Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School

Private health insurance premiums will rise 4.41% this year. But is it justified? The government has allowed private health insurers to raise premiums by an average of 4.41% from April. How are these set? And why is it higher than inflation?

Private health insurance premiums will rise 4.41% this year. For @aunz.theconversation.com, A/Prof Terence Cheng unpacks how we got to this figure and answers the complicated question of whether or not the increase is justified. Read: theconversation.com/private-heal...

When measuring wellbeing, should you strictly adhere to what people think matters to them? A new study with responses from 1881 #NDIS participants found factors deemed unimportant by respondents still appeared to influence overall wellbeing. Read the #CHEResearchBite: www.monash.edu/business/che...

Following the announcement of a new public hospital funding deal between the Federal Government and the states, worth an extra $25 billion over 5 years, Prof @tony40.bsky.social spoke to ABC News Radio about why the funding was needed and what it could mean. Listen: drive.google.com/file/d/15zDx...

Our study shows younger siblings spend more time on screens than big sisters and brothers Younger siblings also spend less time per day on ‘enrichment activities’, such as music practise or reading.

Younger siblings spend up to 1.5 hours more time on screens per week compared to big sisters and brothers - at the cost of other enrichment activities. Read about the new study, which used survey data from around 5,500 Australian children aged 2-15: theconversation.com/our-study-sh...

Telemedicine may simultaneously expand access, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use & maintain prescribing standards. Using Medicare administrative data, recently published research found telemedicine does not lead to increased or lower-quality antibiotic prescribing. 🔗 www.monash.edu/news/article...

Health aid works better when the countries receiving it have greater control over its use - but new research finds that Australian voters strongly oppose giving recipient countries control over aid projects, which creates a real dilemma. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/tftjhp #GivingTuesday

A new analysis suggests the #NDIS, by providing personalised social care, reduces use of Medicare-funded mental health and allied health services, especially among people living in major cities, males and children and young people. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/6vjmsz

At #Blood2025 conference in Perth, Sara Carrillo de Albornoz, Adam Irving & Rainier Arnolda presented on:
💲 Intro to #HealthEconomics for clinicians
💉 Economic evaluation of immunoglobulin therapy
🦴 Predicting serious infections in multiple myeloma
🏥 Cost analysis of treating serious infections

📣 CALL FOR PAPERS📣
15th Australasian Workshop on Econometrics & Health Economics 2026

📅15-17 April 2026
📍Port Stephens
📄≤14 papers will be accepted
👶PhD students/ECRs encouraged to apply
⏰Submit by 19 December 2025 (full draft/structured abstract)
📤More info/apply: www.monash.edu/business/eve...

Many countries face a shortage of GPs as more doctors choose to become specialists. Understanding why junior doctors make these career choices is crucial for health policy planning. A new study investigates how preferences influence specialty choices. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/drdnoa

Should we scrap private health insurance rebates and direct the funding to public hospitals? The government has subsidised Australians’ private health insurance premiums since the 1990s. But is the policy delivering? Here’s what the evidence says.

Should we scrap private health insurance rebates & direct the funding to public hospitals? A/Prof Terence Cheng writes for @aunz.theconversation.com on whether rebates are achieving their aim of reducing pressure on the public hospital system. Read it now: theconversation.com/should-we-sc...

New research finds #unemployment increases the risk of #loneliness by 19%. Even the fear of losing a job raises loneliness, showing that economic insecurity itself erodes social well-being. These effects persist for years after an unemployment spell. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/62yj11

Why does language matter for child health? Children born to migrant mothers often face disadvantages from the start. A new study examines how an often-overlooked factor—whether mothers can communicate easily with health services—shapes infant health. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/74avnc

How does birth order shape how children spend their time & ultimately, how they develop? A new #CHEWorkingPaper suggests that later-born children spend less time on enrichment activities, more time on digital media compared to first-borns. Read: go.monash.edu/cv7hab

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the devastating news affects the entire family, including parents' ability to work and earn money. But workplace culture plays a crucial role in determining the severity of the impact. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/sr6jz8

Introducing @che-monash.bsky.social Policy Symposium 2025: Improving equity & value in the health & care economy. Designed for policymakers, researchers & sector leaders to share evidence, challenges, innovations.
📅2 Sep, 9a-5p
📍National Portrait Gallery
Info/register: www.monash.edu/business/eve...

