Evidence of public hospitals failing patients grows

Embargoed until Thursday, 24 May 2018

Evidence of public hospitals failing patients grows
The pile of damning evidence proving public hospitals are failing those they are supposed to care for
continues to grow, with yet another report showing increasing numbers of the privately insured being
prioritised over public patients, says Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) CEO Mr Michael Roff.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) "Admitted patient care 2016-17: Australian hospital
statistics" report released today reveals public hospitals have not shied away from making a pretty penny
out of privately insured patients, while forcing those on public waiting lists to do just that – wait.

"The latest data shows privately insured patients continue to jump the queue in public hospitals. The
median wait time for elective surgery for a public patient is 42 days. That's twice as long as the privately
insured who wait a median of 21 days," Mr Roff said.

"This comes hard on the heels of Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's March quarter health
insurance figures that detail a four percent increase in privately insured patients treated in public hospitals.

"The increasing reliance on private health insurance funds in the public hospital setting is showing no sign
of abating, despite the obvious pressure it places on public waiting lists and impact on premiums. There
were almost a million privately insured separations in public hospitals in 2016-17 – that's a 4.6 percent
increase on the previous 12 months, an average increase of 7.4 percent every year since 2012-13.

"The AIHW data show one in seven public admissions were for privately insured patients – that's 14
percent of all admissions to public hospitals," he said.

Mr Roff said removing the $1.5 billion impost on private health insurance would immediately reduce health
insurance premiums by as much as six percent. A win for public hospital waiting lists and the privately
insured, but the public system is addicted to the cash grab.

"The evidence is piling up that public hospitals are willfully contributing to long waiting times for their public
patients who pay the price, living with reduced quality of life while they wait for surgery.

Mr Roff said some specialty areas saw patients worse off than others.

"Public patients waiting for a total knee replacement spend about seven months waiting for surgery, but
those with private health insurance are fast-tracked in after a little over two months. Those waiting for
cataract extraction spent more than three and a half times longer than the privately insured – 109 days
versus 30 days.

"The evidence against public hospitals continues to build and it's well past time they started putting
patients, not profits, first," Mr Roff said.

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ENDS –

Media contact: Frith Rayner, Director Communications and Marketing: 0413 971 999
Level 3 /11 National Circ, Barton ACT 2600. PO Box 4052, Kingston ACT 2600. [T] 02 6273 9000 [F] 02 6273 7000
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