AguiLeon Health Tech

The federal government's approval of a 5.6% increase in health premiums has fuelled controversy and debate and is set to put households under more financial pressure in the coming year. The increase, dubbed by the Health Minister as "modest", translates into a $1.70 increase per week for a single person and $3.70 more for a family. Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says that, by comparison, the increase for consumers is significantly lower than the 9.3% increase being shouldered by insurance companies. The increase is slightly higher than last year's 5.06% hike and will be implemented from April. The Spokesperson for the Coalition, Peter Dutton, says that this increase, coupled with increases in other government policies, is putting family budgets under immense strain. He says this latest news might be taking the pressure off the government, in terms of comparisons to previous years' performances, but for the average household the news is anything but pleasing.

Giesecke and Devrient's nano-SIM design is fueling quite the standards battle over in Europe, with Apple sitting in one corner, and the troika of Motorola, Nokia and RIM looming in the other. That's according to the Financial Times, which reports today that Cupertino is leading a charge to push its own nano-SIM proposal through Europe's standards body, ETSI, much to the chagrin of its competitors. According to FT's sources, Apple's version of the nano-SIM would call for a "drawer" to protect it, much like the designs already featured in the iPhone and iPad. Though the standard would be available to all manufacturers under license, there's a lingering fear that Apple may eventually own all the patents pertaining to its proposal. Plus, its rivals would have to re-engineer their handsets to meet Apple's proposed design, even though Nokia claims its solution offers "significant technical advantages. ETSI is slated to vote on the proposals n