Budget Private Health Changes Will Hurt
The Australian Medical Association today called on the Rudd Government to assure the community that it will not further jeopardise private health insurance participation rates in Australia.
The Government's Budget papers show that Federal Labor expects around 600,000 Australians to drop out of private health insurance this year alone.
The budget papers reveal an expected saving in 2008/09 of $232M in reduced expenditure on the PHI rebate. This translates to a reduction in private health participation of at least 600,000.
The AMA calls for the Federal Government to reveal its modelling.
If it is the young and healthy who drop out as the government hopes, who pay lower premiums, this number may be up to one million.
Dr Capolingua said that this will start a health fund drop out snowball.
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said this would have a number of detrimental effects.
- increase pressure on public hospitals; and
- increase health insurance premiums.
"The increased demand puts in clinical jeopardy those Australians who cannot afford private health insurance - waiting lists for access to health care in public hospitals will blow out even further. The public hospitals will not cope with any further increases.
"In turn, those who have chosen to take out private health insurance will also suffer as their premiums will go up. Private health insurance will become unaffordable for the many people who save to meet their premium payments. They will also need to seek public hospital care.
"Public hospitals can only survive if nearly half the population elect not to use them.
"This change in private health insurance will erode any impact of the public hospital catch up funding announced in last night's Federal Budget before it is even passed on to the States and Territories.
"The States and Territories will need to immediately start negotiating with the Rudd Government for compensation measures in funding to boost capacity to cater for the heightened demand on public hospital services."
The AMA today also warned the private health insurance industry not to introduce 'managed care' as a way of containing premium costs.
"Managed care means that the health funds would decide where you get the care, who will give you care and what you'll get in the way of care.
The AMA is concerned that all Australians, not just working families and people with chronic disease, have the access to the high-quality health care they deserve.