The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.
Industry under pressure : Private health premium rise hits 20-year low Industry under pressure : Private health premium rise hits 20-year low
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Australian private health insurers and hospitals will need to cut more costs to protect profit margins after the federal government on Monday approved the lowest increases to insurance premiums in 20 years.
Private health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 2.74 per cent on April 1 next year, Health Minister Greg Hunt said, which follows increases of 2.92 per cent this year and 3.25 per cent in 2019.
Costs are growing faster than premiums, putting health insurers and providers margins under pressure.
Big health insurers ratchet up premiums
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Australia s biggest for-profit health insurers Medibank, NIB and Bupa have been given the federal government s blessing to increase premiums at a higher rate than their biggest non-profit competitors HCF and HBF, health department figures show.
Of the big five, NIB s increase was the highest at 4.36 per cent, while HBF s was the lowest at 0.94 per cent. Medibank secured an increase of 3.25 per cent, Bupa s was 3.21 per cent and HCF s was 2.95 per cent.
Together those five funds make up more than 80 per cent of the market.
NIB boss Mark Fitzgibbon: âGiven NIB s success in growing our membership base . we are effectively subsiding the rest of the industry. Â
Industry under pressure : Private health premium rise hits 20-year low Industry under pressure : Private health premium rise hits 20-year low
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Australian private health insurers and hospitals will need to cut more costs to protect profit margins after the federal government on Monday approved the lowest increases to insurance premiums in 20 years.
Private health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 2.74 per cent on April 1 next year, Health Minister Greg Hunt said, which follows increases of 2.92 per cent this year and 3.25 per cent in 2019.
Costs are growing faster than premiums, putting health insurers and providers margins under pressure.
Health Insurance Premiums to Rise
The federal government has authorised a rise in private health insurance premiums that will cost families an extra $126 a year on average.
The 2.74 percent annual increase will take effect from April and builds on rises of 2.92 percent this year and 3.25 percent in 2019.
Almost 14 million Australians will be impacted by the cost increase.
A single person will pay an extra $1.14 per week, and a family will pay $2.44 more a week.
But Health Minister Greg Hunt says it’s the lowest annual average premium increase in 20 years.
“Australian government reforms mean private health insurance will continue to offer Australian families affordable choice and flexibility in their health care,” his office said in a statement on Monday.