Late yesterday, the Federal Government announced an average private health insurance premium increase of 4.41% effective from 1 April 2026.

In this announcement, Minister for Health Mark Butler noted that rising medical and hospital costs, which increased by 5% over the last financial year, have been a key contributing factor to this year’s premium outcome, alongside growing pressure on private hospitals and related workforce costs.

What does this mean for you as a Hunter Health Insurance member?

Our average premium adjustment for 2026 is 3.92%. This is below the current CPI rate and significantly lower than the 5.12% average increase reported by major for-profit insurers.

As a not-for-profit health fund, we are committed to putting our members first. We operate on a lower net margin than for-profit insurers and reinvest our surplus back into member benefits, rather than distributing profits to shareholders or overseas investors. Our focus is delivering value, care and long-term sustainability for our community.

Note that the actual increase for each policyholder may be slightly different – you will receive correspondence about your individual policy soon.

Why are health insurance premiums increasing?

Across the industry, insurers paid out more than $26.7 billion in benefits in the year to September 2025, including $20 billion for hospital treatment and $6.7 billion for general treatment. Hospital accommodation costs recorded their highest growth since 2008.

As private hospitals face rising operating costs, wage growth and workforce challenges, the cost of delivering hospital and medical care continues to increase. This organically pushes member premiums to increase across all the sector to reflect the rising cost of healthcare.

Our commitment to you

Despite these pressures, at Hunter Health Insurance, we remain firmly committed to keeping premiums as affordable as possible for our members while maintaining strong benefits.

As a member, you can choose your treating practitioner or facility without being restricted to, or penalised by, a preferred provider network. This flexibility gives you greater control over your healthcare decisions and ensures your cover works for you.

Not sure how these changes impact you directly or have questions about your cover? You can get in touch with our local team by calling or emailing us today or pop into our branch in Cessnock.