New advocacy group puts member health funds in spotlight

02 April 2015

The chairman of the newly formed, Members Own Health Funds, has highlighted that mutual and non-profit funds did not have a conflict between shareholders and members, and so can reinvest profits to reduce premiums.

Brad Joyce, who is also chief executive of the Teachers Health Fund, stressed health funds that are owned by their members might be small but they can compete on price and product design. “We’re focusing on member wellbeing, we are generally putting people before profit,” he said. “Many members own health funds can offer lower-priced premiums because they do not run high-profile advertising campaigns and do not have expensive retail chains.”

The group, which has a combined market share of about 20 per cent or 2.5 million members, was officially formed in February. The group’s objective is to ensure the sustainability of members-owned funds by promoting them as an alternative to consumers and raising awareness among the Australian population of the benefits of member health funds.