Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) Share Price and News
About Medibank Private Ltd
Medibank is a private health insurance company. It was formerly a government entity but was privatised a decade ago and listed on the ASX. It serves over 4 million customers offering hospital and extras health insurance.
Medibank plays a significant role in Australia’s healthcare landscape. Private health insurance complements the public Medicare system by giving members greater choice of hospital and specialist care, shorter wait times in some cases, and cover for services not fully funded publicly.
The company’s core business is underwriting private health insurance policies, collecting premiums from members and paying benefits for approved medical services. In addition to insurance, Medibank has expanded into broader health services, including telehealth, preventive health programs, and mental health support initiatives. This reflects a strategy to move beyond being purely a claims payer toward becoming a more integrated health partner.
Medibank Private's Company History
Started as a government initiative in 1976, it was a response to regulate private health insurance prices. Medibank gradually broadened its scope to offer other forms of insurance too, such as travel, life and pet insurance.
The company listed on the ASX in 2014 as the Abbott government wanted to sell it. The company continued to innovate in the years ahead - most notably entering the in-home healthcare services market by buying Home Support Services (HSS) in 2018.
The company was hit with a cyberhack in late 2022 that hit its share price for several months. It saw personal details of 9.7 million current and former customers published on the dark web; with a cyber attacked penetrating the network and able to do so given the lack of 2FA.
Shares have gradually recovered lost ground, but the company has been walking a fine tight rope amidst the cost of living crisis.
Medibank's Outlook
Medibank has well and truly recovered from the cyber attack and is recording policyholder growth, particularly amongst those taking out cover for the first time.
Nonetheless, Medibank has new issues it had to address. The company faces intense competition from rivals that offer cheaper policies. There are calls from struggling private hospitals to get insurers (particularly larger, profitable companies) to put more money into the healthcare systems – a potential lose-lose situation for the company because it could lose members in a cost of living crisis. The 2025 collapse of Healthscope showed that the calls private hospitals were struggling were not sensationalists.
Medibank agreed to take ‘soft’ steps including out-of-cycle funding for private hospitals operators, but this did not save Healthscope.
FY25 saw $8.6bn in total revenue, up 5.2%, and a $618.7m post-tax profit on an underlying basis, up 8.5%. A total of $6.6bn in claims were paid and there was 1.4% growth in net resident policyholders and 3.1% growth in non-resident policy units. For FY26, the company guided to claims per policy unit growth of 2.6-2.9%. But moderating of industry growth was anticipated and policyholder growth would be grown ‘in a disciplined way’.
Is Medibank Private a Good Stock to Buy?
We think it has potential. It is a consistent dividend payer and has a track record of policyholder growth ever since it listed on the ASX.
Medibank is often viewed as a defensive stock because demand for health insurance tends to be relatively stable compared with more cyclical industries. But earnings can still be affected by regulatory changes, claims inflation and competition.
Our Stock Analysis
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Frequently Asked Questions
Medibank, established in 1976 and privatised in 2014, is Australia's largest health insurer, covering ~4m million Australians. It provides private health insurance policies and integrated healthcare services, aiming to create a healthier future for all Australians.