Expanding your company overseas is one of the most exciting moments in the career of anyone in business. 

However, sending your staff to work in other countries presents some unique challenges - most importantly keeping them safe. 

This article will provide you with vital information on providing private health insurance for Australian expat employees, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

The rising cost of private health insurance in Australia is hardly breaking news. Between 2014 and 2018, premiums increased by 29%, based on the industry weighted increases provided by the Australian Government Department of Health over that period, in a pattern that stretches back more than a decade.

A good corporate health insurance plan demonstrates to current and prospective employees that you value their well-being and see them as more than just an asset. It also offers significant benefits to employers that can both affect a company's bottom line for the better, and create a strong workplace culture. Here are some of the top benefits of a corporate health insurance policy.

Private health insurance gives consumers more freedom when it comes to health care. As of 31 December 2017, 45.6 per cent of the Australian population were covered by hospital treatment insurance, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). The APRA quarterly report shows that health insurance funds are returning the highest percentage of the premium back to members of all insurance types.

Employee turnover is expensive - more so than you'd think. In fact, a business of 50 employees can expect a turnover of roughly 10 staff per year, according to estimates from Harrison Human Resources. They also stated that the costs of hiring and retraining, as well as loss of productivity for replacing one employee could cost as much as their yearly salary. 

On February 19 it was announced that the two largest not-for-profit health funds in Australia, HBF and HCF, were in talks to complete a merger. This momentous agreement could change the country's health insurance landscape and fundamentally shift the market position of these two funds.

With that in mind, what are the details of the health fund merger and what exactly could it mean for health insurance customers?

The Labour party has come out swinging at health insurance funds. They called yearly premium increases aggressive and claimed health funds made billions in profit every year. Firstly, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority statistics put total profits of all health funds at just over $1.2 billion. Secondly, premium increases aren't an aggressive move to increase profit - they're quite the opposite.

Basic cover is an essential part of the complex private health insurance market, and a product of high value to those who use it. Despite that fact, it has come under fire in the media recently with some industry commentators questioning it's value.

With that in mind, let's have a closer look at why the market needs basic health insurance, and why so many customers value it.

There are over 2 million businesses in Australia and over 90 per cent of these are non-employing, micro or small businesses, Treasury data shows. And these fast moving, small organisations are driven by their most valuable asset - their people. 

People between the ages of 20 and 29 are the least likely to hold a health insurance policy for both hospital and general treatment, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data shows. Plus, over the September quarter, almost 9,000 Australians aged from 25 to 29 dropped their cover (the largest decrease of any age group).