Wanting to avoid public hospital waiting times is the main reason Australians take out private health insurance according to a new survey commissioned by comparison company, comparethemarket.com.au.
The survey of 1,000 Australian adults with private health insurance found 29 percent had cover to avoid long public hospital waiting times. This rose to 42 percent for survey respondents aged over 65.
The respondents did not consider the diagnosis of a health condition, health scares and risks, as significant enough reasons for taking out health insurance. On average, less than 10 percent of respondents chose these as the main reasons for taking out cover.
“Patients with private health insurance wait less than half the time that public patients do for elective surgery," said Abigail Koch from comparethemarket.com.au.
"Private health insurance can also give you the freedom to choose your own doctor and even the date you would like to be admitted to hospital. We encourage all Aussies who are thinking about taking out cover, no matter the reason, to compare policies and prices”.