Enrolled nurses to help with care minutes
May 23, 2024
Premium round reform needed to sustain private healthcare
June 28, 2024
Catholic Health Australia (CHA) would like to thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the annual private health insurance premium round. CHA, our members, and the broader private health sector share significant concerns regarding the viability of private hospitals and the private sector. Recent closures are diminishing access to care, particularly for regional and rural communities, and are shifting burden onto public hospitals and taxpayers. On top of this, there is a considerable program of reform being imposed upon hospitals that, whether intentional or not, adds further financial and administrative burden onto the sector, including underfunded costs for each hospital entity impacted by compliance with the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Act 2022, as well as imposing additional unfunded compliance associated with the Prescribed List.
The primary purpose of the private health sector is to provide value and choice to patients while alleviating strain on the public sector. Furthermore, the Catholic health sector has consistently supported the health and wellbeing of individuals who often have no other means of accessing care. These purposes are under threat. The existing regulations overseeing private health services are not fit-for-purpose, with some insurance profits flourishing while hospitals continue to close and patient access deteriorates.
Premium round offers a unique opportunity to address these issues. It provides an annual review platform to ensure accountability is being appropriately shared by health insurers, decision makers, and hospital operators to address the challenges collectively facing the sector and to make thoughtful, sensible, and measured updates accordingly.
We look forward to continuing to work with government, the community, and the sector to enhance premium round and consider the sustainability of the private health sector as an important pillar of Australia’s health system.
If you wish to discuss anything further, please contact Dr Katharine Bassett, Director of Health Policy on
0420 727 709 or at katharineb@cha.org.au.
Jason Kara
Chief Executive Officer
Catholic Health Australia
Dr Katharine Bassett
Director of Health Policy
Catholic Health Australia
