Major reforms shake up private health insurance

Major reforms to private health insurance have been introduced, including a new classification system, which divides insurance into four distinct tiers. Premiums will increase by an average of 3.25% this year, which is above the rate of inflation, and more than wages growth.

Health insurance cards Source: Supplied

Under the changes, each new private health insurance policy will be in one of four product tiers. 

Gold offers all 38 categories of hospital services, Silver covers 26 categories while Bronze covers 18 and Basic covers little if any. 

The new classification system is designed to make it easier for people to see exactly what's covered and to find the right policy.