PHIO details health insurance complaints
The number of complaints made to Australia’s Private Health Insurance Ombudsman (PHIO) rose by 30 per cent between 2016 and 2017. This is according to the latest State of the Health Funds Report, which records 5,750 private health insurance-related complaints made to the PHIO between 2016 and 2017, compared to the 4,416 that were made between 2015 and 2016.
While the PHIO did not cite a single reason driving the spike, it suggested that it is the cumulative effect of a number of issues related to benefits, membership administration, verbal advice, service and other areas.
The report intends to help consumers considering switching cover or obtaining it for the first time; it compares the performance of health funds across various areas, including benefits, service performance and financial management.