Media releases
13 May 2008
Budget Provides No Major Movement in Australia's Hospital Queues
Australia’s largest health insurance advisory service, iSelect, has questioned whether the
Federal Budget has addressed the systemic problem of hospital waiting queues in
Australia.
CEO Damien Waller said that while the injection of funds to the public health system was
welcomed, he warned it was not enough to cover the likely influx of new patients to make any real impact.
“Because of the concurrent changes to the Medicare Surcharge Levy, we could
conservatively expect an influx of around 150,000 additional patients into the public health system annually.
“As Australians move from the private system, it will effectively negate the impact of the
additional funding provided in the Budget.
“And this number is only going to worsen as private insurance premiums increase and
more people reconsider their options,” Damien said.
“We concur with the Government’s policy to increase the Medicare Levy Surcharge
thresholds.
“However, the doubling of the surcharge for singles has gone above the required
indexation and negates the necessary injection of funds to improve Australia’s public
health system.
“In fact, the 9.4 million people with private hospital cover should feel concerned by the
apparent fundamental shift away from Australia’s commitment to a robust public and
private health system mix,” he added.
“Given the range of tax cuts and other relief delivered to help working families, we question why the Government would need to implement such fundamental changes to the surcharge and put Australia’s public and private system mix into question.”
For interviews, please call:
De-Arne Carr, on 03 9827 9933 or 0419 585 711
Rohan Martin, iSelect, on 03 9276 8208 or 0417 311 602
12 May 2008 - Changes to Medicare Surcharge likely to impact all Australians
Media Statement - For immediate release.
iSelect, Australia’s largest health insurance advisory service, warns that changes to the Medicare Levy Surcharge could have a significant impact on Australia’s health care system.
CEO Damien Waller said the Government’s decision appears to have ignored the fundamental role the surcharge plays in not only encouraging people into private health insurance, but helping to reduce the pressure on an overloaded public system and to help fund Medicare.
“It’s important to realise that changes to the surcharge will impact both private and public patients. “We estimate, in the absence of other information, that the change in the surcharge will mean there will be an annual shortfall of about $350 million to help fund Medicare next year, with significant flow-on affects for future years. It is also likely to have some inflationary impact on the economy,” Damien said.
“There are currently around 9.4 million Australians with private hospital cover, and any reduction in this number will mean that fewer people will share the cost of private health insurance, ultimately meaning private health insurance premiums will escalate.
“For public patients, the over stretched system is likely to get a lot worse in the immediate future. Even with a major injection of funds, it is difficult to see how health infrastructure and resources will be able to respond quickly enough.”
In Australia, more than 25,000 people are waiting longer than one year for elective surgery. There are some cases where the average wait for shoulder and elbow surgery is 101 weeks, while the wait for hip replacements has been 70 weeks. He cautioned Australians to take a longer-term view of their health care needs, as they could be worse off if they make a knee jerk reaction to the change in the surcharge.
Damien said many people would be significantly out of pocket if they need treatment or their choice of doctor at a time when they required it and are not privately covered.
Contact:
Rowan Martin: (03) 9276 8208 | 0417 311 602 | rmartin@iselect.com.au
About iSelect:
iSelect is Australia’s number one service to compare and purchase private health insurance, helping Australians take the guess work out of buying the right cover. Consumers can receive a free review of their health insurance needs by calling one of our trained staff, or by logging onto our website at a time that is most convenient for them.
A health cover review includes:
- analysing the consumer’s needs based on lifestyle, family structure and relevant medical history;
- comparing and ranking a range of covers from our participating funds based on those needs;
- providing a recommendation - a shortlist that meet those needs; and
- making it easy to purchase the right cover and assisting with the paper work.
By better understanding and matching their health cover needs with appropriate cover, consumers have the potential to save money. This can be achieved through choosing a similar policy with a lower premium and by adjusting excess levels or restricting services that may not be required.
We are an Australian company, which has been operating for eight years and, importantly for consumers, we are not owned or controlled by any fund. iSelect’s participating health insurance funds represent approximately 4 million privately insured Australians.
