Medibank Private

Medibank is an Australian private health insurance provider headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It is Australia's largest private health insurance provider, covering around 4.2 million customers in 2024. Medibank initially started as an Australian Government not-for-profit insurer in 1976, before becoming for-profit in 2009 under the Rudd Government and privatised by the Abbott government in 2014. Medibank now operates as a publicly listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange.

== History == Medibank began as an Australian Government private health insurance scheme, established by the Whitlam government in 1975 through the Health Insurance Commission. In its original form, it was a universal health insurance programme funded through taxation, that also ensured free treatment at public hospitals and provided subsidies to private hospitals. The subsequent Fraser government reduced the subsidies and allowed the Health Insurance Commission (later Medibank Private) to enter the private health insurance market. Its purpose was to provide competition to private "for-profit" health funds and to put pressure on other health funds to keep premiums at a reasonable level. The original Medibank scheme became Medicare under the Hawke government, with Medibank Private continuing and now referred to as just Medibank.