The Nationals-Liberal Government is announcing a wide ranging package of reforms to make private health insurance simpler and more affordable for people in the Electorate of Parkes. 
Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton said every dollar matters to families in the Electorate and these reforms will give better value and make policies easier to understand.
“Private health insurance is an essential and valuable part of Australia’s health system,” Mr Coulton said.
“We are encouraging younger Australians to take up private health insurance by allowing insurers to discount hospital insurance premiums for 18 to 29 year olds by up to 10 per cent. The discount will phase out after people turn 40.
“People with hospital insurance that does not offer full cover for mental health treatment will be able to upgrade their cover and access mental health services without a waiting period on a once-off basis. This will significantly enhance the value of private health insurance for young people.
 “To support Australians in regional and rural areas, insurers will be able to offer travel and accommodation benefits for people who need to travel for treatment. This is of significant benefit to people who live in regional areas.
“We know that many people would like to be able to select a higher excess in exchange for lower premiums.
“That is why we will increase the maximum excess consumers can choose under their health insurance policies for the first time since 2001.  This will allow many consumers to reduce their premium increase in 2019.”
Health Minister, Greg Hunt said that many Australians currently find private health insurance confusing and their level of cover hard to understand. 
He said the privatehealth.gov.au website will be upgraded to make it easier to compare insurance products, and insurers will be able to provide personalised information to consumers on their product every year. 
“We’re also boosting the powers of the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman and increasing its resources to ensure consumer complaints are resolved clearly and quickly,” Minister Hunt said.  
“The Government is committed to private health insurance and we’re committed to supporting the more than 13 million Australians that have taken out cover.”