Labor rejects 6pc rise in health insurance premiums

Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected the health insurance industry’s request to deliver the biggest premium rise in at least six years, as the government tries to quell voter discontent over the rapid increase in the cost of living.

As part of the annual negotiations for premium increases, which the minister must approve for each provider, the country’s 31 insurers requested annual rises that could have delivered an average premium hike as high as 6 per cent.