced level despite currently being covered in some lower cost policies.
• This will shift bariatric surgery to be restricted to the gold tier cover, making it increasingly difficult for patients to undergo the procedure.

The Australian federal government has created a factsheet to create clarification around which treatments are included in Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic policies.

If you are interested in discussing your bariatric surgery options with Perth Weight Loss and Surgery please use our website form to contact us to see if we can fit you in before these changes occur.