Australia’s second-biggest hospital operator, Healthscope, and insurance giant Bupa have agreed an 11th-hour funding deal that will spare hundreds of thousands of patients from paying hospital fees.

Bupa, one of Australia’s biggest health funds, said on Friday it had reached a new two-year funding deal with Brookfield’s Healthscope that meant its members would no longer have to pay out-of-pocket expenses when an existing contract expires on February 20.