Brisbane’s Toowong Private Hospital is the latest hospital that yields to financial pressure. Close the door The door next week. Industrial Association It belongs to the closure of the mental hospital There is not enough payment from a private insurer and delayed.
Meanwhile, the future of HealthScope, the second largest hospital provider in Australia, is uncertain after the parent company. Entered the recipient last week.
There are 37 private hospitals in HealthScope I maintained the condition It will continue to operate with a $ 100 million loan. However, the hospital will be sold to repay the lending institution, so the future depends on who the buyer and the new owner decide to do.
Overall, private hospitals are having trouble with the surge in staff and supplies, and personal health insurance is not enough to cover these costs.
This fundamental problem will not disappear like magic. More private hospitals will face similar financial problems and some will be closed. But we will not see the collapse of the whole private sector.
Mixture of public and private
Australia operates a unique public-private health care mix 700 public and 647 individuals hospital.
Public hospitals are mainly owned by the government and provide free treatment to support funds with taxes. Private hospitals are owned and managed by individual organizations, some of which are non -profit organizations.
But the private medical sector plays a big role in Australia and offers 41%of all hospitalization. 74%are the day It remains.
Private hospitals are often less likely in the city with less emergency room than public hospitals, and focusing on simple daily care. portion 83% of private hospitals There are 9%in the region and 8%in rural cities.
In contrast, 27% of public hospitals It is 57%in major cities, 57%in regions and 16%in secluded areas.
Role of personal health insurance
Personal health insurance is required to use it in a private hospital.
In 2022-23, a total of $ 21.5 billion was spent in private hospitals. Personal health insurance Covered About 45% ($ 9.7 billion) originated from members’ premiums. The patient donated 11% ($ 2.4 billion) for his own burden.
The government has donated significantly 37% ($ 8 billion) through Medicare. This is separate from the addition $ 8 billion The government provides rebates to individuals every year to purchase personal health insurance.
Ground photo/shutter stock
The main problem is that this rebate money has not flowed directly to a private hospital, so it is vulnerable to negotiations with insurers, as seen in the Toowong Private Hospital.
evidence I suggest that this rebate may not be the most effective government investment. Experts, including me, insisted that they would directly fund the hospital.
What does this mean as more private hospitals face problems?
The patient’s choice and accessibility is low
The patient will experience a low choice and less accessible to certain types of treatment.
In large cities where many private and public hospitals (including personal wings of public hospitals), patients can be converted to other personal facilities or treated as individual patients in public hospitals.
However, choices are greatly reduced in small or rural areas where other private hospitals are limited or other private hospitals. In this case, you should reconsider whether you should purchase personal health insurance.
Currently, people are making money $ 97,000 (or family with more than $ 194,000 If you do not have personal health insurance, face the additional Medicare premium.
This policy is not fair for those who cannot access private hospitals and need to be changed.
More Read: Who is the benefit of a private health insurance rebate? It is not the person who needs to be the most covered.
The patient’s load may move and the short -term waiting time for selective surgery may be slightly longer, but according to our analysis, this suggests that this is not a major long -term problem. The main constraints of the waiting time are often people, not facilities.
When a private hospital closes the door, the doctor and the nurse potentially switch to a public hospital to relieve the lack of employees. Reduce the entire waiting time.
Impact on public systems
Since most private hospitals are lacking, the impact on the public emergency room will be minimized.
Many private hospital admissions are the same day and a simpler procedure. Therefore, public hospitals and the rest of the private hospitals (not operated by full bed capacity) should be able to absorb this additional demand in the long run if they can attract formerly employed employees (or facilities) in the previously hired private hospitals.
These hospitals will also receive additional income for these additional procedures.
Shutter spot
As a result, the impact on the waiting time of public hospitals on most conditions should not be practical.
However, some complex or long -term or specific mental health cases (for example, forb) can be difficult to absorb without any additional supply of professionals and funds.
What is your health budget?
In areas where patients are absorbed by existing public hospital capabilities or other private facilities, the direct impact on health budgets is minimized.
With more patients, the rest of the private hospitals can negotiate a better funding contract with the insurance company and achieve the cost of a better supplier through economies of scale.
In areas where private hospitals (or public hospitals that provide private medical care) are suspended. Lowing personal health insurance insurance To use a public hospital, the government will pay more directly to public hospitals. However, this increase will be partially offset by reducing spending on personal health insurance rebates.
The patient can also save money at the premium and the cost of the private hospital, but will lose personal medical choice.
Ultimately, if the personal model is not financially sustainable, the government or taxpayer will often pay for the cost.
Instead of relying, more directly invested in public hospitals in this area Inefficient rebateIt can be a more effective solution.
More Reading: Do Personal Health Insurance cuts the list of public hospitals? We found it barely crushed
