MEDIA RELEASE
Double whammy leaves private and public
patients short
MEDIA RELEASE WEDNESDAY, 17 MAY 2017
Australia’s health system is turning into an increasingly inequitable mix of high health fund
profits while public patients wait longer for care in public hospitals,
“New figures have delivered a double whammy for patients. Public patients are waiting
much longer for elective surgery than privately insured patients in public hospitals.
“Meanwhile health fund profits have risen by 18 per cent after tax at a time of widespread
dissatisfaction with continuing premium increases and shrinking cover,” the CEO of the
Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said.
“The stark differences in public hospital waiting times while heavily subsidised
health funds generate accelerating profits reveal a dire need for reform, the
Consumers Health Forum said today.
“The new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show that public
patients typically wait for twice as long to have elective surgery as privately
insured patients do in public hospitals.
“This undermines a fundamental tenet of Australian health care --- that everyone
should be treated according to their medical need,“ the CEO of the Consumers
Health Forum, Leanne Wells said.
“These figures raise serious questions about how and why people with private
insurance should get access to costly care ahead of public patients who depend
on public hospitals as provided for under Medicare for their treatment.
“We need much more transparency and accountability about how decisions are
made about elective surgery priorities. How can the public be assured that there
is integrity in the processes to ensure that patients in public hospitals are treated
on the basis of clinical need rather than wallet size?
“The fact that these figures have been released just as latest health insurance
numbers shows a slight but continuing fourth quarterly decline in members is a
Contact: Mark Metherell, 0429 111 986
Consumers shaping health
PO Box 73
Deakin West ACT 2600
Ph: (02) 6273 5444
Fax: (02) 6273 5888
www.chf.org.au
MEDIA RELEASE
further indication that Australia’s public-private system is in urgent need of a
shake-up.
“Separately the APRA financial figures for health funds show that total premium
revenue earned by health funds at $22.8 billion is $3.4 billion ahead of what they
paid out in benefits in the 12 months to March.
“The private health insurance rebate, costing taxpayers at least $6 billion a year,
was introduced on the grounds that it would take the pressure off public hospitals.
“The AIHW data suggest the opposite outcome: private patients in effect getting
preferred access to public hospital surgery indicates the opposite is happening.
“Disturbingly when the elective surgery rates are measured in terms of socioeconomic background, the picture illustrates a two-tiered health system.
“To have their vision restored by means of cataract surgery, Indigenous
Australians waited significantly longer for a median 151 days compared to other
Australians. Overall, those from the lowest income areas wait a median 137 days,
double the 63-day wait of those from well-off suburbs. And this is happening in
our public hospitals. Whether it be hip and knee replacements or tonsillectomies,
poorer people wait significantly longer.
“The revelation of these figures demands a much more thorough inquiry into the
health system than the limited private health insurance review currently
underway. We know state governments are urging their public hospitals to
encourage private patients in order to gain revenue. This is happening with
apparently little concern for the impact on the majority who do not have hospital
insurance.
“If Australia is to continue claiming it has a national health system that provides
equitable access to health care, we need to see a turnaround in these figures,” Ms
Wells said.
ENDS
Contact: Mark Metherell, 0429 111 986
Consumers shaping health
PO Box 73
Deakin West ACT 2600
Ph: (02) 6273 5444
Fax: (02) 6273 5888
www.chf.org.au