Survey finds almost a quarter of Australian families don’t have health insurance

• 23% of Australian families don’t have health insurance
• 53% of Australian single parent families don’t have health insurance
• Individuals are spending between $41-$50 on private health insurance
• 30% of women vs 25% of men don’t have health insurance

As part of our ongoing research into Australian financial wellbeing, Savvy takes a comprehensive look at health insurance among Australians amid the rising cost of living and inflation.

A nationally representative survey commissioned by Savvy (n=1,000) has revealed that almost a quarter of Australian families (23%) are going without health insurance while another quarter are spending more than $81 per week on premiums.

With costs of living rising and inflation biting – with this week marking 11 RBA official cash rate rises in 12 months – Australian families are looking at their finances and wondering where they can make savings.

12% of those surveyed said they would downgrade their cover with another 12% saying they would switch providers to find a better deal; the 35-44s & 45-54s being most likely to. 7% would cancel their extras, with the 18–24-year-old cohort being most likely to do so (11%.)

7% would cancel their policy completely. 28% said they would not make any changes to their policy at current, with the over 65s being the most likely to do so (38%).

Many Australians forgoing health insurance

Alarmingly, 37% of singles and 31% of couples have no health insurance to speak of – and over half (53%) of single parent households have no health insurance.

As for the gender breakdown, women are more likely to not have any health insurance (30% vs 25% of men.)

Overall, 28% of Australians say they don’t have any active health insurance policies.

“With costs of living only seeming to go up, people who feel fit and healthy may be looking at their health insurance and wondering, ‘is this worth paying for?’,” says Savvy spokesperson Adrian Edlington. “Of course, that’s why we have insurance, to prepare for the unexpected.

“If they haven’t figured out whether paying for health insurance is more cost-effective after the rebate and being saddled with the Medicare levy, now is the time to make that calculation. The benefits will usually outweigh the costs, even if it’s just peace of mind.”