Media Releases

Health funds will work with the Federal Government to thoroughly examine problems with Gold health insurance products following the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s public statement today.

The Minns Labor Government has backed down on a health tax that would result in an immediate rise to the cost of health insurance for four million NSW residents.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians have taken out health insurance for hospital treatment over the past year, demonstrating strong demand for private healthcare despite the cost-of-living crisis.

Within months of signing contracts with health funds representing 50% of Australia’s private health insurance market, Healthscope has announced it is ripping up the legally binding agreements and will start charging patients who use its hospitals from early next year.

Health insurers are urging people who have had surgery in private hospitals to check if they have been billed incorrectly under ‘no gap fee’ arrangements following allegations specialist doctors have been systematically defrauding patients, health funds and Medicare for personal financial gain.

Nurse practitioners should be given more responsibilities in private hospitals under Medicare to ease a shortage of medical specialists, the peak body for health funds says.

Fibrin sealant medicines will continue to be funded by private health insurers. Suggestions in the media today that health funds will not pay for fibrin sealant medicines from 1 November in private hospitals are completely false.

Healthscope hospitals, the second largest private hospital group in Australia owned by North American private equity group Brookfield, has announced it will charge up to $100 to patients for simply walking into its facilities.

The NSW Government’s new tax on 4 million people with health insurance will exacerbate problems for private hospitals at a critical time for the sector. CEO of Private Healthcare Australia, Dr Rachel David, said the tax will cost NSW families $156 more per year for their health cover from as early as January. Modelling shows this will cause 75,000 people to drop their health insurance in 2025, reducing demand for private hospitals. It will also decimate health fund reserves to assist private hospitals in areas of need in acute financial distress.

NSW families struggling through cost-of-living pressures will have to pay more for private health insurance after the Minns Government’s new health tax was passed by the NSW Legislative Council. The tax will hit lower income earners the hardest from early next year after being rushed through NSW Parliament this week following minimal public scrutiny.

Health insurance will become more expensive in NSW than any other state under the Minns Government’s health tax, which will hit families with a new $156 bill from next year. Health funds are calling on the NSW Legislative Council to vote against the Minns Government’s Health Insurance Levies Amendment Bill 2024, which will almost double a little-known tax on health insurance for people in NSW.

The NSW Government has finally revealed the details of its secret plan to nearly double a health tax on 4 million people with health insurance in NSW. This will create a new bill of $156 for families in NSW from next year.

The NSW Government’s plan to introduce legislation today for a new $114 tax on 4 million people with health cover will cause a new level of financial distress across NSW, causing thousands to drop their health insurance in a cost-of-living crisis.

In the face of ongoing cost-of-living pressures, Australians wanting to retain their private health insurance are downgrading or dropping their cover, new data suggests.

NSW residents with private health insurance are being hit with excessive out-of-pocket costs for opting to use their insurance in a public hospital. In some cases, these bills are exceeding $10,000.

The NSW Government must abandon its plan to tax 4 million people contributing to their own healthcare via health insurance in NSW. These people are taking pressure off the state’s overwhelmed public hospital system which has the highest wait times for surgery in Australia.

Allowing tens of thousands of people to drain their superannuation for medical and dental treatment each year is driving up costs for all consumers and should be stopped, the peak body for health funds says.

Australians with health insurance will not lose access to private hospitals, despite a scare campaign launched today by Healthscope and its private equity owner, Brookfield, to mislead consumers.

Health fund payments to hospitals surged 8% over the past year as an increasing number of Australians turned to private hospitals for rapid access to care, including elective surgery.

Doctors should be legally obliged to report adverse events involving medical devices to the Therapeutic Goods Administration to help protect patients from harmful products and procedures.