Each year the government announces the average industry-wide premium increase but does not break this down into average premium rises for each individual fund.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon told the Australian Health Insurance Association (AHIA) annual conference in Sydney on Wednesday that announcing the average rises specific to each fund would empower consumers and promote competition.
"This would enable consumers to assess their own fund's performance against alternatives and could help drive more competition," she said.
The minister also raised the idea of private health insurers releasing products that provide benefits for promoting disease prevention, such as programs to help smokers quit.
Last year the Howard government introduced broader health cover reforms, which were supported by Labor in opposition.
The reforms allowed patients with hospital cover to receive rebates for medical procedures conducted outside hospitals, including programs managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes.
Currently, about 33 of the 38 private health insurers cover at least one type of broader health service, Roxon said.
"A year in and I don't think it is unfair to say that the promise of Broader Health Cover reforms has not yet translated sufficiently into practice," she said.
"I am interested in a discussion on the kinds of extra services we can agree on to promote health and wellness and could include things like quit smoking programs or other healthy activities that would need to be carefully considered."
AHIA chief executive Michael Armitage said he supported Roxon's plan to release individual funds' premium increases at the same time as the industry-wide figure.
But he also called on the minister to move to immediately make it mandatory for hospitals to disclose data such as infection rates, rather than waiting for a lengthy Council of Australian Governments process to play out.
"If I'm a consumer I want real transparency and I don't actually care whether my fund's premiums have gone up by 5.1 or 5.2 per cent," Dr Armitage said.
"What I really want to know is if the hospital that I am having the operation done in is one that's had a case of golden staph.
"I also want to know is the doctor utilising the best possible prosthesis (such as a new hip or knee)."
Roxon said she was keen to lift consumers' informed financial consent, which refers to people being aware of gap fees before going under the knife.
A gap fee is an out-of-pocket expense consumers must cover if their doctor decides to charge over the Medical Benefits Schedule fee, or the government rebate for patients.
Last year, there was a surprise gap for 17 per cent of all hospital episodes.
Australian Medical Association president Rosanna Capolingua welcomed Roxon's push to ensure consumers were well informed about gap fees.
But she said Roxon had failed to address the larger problem of Medical Benefits Schedule payments to doctors failing to keep pace with rising health costs.
Dr Capolingua said the government rebate for patients had dropped in real terms by almost one third over the past two decades, while household medical costs have increased by 528 per cent.
