Health funds tackle big two

Geelong joins non-profit, mutual drive for members

GEELONG health fund GMHBA has joined 14 other mutual and non-profit funds to take on the big two in the industry, Medibank Private and Bupa.

The 15 funds are launching Members Own Health Funds and are publicising the message that they exist to look after their members, not to maximise profits.

GMHBA chief Mark Valena is a director of the new entity. He said the Geelong health fund was at the centre of the fight to recognise the difference between non-profit and mutual health funds compared with the big two.

Mr Valena said the 15 nonprofit and mutual health funds, which represented 18 brands, represented the majority of such funds.

“The difference is we are concerned with members’ wellbeing rather than shareholder returns,’’ he said.

“The facts speak for themselves — we have higher satisfaction levels, higher loyalty levels and we have fewer complaints.’’

Mr Valena has just clocked up seven years at GMHBA, which has a dominant position in the Geelong market.

He estimated that Medi- bank Private and Bupa had just under 60 per cent of the national market and it was important to let people know there was an alternative.

“We think that collectively we have a story to tell,’’ he said.

Mr Valena said the participants in Members Own Health Funds also enjoyed strong competition among themselves, but those who had agreed to join wanted to get a message to the public.

The new group also includes Defence Health, Navy Health, Phoenix Health Fund, Police Health and Teachers Health Fund.

A spokeswoman for Bupa said the health fund had no shareholders and the company was 100 per cent driven to deliver for its members.

She said although Bupa was a global business Australia was an important part of that.

A spokeswoman for Medibank Private said that out of more than 1.8 million principal policyholders, only 0.03 per cent had made a complaint to the private health insurance ombudsman.

“Delivering quality and affordable healthcare to our members is a key focus for our business,’’ she said.

“For every $1 we earn in premium revenue, Medibank pays out 86.5 cents in claims on behalf of our members.’’