Ms Walsh said by the time all other bills were paid, health insurance was far too unaffordable even though she would prefer to have the safety net for medical expenses.

Considering herself lucky to be in the property market with her partner, Ms Walsh said mortgage affordability of a house in Smythesdale had other costs. On the outskirts of Ballarat, their home is just outside the home doctor service.

Ms Walsh has two children, aged four and three. She must rely on the public system in Ballarat for care and, when Ballarat Health Services’ Base Hospital is really busy, she sometimes opts to travel a bit further afield to Werribee.

And she said more people from the Ballarat region were making similar travels than many of us realised.

Ms Walsh is part of OurGo campaign, joining young Australians to lobby as a combined buying power force on issues such as health insurance and energy costs. These costs were just part of a bigger issue for her generation, Ms Walsh said, in struggling to get a steady start on adulthood.

“There are so many ripple effects,” Ms Walsh said. “We can’t afford to live in Melbourne but I commute to work in Melbourne because there is a lack of entry level jobs in Ballarat. We’re working our backsides off to be able to pay off our mortgage and other bills….Health insurance, you can pretty much forget that.”

Private health insurance premiums increased an average of 5.59 per cent in April. This was the ninth consecutive year of rises more than five per cent.

A survey of more 1,000 Australians aged in their 20s and 30s found 40 per cent do not have health insurance, according to campaign group OurGo. The survey also found 35 per cent were unaware they may face tax penalties, for those over 30, for not having health insurance before June 30.

Ms Walsh said her generation worked hard in an increasing scramble to make ends meet that needed government attention.