Private health insurers were given $8 billion in subsidies in the last budget. Bupa then paid $536 million out to its UK parent. NIB spent $214 million last year on marketing and commissions, 6.2 cents of every premium dollar, close to three times what Bupa and Medibank each spend on the same thing.
Michael West goes through the numbers on Australia’s private health funds. Five of them hold around 82% of the market. They lobby every year for more public money while posting the kind of returns the big four banks don’t match, and the advertising spend that creates the sense you need the cover also keeps the story out of the outlets carrying the ads.
Michael has paid roughly $70,000 in premiums over the years. When he went deaf in one ear, his fund returned less than a month’s worth of those premiums and Medicare covered the bulk of the operation.
Reporting by Claudia Weisenberger, who pulled the Bupa dividend out of the accounts. First in a series. Next episode: why this isn’t really insurance at all.
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00:00 Opening
01:39 Bupa’s Dividend
02:59 Premiums and Advertising
04:13 Where the Money Goes
06:45 How the Scam Works
08:14 Is It Worth It
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.
