High quality private hospital care valued – new data

Tuesday, 19 November 2019

High quality private hospital care valued - new data
Private hospital admissions continue to rise, confirming Australians have confidence in the high quality care
they receive in the private system says Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Michael Roff.

Commenting on the release of the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data on private
health insurance, Mr Roff said it was pleasing to see the numbers of episodes of care continue to grow.

APRA data shows episodes of care in the private hospital sector increased by 2.6 percent for the quarter.

There was other good news in the data, he said.

"It is encouraging to see private health insurance participation increase by 15,000 this quarter, although
there was a slight decline over the year.

"A concern for the industry is that 57.2 percent of private health insurance policies exclude certain services.

The risk is that Australians will find themselves in need of a procedure that their policy does not cover them
for and will be unable to access the high quality private hospital care they are relying on.

"Australians should check their policy regularly to ensure it is still fit for purpose," Mr Roff said.

While privately insured patients treated in public hospitals is not increasing, it remains an issue for
Australians.

"There are still way too many privately insured patients treated in the public system. This is putting pressure
on elective surgery waiting times in the public sector and means Australians who need the public system
are left waiting for care." He said.

Mr Roff said the private hospital industry is working with Government on the next round of reforms to
improve the value of private health insurance to Australians.

"Rather than sniping from the sidelines as some commentators choose to do, as an industry we are actively
working with government to implement solutions that will make a difference to Australians," he said.

-ENDSMedia contact: Frith Rayner, Director Communications and Marketing, 0413 971 999

The Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) is the peak industry body representing the private hospital and day surgery
sector. The private hospital sector treats 3.69 million patients a year, including treatment of more than a third of chemotherapy, 60
percent of all surgery, 74 percent of all elective musculoskeletal surgery and 79 percent of rehabilitation.

Level 3 /11 National Circ, Barton ACT 2600. PO Box 4502, Kingston ACT 2604. [T] 02 6273 9000 [F] 02 6273 7000
[E] [W] www.apha.org.au [FB] ValuingPrivateHospitals [Twitter] @priv8hospitals
ABN 82 008 623 809

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