More than half of Australians aged over 65 delayed dental treatment in the past year, primarily because of affordability, prompting the Australian Dental Association NSW (ADA NSW) to warn that the Federal Government’s proposed private health insurance changes must not put further cost pressure on older Australians who may further delay important oral health care.
The pending Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 proposes removing the higher age-based rebate currently available to eligible Australians aged 65 and over, with rebate entitlements instead determined solely by income.
ADA NSW president Dr Mark Morrin said while the reforms are intended to create a more consistent rebate system across age groups, their impact on access to dental care must be closely watched in areas like private health insurance participation among people aged 65 and over, dental extras cover, use of dental services and demand for publicly funded dental care.
“If people respond to higher insurance costs by dropping extras cover, delaying treatment or turning to the public system, there could be consequences well beyond individual household budgets,” Dr Morrin said.
“[The fact] we don’t yet know how consumers will respond to these changes is precisely why monitoring their impact is so important.”
Recent ADA research found 55 per cent of Australians aged over 65 delayed dental treatment in the previous year, with affordability the primary reason.
“Older Australians are among the people who can least afford to delay essential dental care, yet we know affordability is already causing many to do exactly that,” Dr Morrin said.
“If changes to the rebate mean some Australians over 65 years old face higher private health insurance premiums, we need to understand whether that leads people to downgrade or abandon their extras cover and what that ultimately means for their oral health.”
Private health insurance plays an important role in helping Australians meet dental costs, with insurers paying approximately $2.5 billion in dental benefits in 2022–23. Dental services represented around 13 per cent of private health insurer expenditure.
Dr Morrin said dental extras cover can help with the costs of examinations, cleans, X-rays, fillings, root canal treatment, extractions, periodontal treatment, dentures and other restorative procedures.
“Private health insurance doesn’t necessarily cover the full cost of dental treatment, but for many patients it makes a meaningful contribution towards that care,” Dr Morrin said.
“That becomes particularly important as we get older because our oral health needs often become more complex.”
