Australia’s largest health insurer, Bupa, announced today it would be delaying the annual 1 April premium increase for all customers for six months.
According to Bupa Australia & New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Hisham El-Ansary, said the decision was made to provide immediate relief to all customers at a time of uncertainty.
“Australians are hurting, and we all need to play our part”, Mr El-Ansary said.
“We recently announced $50m of financial hardship relief for customers most impacted by the economic fallout of COVID-19. We recognise that all our customers are being impacted in some way, and today’s decision to delay the annual premium increase by six months, provides further relief.
“This will give us all time to draw breath and assess the impact of the suspension of non-urgent elective surgery on hospitalisations, as well as the take-up of newly introduced telehealth services.
“Over the past month, we’ve sent more than 2.2 million emails or letters advising of premium increases due to take effect on 1 April. Those increases will now not apply for another six months. Customers don’t need to take any action – we will put the changes through our systems and update customer accounts accordingly.
“We’ve also had literally thousands of customers applying for financial hardship assistance through our website since it was announced last Thursday. That opportunity remains open, and we encourage any customer requiring assistance to contact us,” Mr El-Ansary said.
Source: Bupa Health & Care
