The inter-relationship between private health insurance cover and hospital utilisation is complex. The current policy approach in Australia appears to rely on relatively simple models of the relationships between health insurance coverage, and public and private hospital use. There is...

Over 45% of Australians buy health insurance for private treatment in hospital. This is despite having access to universal and free public hospital treatment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one possible explanation for the high rate of insurance coverage is to avoid long waiting times for...

Both adverse selection and moral hazard models predict a positive relationship between risk and insurance; yet the most common finding in empirical studies of insurance is that of a negative correlation. In this paper we investigate the relationship between ex ante risk and private health...

The percentage of Australians taking up Private Health Insurance (PHI) was in decline following the introduction of Medicare in 1984 (PHIAC). To arrest this decline the Australian Government introduced a suite of policies, between 1997 and 2000, to create incentives for Australians to purchase...

This paper investigates the role of family formation in particular the effect of children - actual and desired - on the purchase of private health insurance. A unique panel data set of young Australian women (under 30 years old) from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health [ALSWH] is...

Until the 1996 Federal election, the Liberal Party remained committed to the repeal of Medicare. In that election the Liberal platform endorsed the continuation of Medicare, and support for private health insurance. Since then the Government has pursued a strategy of support for private health...