News
Abbott’s Proposals Will Do Nothing To Reduce The Cost Of Private Health Cover |
| Spokesperson: | Shadow Minister for Health - Hon Julia Gillard |
| Date: | Tuesday, 18 April 2006 |
| Category: | National Health News |
| Australian families will regard with scepticism and concern today’s reports that Health Minister Tony Abbott will be unveiling reforms to private health insurance in the weeks ahead. They will remember that the Minister has been talking since 2004 about doing something to require doctors to fully inform patients about their out-of-pocket costs, but has yet to put in place any mechanism to ensure Informed Financial Consent. And they will note that today he is still not talking about requiring that doctors spell out the gap costs, he’s talking about launching an education campaign to be run in conjunction with the Australian Medical Association, a group known to be opposed to such requirements. Requiring doctors to ensure that patients are fully informed about the costs of their procedures is needed reform, but it will do nothing to bring down the cost of premiums. The Minister also needs to explain to Australian families how eliminating the two percent surcharge for those aged over 30 who have been with a health fund for more than ten years will attract more young people to purchase private health insurance and make the industry more competitive. The experts agree that it was the Howard Government’s ‘Run for Cover’ scare campaign that drove young people to take out private health insurance, not the 30 percent rebate. In the years since that campaign and despite the surcharge, young people have increasingly abandoned private cover due to the failure of the Government to ensure that it provides real value for money. Since 2001 premium costs have risen by some 40 percent, completely wiping out the value of the rebate. Nothing in these suggestions floated today in the Minister’s media leak will change that situation. The Howard Government’s primary goal is the sale of Medibank Private, and the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance will clearly do whatever it takes to achieve maximum profits for the Government from the sale. The Health Minister is left trying to look relevant and pretending that talk equates to action. |
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