Access to key procedures in hospital in a timely fashion is a key reason why people take out health insurance. While more choice is, generally speaking, better for consumers, sometimes the array of options on the table can leave people overwhelmed and afraid to make any choices at all, even if the inertia sees them spending more money than they need to.
The difficulty for consumers is not just the confusion of choice – it is finding a product which meets their needs at their particular time in life, at an affordable cost. Rising costs reflect, in large part, the increasing price of medical procedures, but the insurers often do not provide customers with clear guidance to help them get the most appropriate insurance product at the lowest price.that the market has grown too complex.
If the unholy alliance of farm bodies and industry is successful in its lobbying, the price will be our rivers and lakes It believes legislative changes may be needed to simplify the market, but this would take time and the legal roadmap is unclear. In the meantime, it will explore what can be done “on a voluntary basis” to make the market work better for consumers. It remains to be seen what – if anything – will come of this. Insurers need to do the right thing by their customers and make the market less complicated and more transparent. If not, legislation will, indeed, be needed.