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...

When consumers have private information about risk of suffering a loss, or equivalently, if insurers are prohibited from using observable information on risk in underwriting, theoretical models of insurance predict adverse selection. Yet the most common finding in empirical studies is that of no...

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...

This study investigates the role of dynamic, discrete choice modelling in the context of private hospital insurance in Australia. This is achieved with the use of a unique panel data set of young Australian women ? The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women?s Health (or ALSWH). Very few (if any)...

This study examines behavioural changes brought about by two interventions introduced to lower the incidence of cervical cancer in Australia. The first intervention is a media campaign promoting regular screening behaviour to women. The second intervention is a vaccination program providing a...

Despite the success internationally of cervical screening programs debate continues about optimal program design. This includes increasing participation rates among under-screened women, reducing unnecessary early re-screening, improving accuracy of and confidence in screening tests, and...

The Australian hospital system is characterised by the co-existence of private hospitals, where individuals pay for services and public hospitals, where services are free to all but delivered after a waiting time. The decision to purchase insurance for private hospital treatment depends on the...

Introduction: Since 1991 State and Federal Governments, under the auspices of BreastScreen Australia, have been providing mammography services free at the point of delivery to women aged 40 and over. One of the stated aims of the program is to provide equitable access to all women in the target...

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...

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Australia; each year over 10,000 Australians are diagnosed with this disease. There are a number of treatment options for early stage prostate cancer (ESPC); radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy, hormonal therapy and...