Private hospitals launch national campaign targeting government’s inaction on viability crisis

The Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) has launched a national campaign featuring banners with bold statements like ‘It’s Broke So Fix It!’ and ‘Private Hospitals Are Heavy Lifters’, strategically placed in hospital corridors to draw attention.

This initiative comes in response to the Federal Government’s one-off funding boost of $1.7 billion to public hospitals under a one-year extension to the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA), while private hospitals remain sidelined.

Private hospitals have fiercely criticised what they see as Labor’s piecemeal approach to reform, arguing that the government continues to neglect the sector’s viability issues.

According to APHA, this neglect exacerbates a funding crisis exacerbated by “health insurer greed”, impacting patient choice, access, and quality of care across Australia’s healthcare landscape.

The campaign’s posters aim to educate the public on the profound implications of escalating hospital insurance premiums, which affect 12.2 million Australians. Despite annual approval of these increases by the Federal Government, health insurers often fall short in reimbursing hospitals, leading to a staggering $3 billion gap between the actual cost of care and insurer payments. Meanwhile, insurers have reported record profits exceeding $5 billion.

“It seems to be something the Federal Government has forgotten. Tell the government it is its job to fix the funding fiasco,” asserted Brett Heffernan, CEO of the Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA).

The campaign urges consumers to take action by emailing Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and local MPs to ensure health insurers adequately compensate private hospitals for patient care, thereby preventing further closures and safeguarding essential healthcare services.

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