Never before has there been more complaints about private health insurance.
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The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman received 4416 complaints in 2015-16, nearly double the number of a decade ago, according to the Commonwealth Ombudsman's latest annual report.
Which in some ways makes it even more challenging for the Griffith community having just supported and witnessed the opening of its own private hospital.
And while hospitals generally have the interests of patients and their families squarely as their primary focus, the same, sadly, cannot be said for insurers.
Now privatised, Australia’s biggest health insurer Medibank Private has very much moved its attention from the insured to the shareholder.
Despite having less than a third of the total market, the embattled Medibank accounted for 40.2 per cent of the complaints which is a damning reflection on the company’s approach to meeting the expectations of those it insures.
More broadly, the question about sustainability of the nation’s private health system which is heavily subsidised by taxpayers, should be preoccupying the minds of those who have control of the nation’s purse strings.
This generous subsidy on private health insurance premiums allows many individuals and families who would otherwise have none be able to afford private health insurance. In turn, the fact that they are able to utilise the private system eases the burden on the public facilities.
Not unlike funding given to the independent schools, this money is determined by government to be money well spent. Without these people turning to the private providers, the health public system would be in chaos.
But as insurers seek to make more profits and reduce their exposure, the value to those seeking insurance is being reduced.
At some point the government needs to recognise the value of private insurance and the important role the providers play in easing the burden on the public system.
There may ultimately be a need for greater regulation in private health insurance but the government needs to act sooner rather than later.
The last thing the public system can cope with is a large influx of sick people who can no longer afford the premiums to keep them in the private system.