CHOICE response to Medibank to return around $105 million in COVID-19 savings to customers through premium relief. Quotes attributable to CHOICE Insurance Expert Jodi Bird:

"Medibank has announced they are finally returning $105 million of their members' money, over a year since they pocketed those profits. This announcement comes after HBF announced the return of $42 million to its members. The remaining health insurance funds need to stop being laggards and return what they didn't earn. The community is facing new financial stress from lockdowns around the country, with many people still recovering from the existing economic impact of COVID-19, and the businesses we rely on for our health and wellbeing shouldn't be using the COVID-19 shutdowns of health services to boost their bottom lines. Medibank and HBF have done the right thing by their members. Big funds like Bupa, HCF and NIB have absolutely no excuse now - Australians need financial support and they need it now. People want funds to deliver fairness, by being open with their customers and the community about how and when they are going to return their money from when people were paying full price for a service they couldn't access."

"People are hurting right now with lockdowns across the country. If you are experiencing financial hardship you should contact your health fund and talk through what they can do for you."