The nation’s largest private hospital operator said it would refuse to deal with health insurers that did not agree to cover a bigger portion of surging costs.
Already a subscriber?Millions of patients face significantly higher medical bills after the country’s largest private hospital operator said it would refuse to deal with insurers that did not agree to cover a bigger portion of unexpected cost surges in the future.
Ramsay Health Care chief executive Craig McNally says patients will not be covered if their insurers refuse to pay for a higher proportion of medical costs.“We have been really clear over the last couple of years that if there are material shifts in assumptions on what future costs look like then we will bring insurers back to the table,” he told. “If we don’t get acceptable agreement with health funds, I have been very clear, we won’t have agreements with them.
Bupa customers were left without insurance at Ramsay hospitals for several weeks in 2022 after the two companies failed to reach an agreement on how to cover costs. Bupa, one of the country’s major health insurers, has more than 4 million customers. But the insurance sector has accused Ramsay, and other hospital owners, of simply wanting to make more money at their expense.
Mr McNally said there had been a rise in patients with private health insurance going to public hospitals because they could not afford the out-of-pocket costs. The rate of patient activity in the current financial year would be slower than in the 12 months to June 30.
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