A new #CHEworkingpaper examines how hospitals adapt when new specialised competitors enter the market for heart attack treatment in Sweden: opening new cath labs in local hospitals shifted patients to cath-based care, even when bypass surgery may have been more appropriate. Read go.monash.edu/zowryp

Just $7 extra per person could prevent 300 suicides a year. Here’s exactly where to spend it A modest increase in health funding is all that’s needed to save lives. That’s a big impact for the price of a fancy coffee.

Our research is in today’s Conversation — just $7 extra per person could prevent 300 suicides per year.

We break down exactly where that investment should go:
👉 theconversation.com/just-7-extra...

@aunz.theconversation.com

Analysing Australian public reimbursement decisions for pharmaceuticals, a new #CHEWorkingPaper suggests while longer negotiations may deprive some patients of clinical benefit, the wider public interest may be enhanced through improving value for money & reducing risk. Read: go.monash.edu/5nb7qt

Has the NDIS affected the overall use of formal services or caring hours? A new study found no significant improvements for carers in the 3 years after the NDIS arrived, suggesting that whilst the NDIS may have helped some people, others are missing out. Read #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/nimat2

Wildfire Exposure, Impact, and Recovery: Climate inequality lessons from Australia’s Black Summer

Next up in the #CHESeminarSeries, we welcome A/Prof Sonia Akter (ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy):
🎤 Wildfire Exposure, Impact, and Recovery: Climate inequality lessons from Australia’s Black Summer
📅 28 May @ 12 noon
📍 In person or online: www.monash.edu/business/eve...

Applications NOW OPEN for our International Visiting Fellowship 2026. If you'd like to visit Melbourne for 2-6 months in 2026 to work with our researchers, we have up to AUD$10,000 available to support travel/accomm. Academics at all levels are welcome. Apply by 1 Sept: go.monash.edu/kzz8f7

Next week in the #CHESeminarSeries, we hear from Dr Maiken Skovrider Aaskoven (Danish Centre for Health Economics):
🎤 Patient Medication Adherence: Using machine learning to predict vulnerable individuals in risk of non-compliance
📅 21 May @ 12 noon
📍 In person/online: go.monash.edu/jnj8b9

Patient-Physician Matching: Evidence from heart attacks in England

Next week in the #CHESeminarSeries, we will be joined by Dr Christiern Rose (The University of Queensland):
🎤 Patient-Physician Matching: Evidence from heart attacks in England
📅 14 May @ 12 noon
📍 In person or online: www.monash.edu/business/eve...

Congratulations to @andrewireland.bsky.social, who received the Mollie Holman Award for Monash Business School's best thesis of 2025. The thesis, "Impacts of Heat Exposure on Workers’ Health & Productivity", examined how workers are increasingly exposed to high temps at work as global temps rise.

Boys in disadvantaged communities in Indonesia & Fiji are falling behind girls academically, reflecting a trend seen in many countries globally. A study of 1400+ children in 24 informal settlements found boys averaged 3 hrs less on education vs girls. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/x4s5jr

The Effects of Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy on Mental Health Treatment Utilisation among Gender Minorities: Evidence from whole-of-population Australian administrative data

Next week, #CHESeminarSeries welcomes @ksaxby.bsky.social:
🎤 The Effects of Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy on Mental Health Treatment Utilisation among Gender Minorities: Evidence from whole-of-population Australian administrative data
📅 7 May @ 12 noon
📍 In person/online: go.monash.edu/gfk4tt

Prof @tony40.bsky.social spoke to ABC Radio Newcastle about the viability of the private hospital sector, the impact of policy, and the lasting changes from the COVID-19 pandemic. After recent worker strikes, is it time for a major restructuring of the sector? 🎧: go.monash.edu/rmy7mj

In a study of new cancer treatments funded by the #PBS, doctors & patients behaved differently to the clinical trials the funding was based on. These real-world differences led to higher costs & lower benefits, reducing the value for money in practice. Read the #CHEResearchBite: go.monash.edu/brthji

The social expectation to work has a substantial negative impact on mental well-being of unemployed men in mid-life (as impactful as being widowed). However, as peers retire, their mental well-being improves significantly. Read the #CHEWorkingPaper: go.monash.edu/sfv1xx